Jess Haupt shot this awesome main-framed 6x6 in the Texas Hill Country on Nov. 5, 2006. Back in 2003, his father passed away leaving Jess his rifle, a .308 Remington Woodmaster. The gun had been Jess's granddad's (passed on to his father) and Jess's dad had dreamed of using it to hunt elk in Wyoming. However he, too, passed away before his dream could come true. Jess's family is originally from Wisconsin and this gun had never seen any action in Texas because it needed some work.

Jess had one of his good hunting buddies rework the gun and match bullets to it. Jess also had a new scope put on the rifle and purchased a new clip for the gun because his father had problems with the gun jamming. With the matched bullets, a new clip and a new scope, Jess thought he was ready for the 2006 hunting season.

Jess normally uses his Ruger .270 bolt-action rifle for deer hunting in the Hill Country. On opening day, however, he chose his dad's rifle for this particular hunt, scheduled for the first weekend in November. The day was a typical opening day for the Hill Country, cool with a light fog. Just as the sun rose on November 4, Jess noticed movement out of the right window of his box blind. This turned out to be the first sighting of the trophy buck he would end up shooting the following day.

Knowing the buck was a shooter, Jess slowly placed his rifle through the window of the blind and clicked off the safety. He squeezed the trigger but nothing happened. The gun would not fire. Jess quickly ejected the shell and slowly slid another bullet into the chamber. He made some noise ejecting the shell, but to his surprise, the buck just stood there broadside. Again the gun would not fire! (Jess later found that in order to make the rifle fire he had to let the bolt slam into place). The buck slowly walked out of sight and Jess started shaking like a leaf. It was the biggest whitetail he had ever seen!

He went back to camp and told his sad story. Naturally he was ribbed about the lost opportunity. After discussing the situation with several of his buddies, Jess cased up the old Woodmaster and brought out his trusty Ruger .270 bolt action. That evening he saw the buck again, but he could not get a shot because of impending darkness. The next morning Jess was back in his stand before daylight. After watching several does, the big boy appeared.

"He started chasing those fine young does," Jess said. "Finally he offered me a good shot. At this point, I silently thought about my father and granddad. I slowly put the stainless steel bolt-action Ruger out the front window of my stand and squeezed gently on the trigger. My bullet found its target, making a perfect heart shot!

"The bucks had a bunch of kickers coming off the back of his G-1s. His G-2s were 11 6/8 inches. I thanked God for the opportunity to kill such a fine animal. I also thanked my dad and granddad for I think they also had a lot to do with my good fortune!"

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