I was and always will be a dreamer. Dreaming of big bucks anywhere I'm
NOT hunting. I live in West Virginia, in this part of the state (north central) we are not known for large body or large antlered bucks. So, I am always dreaming of Ohio or Kansas or Illinois or even back in my old home of upstate New York. I have traveled to all these places seeking large antlered bucks with little
to no luck. My most recent venture was a disappointing trip to Kansas in
September without hardly a deer sighting. In New York a few years back I was lucky enough to shoot a 100 class buck with my muzzleloader, but still a decent antlered buck with my bow eluded me. Believe me. I have enough
stories to fill a book with "things gone wrong" at the moment of truth on
Pope and Young Class whitetails, but had yet to bring one home. Being a Pope and Young Scorer since 1994 made me believe it is eventually possible to score on a nice buck though, so seeing these bucks have kept my hopes alive all
these years.

I hunt West Virginia hard, but lack of big buck sightings for 6 years left me to believe that a big buck for me would come from anywhere but West Virginia. This year was gearing up to be different though, I had one big buck sighting while on stand in early November in a new area I was hunting south of me in West Virginia. I also knew of a 100" class 8 pointer from the several sightings in my yard as I pulled in at night from long days of work. For this part of the country,
a 100 class buck is a big deal, so I was hoping to catch him in my stand, 100 yards behind the house along a creekbed and next to a hillside that forms a nice funnel.

My friend, Don Marcaesi, from upstate New York, came down for a 3 week long archery hunt with me and we were doing fairly well at finding deer and even killing a doe, and for myself a small buck. We would squeeze in hunts between my
busy work schedule and we really took it easy and hunted when we wanted to. It was a pleasant time for both of us. The hunting was just getting good, with Don spotting the 8 point behind the house and one day after he left I spotted him on a hunt with my son, James, chasing does. I hated to see him go, but 3 weeks was a long time away from his obligations. He reluctantly left. I went back to going full-bore with my work schedule and on November 17th I was able to get a rare afternoon off due to a light schedule of patients I had that day. (I am an MRI technician) I made the 2 hour trip home by 4:00pm, said hello to my wife, Kelly, and my 3 children, Hunter, Kerri and James, and off to my stand I went, hoping to catch the 100 class 8 point.

The evening hunt started slow and as things quieted down I drifted
almost to sleep, as relaxation was the first thing on my mind with my crazy schedule. I heard steps in the leaves about 75 yards away, up on the hill, where deer commonly bedded. (A lot of the deer travel in my area from this hillside past my stand to my home's back yard area, as there are many fields and shrubs to munch on throughout the valley, or holler, I live) Peering up on the hill I could make out some movement and then 2 doe seemingly appeared
from thin air and started working toward me. Suddenly, 3 more does
appeared following the others single file down the hill, then dispersing as
they searched the ground for acorns. Walking past my stand, every deer was within the range of my Darton Maverick armed with Beeman ICS Hunter arrows, tipped with 75 grain Rocky Mountain Premiers. After they walked past I relaxed, thinking the excitement was over as evening was slowly coming to an end, but I heard some more rustling up on the hill. I looked up again to see a lone doe, this one acting stranger than the rest. Walking a few steps and looking back. Not nervous, yet cautious and I could tell she was potentially being followed by a suitor. This could be my chance to get the 8 point I thought briefly. Then I saw him. This was no 100" 8 point, he was a bit bigger and one buck I never saw before. I was amazed by his G2 tine length and his width. The body size was incredible, more indicative of a 4 year old Ohio animal. He did have 8 points and was coming my way. The doe
followed the path of the previous does at 23 yards. I kept my eye on this doe and she walked past me broadside.

The buck was soon to follow and was easily the most cautious animal I have ever laid my eyes on. I could not believe he didn't pick me out of my stand, but love was on his mind I figured. Whatever the reason, my heart was racing and he was getting closer. He was moving broadside just like the doe, his head got behind a tree and I drew my bow back and waited. I could not see his head from the 16" oak blocking it, but the antlers sticking out on each side was almost too much to bear. They were incredible looking as he moved his head slightly, keeping careful eye on the doe in front of him, now 50 yards past me and almost out of sight into my back yard. Just one
more step big boy, I silently whispered. Two steps is what he took, but he took the steps surprisingly toward me as he exited the right side of the tree. I now had one of the largest antlered and body bucks at 23 yards, at one of the angles I dreaded most, quartering toward. He was still silent, looking in my direction, seemingly looking into me and reading my mind as all big bucks can do. I detected him not really getting tense quite yet, but knew the possibility was there. 15 seconds passed and knew I would
never live down another story of a big buck that got away.

I would never condone a quartering toward shot, I have passed up similar situations in the past, including a 130 class buck on the ground at 8 yards with my bow drawn about 10 years ago. I tell myself I did the right thing all these years, but regret still filters into my brain knowing what a magnificent animal I could have had on my wall if I executed that shot perfectly. I know self control, and my 21 years of bowhunting experience has
taught me all about high percentage kill shots, patients, kill zones in
every possible angle. I study hunting tapes and the most recent Primos
video showed Stan Potts hammering a 220 class whitetail in a similar
situation. He did all kinds of explaining afterwards on why he did what he did, and the proper procedure to follow afterwards. I feel I had the experience and skill necessary to fully execute this shot now 10 years later and I would have no regrets.

My sight pin found the spot I wanted and my index finger tickled the trigger
on my Scott release, sending the arrow deep into its body. The woods exploded with muscle, antler, and leaves. The buck ran up on the hill with his tail tucked. It became silent and I immediatly got the shakes and had to sit back down. 15 minutes later I climbed down and found the area of scuffled leaves where he took off. No blood. I followed his path carefully, looking closely at the ground as darkness was almost upon me, and found one spot of blood, that's all I wanted. I backed off and walked home to calm down and call my friend, Lennie. I explained to him the hit and he zoomed over knowing he had to work nights at 11pm till 7am. I was thankful to have
such a great friend!

We took up the search, went up on the hill and found a pool of frothy blood. A good sign. Flashlights lit, we searched farther down the trail and down the other side of the hill and jumped him. We found his bed, again filled with frothy blood, and marked the area and got out till morning. Lennie left and promised to be back in the morning! (Did I mention what a great friend he is!) I also had to call up my boss and ask if I could come in late the next day. Luckily, he had coverage and I didn't need to come in at all!! (thank you Frankie!!) I've "heard" of sleepless nights but never had one until this night.

The next morning Lennie and I headed out, found the last bed we had marked, and proceeded. 75 yards down the trail there he lay, a magnificent brute of a whitetail, field dressing in the 200 lb range, with a big thick rut induced neck. The antlers were indeed wide, measuring 19 2/8" inside with towering 10.5" G2 tines!! I scored him at 126 4/8" gross but, unfortunately, netted 123", 2" below P&Y standard for their minimum entry. I am extremely grateful that God smiled on me enough to give me the opportunity to harvest such a great animal, and to eat such good venison. It was truly a blessing.

PS...That "other" 8 point still is alive and well. I've been feeding corn
in my backyard all winter and as of 2.28.04 still has his antlers. Stay
tuned as my stand in the woods behind my house is my best bet for a trophy buck in 2004! (This time with a Mathews LX in hand)