A LESS THAN ETHICAL CPO
The CPO held out his hand and said, "Put $500 in this hand and I'll talk to my wife and we'll decide whether or not you can look for the buck."

Kevin asked, "Does this mean you'll let Debbie have her buck if I pay you $500?"

(Kevin strongly suspected that the buck was already in the CPO's possession.)

"No!" the CPO responded obnoxiously. "The $500 is for consideration only. If my wife and I decide against allowing you to look for your buck, we keep the $500."

"Then we will not give you $500," Debbie responded. Unable to control her emotions any longer, Debbie walked back to the truck. Jeff and Rodney each wanted to "punch the CPO's lights out," but reason and good judgment prevailed. Kevin remained calm and told the CPO that his actions were making trespassers out of perfectly ethical sportsmen.

Name-calling ensued and nothing was settled. Debbie, Jeff and Rodney ultimately headed home to Virginia without the beautiful 10-pointer.

The irony of the situation grew when Kevin told the three Virginians about a suspicious October trail camera photo retrieved from one of his cameras. The camera had captured the CPO (out of uniform) walking on the same leased property where Debbie had shot her 10-pointer. The owner of Kevin's lease wanted to prosecute the CPO for trespassing, but Kevin knew the chances of getting a guilty verdict would be small. Obviously the CPO could testify that the photo had been taken while he was investigating some incident while off-duty.

There were also concerns about retaliation from this unethical CPO. Kevin never told him about the photo, but he saved it in case he ever needed it in the future. The Neills felt extremely bad about Debbie's terrible experience and her lost buck, so they invited both Debbie and Jeff to come back and hunt for free during firearms season the following year.

A DREAM-COME-TRUE HUNT
The 2007 Prairie State firearms season was warm and uneventful, and the couple went home with unfilled tags. But Debbie and Jeff knew they had chosen the right outfitter, so they booked both a bow and firearms hunt with Midwest Extreme Outfitters again for the following year.

Bowhunting the week prior to Illinois' 2008 firearm season was exciting for the Coxes. It was mid-November, the peak of the rut, and Debbie and Jeff passed on several borderline bucks. Jeff almost had a shot opportunity at a 170-plus buck.

Opening day of Illinois' first firearms season finally arrived. It was crisp and cold on Friday, Nov. 21, 2008. Debbie got aboard her climber and shimmied up the tree as quietly as possible, preparing for a full day on stand. Several does and fawns stirred in the woods around her during the morning hours. The afternoon was also quiet until about 4 p.m., when a 2 1/2-year-old buck showed up to pester some feeding does near Debbie's stand.

He's definitely not a shooter, Debbie thought.

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