KENTUCKY DREAM BUCK
Bart made a quick call on his cell phone to request help, and within 25 minutes his father-in-law arrived on the scene. After taking a long look at the giant whitetail, Johnny Pickens smiled and said, "Now this is what dreams are made of!"

Later, the rack's official measurements put Johnny's comment into perspective. The exceptionally long main beams taped 28 inches and the inside spread was 21 5/8 inches. However, tine length is what put this buck in a special class. For example, the brow tines measure 10 2/8 and 9 2/8 inches, followed by paired 15-inch G-2s, and G-3s of 10 6/8 and 9 4/8 inches. Antler mass was impressive throughout the entire rack.

The basic 8-point typical frame grosses an amazing 183 4/8. It nets 179 3/8. If the rack had not contained any abnormal points, this score would rank the buck as Kentucky's biggest ever 8-pointer. However, there are 6 abnormal points, including a 7 6/8-inch drop tine, totaling 18 inches. This brings the deer's final non-typical B&C score to 197 3/8, qualifying for B&C's all-time record book.

Interestingly, the buck's "signature" drop tine is on the right antler, while the big buck sighted in 2005 had a long drop tine on the left antler. Whether or not this is the same buck is a question that might well be answered during the 2007 season!

While Bart was elated at having taken the huge whitetail, he was also disappointed that he had not been able to produce a deer for James. That situation was solved early the following morning when the two hunters climbed the ridge and sat underneath Bart's stand at the base of the big cedar. Shortly after daybreak, the young hunter took a fine 6-pointer on the same trail the big whitetail had followed.

"At that moment," Bart said. "I don't believe there were two happier hunters in the entire state of Kentucky!"

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