Amazingly, Tennessee's No. 2 non-typical was also taken in Haywood County. Justin Samples shot the 37-point bruiser in 2001. Justin's buck scored 232 7/8 non-typical B&C points.

"I remained in the stand for about an hour, thinking about the situation, not really feeling completely positive or negative," Nelson said. "I was just hopeful that I would be able to find my buck."

Upon walking to the buck's approximate location at the time he fired, Nelson discovered that the ground was littered with freshly fallen red sassafras leaves, making his search for a blood trail a real nightmare. After carefully scanning the area, he was unable to find any sign that the deer had been hit.

"Believing I would have gotten a glimpse of the buck had it gone to the right or left, I concluded that the deer probably ran straight ahead in the direction it was heading," Nelson said. "So after marking the spot, I began walking small circles through the woods about every 10 to 15 yards in that general direction. Admittedly, after making three or four circles without finding any trace of the deer, I began to seriously second-guess my decision to take the shot."

An Unbelievable Trophy
Luckily, the hunter didn't have to spend a great deal of time doubting his decision. As he was completing yet another circular route, Nelson spotted the big whitetail lying several yards away. The absence of a blood trail was immediately apparent by the fact that the bullet had never exited (one of the dangers of taking that particular shot).

"The buck's rack was simply incredible," Nelson said. "I was somewhat familiar with the Boone and Crockett scoring system, but only from the standpoint of generally characterizing a rack as being in the 130, 140 or 150 class. In this case, I wasn't even sure exactly how many points were on the rack, much less how to go about determining a score!"

Later, in Memphis, Nelson took the deer to Johnny Hataway, a local taxidermist. Because of the very unusual antler growth, he, too, was at a loss in regard to estimating what the buck might score. However, he assured Nelson that the rack included well over 200 inches of bone. Both men were in agreement that, regardless of score, the buck was definitely the trophy of a lifetime.

One look at the amazing antlers and all of the statements become quite understandable. Except for matching brow tines, the rack exhibits very little normal antler growth. In fact, at approximately the G-2 tine position, both antlers seem to explode into a large cluster of antler points and mass.

Official rack statistics include a total of 37 scorable points, 10 of which make up the basic 5x5 typical frame. Antler spread is 27 7/8 inches outside and 18 2/8 inches inside. Mass measurements increase from 4 inches at the base of the beams to 8 and 9 4/8 inches midway out along the beams at the fourth circumference location. The 10-point typical frame grosses 156 1/8 and nets 148 6/8. After including the additional 27 abnormal points, totaling 78 4/8 inches, the rack's final non-typical B&C score stands at 227 2/8.

Nelson's buck ranks as Tennessee's all-time No. 3 non-typical whitetail. Amazingly, the state's No. 2 non-typical, another giant 37-point buck, scoring 232 7/8, was also taken in the Coastal Plain region, and in fact came from the same county (Haywood County) as Nelson's great buck. Justin Samples took the deer during the 2001 season while hunting farmland that included a large amount of CRP acreage.

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