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It was late October of 2003 when a friend, Bob Hosking, and I were coming back from an afternoon hunt at Mud Lick Lodge in northern Missouri. We were on the gravel road leading back to the cabin when two does ran out in front of us from a cut soybean field onto the lodge's property. About 40 yards behind them was a large non-typical buck----with nose to the ground----following every step they made. He crossed about 60 yards in front of the truck, paying us no attention whatsoever. At that time, I'm sure I told Bob that I would love to get a shot at this deer with my bow! However, I have no actual memory of saying that, but I'm sure I did----not knowing that a mere 12 days later my dream of getting a shot at this non-typical buck would come true! I do a little guiding for Bud and Barb Harold, owners of Mud Lick Lodge. On the morning of Nov. 12, 2003, I took two of the hunting clients, Mike and Murry Fenton, to their stands. Being from Alaska, the Fenton brothers came to Missouri to do some whitetail hunting. I took Mike to his stand, and then I came back and took Murry to his stand. After that, I proceeded to grab my own gear and head to the woods because I was planning to do some hunting on this day as well. At daybreak, I was greeted with a heavily overcast sky and winds whipping up into the 40-mph range. I figured that deer movement might be slow on the ridge tops because of the high winds. Since it was the beginning of the rut, however, I hoped that some bucks might be out anyway. Therefore, I decided to find a place to hunt in a low area where the wind wouldn't be such a factor. I knew there were no stands in the valley where I decided to hunt, so I would have to hunt on the ground. It was worth it, though, because I figured that the deer might be traveling thorugh the area to stay out of the wind. I found an oak tree with a broken top that had fallen down next to it. I cleared out an area in the leaves next to the tree and sat down. Daylight arived a little after 6 a.m. Nothing happened for a full hour. After that things really broke loose. Around 7:10, a nice 10-pointer came through at about 25 yards. He made a scrape and then continued on his way. About 20 minutes later, two bucks----a small 8-pointer and a 6-pointer, came through on the same trail. The 8-pointer freshened the scrape made by the previous 10-pointer. Then he and the 6-pointer went on their way. Ten minutes later, a much larger 8-pointer came by. He did the exact same thing, stopping at the scrape. A few more minutes passed, and a nice 10-pointer came by behind me at about 15 yards. He passed downwind of me and had no idea I was there, thanks to my ScentLok gear! Around 8:15, I saw two bucks up the hill from me about 80 yards away chasing a doe. They ran her around the hill and finally disappeared down in the valley. Thirty minutes later, another small 10-pointer came down the trail. Like the others, he stopped at the scrape, freshened it for a few minutes, and then went on his way. It had already been an incredible morning seeing all these bucks at such close range. But then, at about 9:00 a.m., the unbelievable happened! I spotted the big non-typical walking parallel with the ridge. He was heading drectly toward the trail where the scrape was located. When he got within about two yards of the scrape, he passed behind a large oak tree. That's when I came to full draw. Again, just like all the other bucks, he stopped at the scrape to freshen it. At that point he was about 25 yards away and looking in my direction. Instead of going on down the trail like the other deer had done, however, he came down the hill straight toward me. He was directly downwind! Having my ScentLok gear on, though, I felt confident that I would not be detected! I was still at full draw as he approached. As he walked straight toward me now, I had no shot except at his chest. I knew this was not an ethical shot for me to attempt, so I held off. As I waited anxiously, he came closer and closer! At five yards, he still didn't see me. He finally turned broadside----enough for me to release my arrow! Remember, I was sitting on the ground. The second he turned broadside, I released by arrow. The shot was a pass-through right behind the shoulder blade. He took off running back in the general direction from which he had come, but he angled off toward the bottom of the valley. He had run about 70 yards when he stumbled. But he regained his balance and turned to the right like he was going to try to run back up the ridge. He kept going and then he went out of sight. I looked at my watch. It was 9:15. I waited what seemed like an hour. I looked at my watch again and it was only 9:20. Finally, at 9:30, I went to retrieve my arrow. It was stuck in a tree about 12 yards away. I started following the blood trail. I continued on for about 85 yards, and there he was, piled up in a blown-down treetop. For me, this had been the hunt of my dreams! My dream buck had 15 scorable points. He was basically an 5x6 with four additional non-typical points that added up to 15 inches. He had an inside spread of 22 4/8 inches, and four of his tines measured over 11 inches in length. His gross non-typical score was at 202 P&Y points. After deductions, he netted 195 6/8 P&Y points. My buck was the largest non-typical taken with a bow in Missouri 2003. I would like to give special thanks to lodge owners Bud and Barb Harold for allowing me to guide and hunt on such a magnificent piece of property----Mud Lick Lodge in northern Missouri! by Doug Sorter hunter profile-Keith Pinson | Whitetail Feeding Habits All Year Long | The Ridge Stand by Matt McAnally | Off & Running--J.P. Mahn | Elk Photos | Confidence Doe | Shed Hunters | Chad Goetten Buck | hello M.B.B. 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