On Nov. 20, 2005, Allen Thompson was hunting from a ladder stand in Fulton Counrty, Illinois. The stand was located in a dry, brushy lake bed. Suddenly a big 8-pointer came bursting out of the brush behind Allen's stand grunting as if there were no tomorrow. Being somewhat startled at first, Allen never could get a clean shot and the buck soon disappeared.

This might have been the best thing that could have happened, because moments later, Allen saw a doe step out of the brush about 200 yards away. Since he was hunting with a muzzleloader, he decided to climb down and try to get closer, hoping that the doe would be accompanied by a buck.

Sure enough, after Allen had stalked to within 120 yards of the doe, a buck stepped out of the brush and stood beside her. And this buck was much larger than the 8-pointer! The show was on. With his heart thumping and the adrenaline pumping, Allen drew a careful bead on the heavy 10-pointer with his .50 caliber CVA Optima.

As the big whitetail stood defending his mate from several smaller bucks, Allen's 250-grain Hornady rocket sailed through the buck's heart. Needless to say, Allen was elated with his 150-class Illinois monster. Furthermore, he was very thankful that he had not been able to get a shot at the 8-pointer!

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