Frustrated at himself for missing a shot at a smaller buck from his tree stand, Paul was leaving the woods early when this 14-point monster showed up. Paul was on the ground with his tree stand on his back when he made a perfect 10-yard shot.

In 2005 Massachusetts deer hunter Larry Beestka took the state's new archery non-typical record buck with a traditional bow in Worcester County (See North American Whitetail's "Awesome Whitetails 6," published in December 2006). The 178 0/8-inch 14-point buck was big news, particularly because so few hunters today use traditional archery equipment. With the speed, accuracy and forgiveness of single-cam compound bows made by manufacturers like Mathews, most hunters would not even dream of using a traditional recurve or long bow for whitetails.

So what would be the odds that yet another new state record (this time a typical) would be taken with a traditional recurve in Worcester County just one year after Larry shot his record non-typical buck? Regardless of the odds, it happened in 2006. And you can be assured of one thing -- there is nothing "traditional" about the story behind this great buck: The hunter, Paul Buccacio, shot his buck from the ground with his tree stand strapped to his back. And all of this happened after he missed a shot at a smaller buck.

BECOMING A DEER HUNTER
Paul Buccacio has been hunting since he was about 20 years old. Early in his hunting career, while helping a friend drag a buck out of the woods, the two men spotted another buck. With his tree stand on his back, Paul took aim and fired, and the buck dropped in its tracks. This was an incredible start to an enjoyable hunting career. What's more, this would not be the only buck he ever shot with a tree stand on his back! When Paul got out of the Marines in 1999, he shot his first deer with a bow. After that season he took at least one deer a year with his bow, and he was hooked on bowhunting for life. In fact, his love for bowhunting eventually led him to start shooting a traditional recurve bow. In March 2006 he purchased a Hoyt recurve, but he didn't plan to hunt with it during the '06 season. He simply wanted to shoot it for the pure fun of it. He practiced with it as much as possible and then something happened. He became so comfortable with his Hoyt recurve that he decided he would try hunting with it. As he entered the woods in Worcester County, Massachusetts, on Oct. 23, 2006, he had no way of knowing that he would soon be making bowhunting history.

IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED…
Paul arrived at his hunting spot around 3:30 in the afternoon and headed toward a well-traveled trail. The trail was full of fresh tracks and deer droppings, and Paul was pumped by all the fresh sign. He continued down the trail, looking for a tree large enough to support his climber. He located a suitable tree near several intersecting trails. The wind was favorable and the cover was good for an ambush. Paul was set up before 4 o'clock, and he felt very confident about the area and the prospects for the day.

It was a very cool fall day with light winds and a clear sky. The leaves and acorns were still falling from the young oaks. The leaves on the ground were crunchy, but the wind was enough to mask the sound of an approaching deer, so Paul was very alert.

Just after 5 p.m. he heard a deer approaching from behind on his left side. The wind was blowing in the opposite direction so the deer could not detect his scent. An unusually large 4-point buck stepped into view, and Paul couldn't believe the size of the deer or his antlers.

The buck was approaching slowly and appeared very relaxed, unaware that a hunter was lurking above. Paul decided he would take this awesome 4-point if given the opportunity. He would be thrilled to have this deer as his first buck by recurve bow. However, buck fever took over momentarily and he was unable to control his emotions until the deer got past him.

INTENSE DISAPPOINTMENT
As the buck was quartering away at about 25 yards, Paul drew back and took aim. The arrow flew perfectly straight toward the buck but ducked just under the deer's belly, throwing up a spark from a rock in the process. The deer jumped and looked around, wondering what had caused the noise. Then the buck continued on down the trail and disappeared.

Greatly disappointed in his performance, the dejected hunter climbed down from his stand and walked over to confirm the miss. Then, with a good half hour of hunting time left before dark, he packed up his gear and his tree stand and headed out of the woods. That's how upset he was for missing the buck.

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