After joining forces with his neighbor and organizing a quality deer management co-op in his neighborhood in 2001, Tony Smith of Vermontville, Michigan, set out to do something in south central Michigan that many said couldn't be done. "Due to the fragmentation of large farms into smaller parcels of 10 to 40 acres or less, and the rich tradition of deer hunting in Michigan, we've always had a very poor buck to doe ratio," Tony says. "That rich tradition often includes shooting the first young buck you see, so on average we've always had a very young buck population as well.

In 2002 we harvested several nice 2 1/2 year old bucks along with several does from the well established boundaries of our 1800-acre co-op. In 2003 we included some 3 1/2 year old bucks to the mix and in 2004 my neighbor harvested a 4 1/2 year old buck that grossed 180-plus-inches.

Needless to say we were very satisfied with the results we were experiencing from our efforts and restraint. As the years went on we had the pleasure of viewing several great bucks in their summer patterns and later we were able to hunt these same deer.

"The fall of 2006 produced 3 different sightings of an exceptional trophy buck as he crossed the road in my headlights or as he tended does in a CRP field. I can't honestly say that he was the buck I had my sights set on because we had several other mature bucks that we had been seeing. He was, however, on my short list.

"Because of the limited number of sighting I had made of this particular buck I wasn't sure if he was a "gypsy" buck or if he was in fact making his home in my hunting area. On Nov. 15th at 8:40 a.m., he came slipping down a drainage with a doe headed for a designated sanctuary on the neighbor's property. I'm embarrassed to say that he caught me a bit flat-footed as I was watching another nice buck chasing a doe on a large food plot behind me.

The snap of a twig got my attention in time to get a clean shot off before he slipped away.

My home-grown Michigan wallhanger has 13 scorable points on a 10-point main frame and will be entered into the Commemorative Bucks of Michigan record book at 151 3/4 inches net typical points. Remarkably, we have the previous 2 years' worth of sheds from this buck and also 10 minutes of video of him taken in 2005 as an 8-pointer. To me this was a real bonus as far as the history of our management program is concerned. This buck is the culmination of a lifetime dream and hopefully the beginning of a rich tradition of 150-plus-inch bucks from south central Michigan's Eaton County!

page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8