Kerry Cheely of Tolono, Illinois, was hunting on opening day of the 2006 Illinois muzzleloader season when he outsmarted this heavy-racked bruiser. Kerry spotted the buck early in the day and knew where he had gone.

"He was bedded with 7 does along a tree line out in the middle of a one-mile section," Kerry said. "Lots of belly crawling and duck walking got me to within 125 yards.

Once the does saw me, I knew it was only a matter of time before he would stand up and present me with an opportunity. I was very confident at that distance, especially after having taking several nice bucks between 125 and 170 yards in similar situations. After he stood up, a high shoulder shot immediately brought him down. My buddies and I guessed that he might score in the 170s, but he ended up grossing 197 5/8 non-typical points and netting 194 1/8. He had a 19 3/8 inch inside spread, his main beams were 29 and 29 2/8 inches and his longest tine (his left G-2) was 13 5/8 inches.

He also had five tines broke off, so with those additions he probably would have scored well above the 200-inch mark. I killed this deer in east-central Illinois where soybeans and corn fields dominate the landscape!"

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