At 3:00 p.m. he noticed a very nice P&Y-class 8-pointer coming along the hillside trail level with his stand. He grabbed his Matthews Q-2 and prepared for a shot, but the buck turned and walked by just out of range. Then the deer suddenly turned again, and Parrish thought he was going to get the shot after all. The buck was now level with him, looking straight at him. Suddenly, Parrish discovered what the big 8-pointer was actually looking at, and it wasn't him!

SURROUNDED BY BUCKS
Parrish heard a distinct grunt directly behind him. Suddenly he was aware that he was standing between two bucks, both at eyeball level with his stand. He dared not turn around to see the buck behind him because the 8-pointer was staring right through him toward the other deer. This went on for 10 nerve-racking minutes while the buck behind him made all kinds of noise -- rubbing brush and grunting. The 8-point buck finally did a 180 and started walking away.

Parrish immediately began turning his head very slowly toward the second buck. The first thing he noticed was a small tree moving back and forth. Then he glimpsed a set of giant antlers as the buck worked over the tree. Parrish knew that a trail led directly away from his tree stand and the spot where the buck was standing. If the deer used that trail Parrish doubted if he would get a shot.

He put his release on the string as the giant non-typical watched the 8-pointer walk away. Instead of walking away, however, the huge non-typical started moving downhill closer to Parrish's position. When the front of the buck's chest entered a shooting lane at about 20 yards, Parrish squeezed the release. He watched as the arrow hit right behind the buck's shoulder.

The arrow went all the way through the deer's body. The buck turned and ran about 15 yards. Then he slowed down and started walking. After traveling another 15 yards the buck stopped and started looking around. Since Parrish had seen the arrow disappear behind the deer's front shoulder, he was now trying to will the buck to "fall down." Sure enough, a few seconds later the buck staggered to his left and fell over, only 30 yards from the tree stand.

A 20-POINT MONSTER
Parrish nocked another arrow, just in case the buck tried to get up. He somehow managed to stay in the tree for the next 30 minutes, watching intently all the while with his binoculars for any movement by the deer. He finally climbed down and quietly retrieved his arrow. The arrow, completely covered with blood, confirmed the fact that he had made a good shot on the buck. As he approached the deer, he had another arrow ready.

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