NOW OR NEVER
He slowly worked his way around a thick bush and walked to within 25 yards of my tree. At this point the shot was iffy. He finally turned broadside. I waited for his front leg to move forward. When it did, I let the arrow fly. He hit his knees, and I knew I had hit him hard!

Unfortunately, the arrow hit him a little high. I knew I didn't get a pass-through because as he ran off I saw part of my arrow sticking out of his side. I was rattled. My hands and knees started shaking. I sat down for a moment saying, "What the heck just happened?"

I use Carbon Express arrows with 5-inch veins and "Revolution" mechanical broadheads. I knew I had a good angle on him because of my height in the tree. I've shot a lot of deer with this broadhead, and I know how devastating it can be to a deer. I felt confident in the shot, but I was not sure about how far he would run.

Knowing this would be a potential buck of a lifetime, I decided to back out for a few hours and not push him. Anyone who has had to go through this understands how hard and emotional it can be. As I started back into the woods after waiting a while, I felt tremendous excitement. At the same time, I had a sick feeling in my stomach.

When I got back to my stand, I was prepared for the possibility of not finding any blood because of the arrow not passing through. I was ready for a long night of looking for my deer. With flashlights in hand, I began to walk in the direction he had run, looking for blood along the way. Sixty yards into the search, I suddenly saw a white belly. Almost immediately I was overcome with a feeling of relief that I cannot put into words.

A DREAM REALIZED
It wasn't until I got to the buck's side, kneeled down, and pulled his head and horns out of the brush that I really knew what I had in my hands. I was almost in a state of disbelief as I stared at him. He had it all -- mass, points, tine length and width. Most importantly, he was mine! I told myself I might never shoot a buck like that again. While my arrow had hit him a little high, the broadhead devastated him and did its job.

With tremendous emotion, I immediately called my wife on the phone. I asked her to get the kids outside so they could see him when I got to the house. By the time I got him out of the woods, it was nearly 10:30 p.m. When my wife saw him, she was amazed. She had seen all the other bucks I've taken, but none compared to this deer. My older children were asleep and we did not wake them to come outside, but my 3-year-old was more than willing to take a look. As we took pictures, he wanted to hold my bow and be in every picture.

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