The Three-Legged Freak Buck, David Herold

For Clay County Georgia hunter David Herold, he first laid eyes on "the one" in 2009 when his Wildgame Innovations Trail Camera produced an image of a fantastic buck featuring everything you'd want in a trophy whitetail.

"The hunter found a little blood, but not much and couldn't recover the deer," shared Herold, "we thought the coyotes would get him, but at the end of season a neighbor had a picture of him missing his right rear leg at the knee. We only hoped that he'd make it, but didn't think he would."

Buck fever set in immediately as Herold started shaking at the thought of taking this great deer. Trying to calm himself down, Herold took the shot, missed, but was able to get another shot at the deer as he crossed a small creek. This time the deer jumped and then walked into some thick brush.

Herold was shaking so hard that he almost fell out of his tree! It took 15 minutes for him to settle down to the point where he could get out of his stand and look for blood. He looked at his first shot and saw nothing. He located the second shot location and still didn't see any blood that would indicate a hit.

"He is the biggest deer I've ever harvested and he has plenty of character. I've always wanted to shoot one with a crazy set of horns and know I'll never be able to top this deer," said Herold.

Herold took the buck to the Georgia Outdoor News show in Macon where he net scored 156 1/8.

Herold quickly shouldered his Browning .270 and fired a 130-grain Power Point at the buck that was standing broadside 330 yards away. The shot hit low, kicking up dirt underneath the deer, sending him back into the timber.

Frustrated with the long miss, Herold didn't get a chance to hunt again until November 20th and he was hopeful to get another crack at the buck. He set up on the opposite side of the clear cut from where he was prior, scanning the timberlines for anything that might step out.