Keith first got several trail camera photos of the Niagara Giant in late June 2007. One month later in early August, he got these photos of the massive buck just as the deer's antlers were reaching full growth. Needless to say, Keith was a little excited!

Although my heart sank at not being able to get a shot, I was excited that I had at least seen him during daylight hours. I continued hunting him for the next 10 days with no more sightings during bow season. Firearms season opened on Saturday, Nov. 17. Not being much of a gun hunter, and knowing that the rifle season would be in for a solid month, I didn't plan to hunt him hard again until late muzzleloader season in December, when, I figured, he might make the mistake of feeding during daylight hours.

AN UNEXPECTED MEETING
On Tuesday, Nov. 20, with gun season in full swing, I decided to hunt a stand on the edge of a wheat field with my muzzleloader in hopes of shooting a doe. I had been sitting in this stand for about two hours when I saw a doe come out of the thicket about 40 yards away and head for the wheat field. Preparing for the shot, I caught movement behind her. Then I noticed a drop tine and a massive rack. It was him! I couldn't believe it!

With my heart pounding in my chest, I cocked the hammer on my Thompson/Center Pro Hunter .50-caliber muzzleloader. I aimed carefully and fired. The distance of the shot was only 30 yards, but with all the smoke, I couldn't see what had happened. When the smoke cleared, I saw him lying on the ground moving around. Because I was cold and excited, it seemed like it took forever for me to reload. I quickly shot him again, and it was all over. After climbing down and examining the deer, I discovered that my first shot had hit him high in the spine. I was very lucky

A DREAM-COME-TRUE BUCK
The Niagara Giant, the buck that I had dreamed about for the past five months, was now in my hands. After having spent countless hours in a stand with my bow, hoping to get a shot, to then have taken him with a muzzleloader while out looking for a doe still sends chills down my spine.

With a 19 3/8-inch inside spread and a total of 22 points (11 on each side), my buck officially scored 221 non-typical B&C points. With G-2s measuring 15 3/8 inches on the left and 14 inches on the right, he is the largest non-typical whitetail ever taken with a muzzleloader in New York State. I've also been told that he might be the largest whitetail taken in the entire Northeast during the 2007 season.

The Niagara Giant weighed 190 pounds field dressed and was believed to have been 5 1/2 years old. Although he might have been sighted once or twice in the area, I don't know of anyone who was hunting him or pursuing him in any way. I think he was pretty much a phantom. I had him mounted by Jim Block and Charlie Jaenecke at The Buck Stops Here Taxidermy Studio in Pendleton, New York.

As mentioned, Jackie and I moved to Bloomer, Wisconsin, in early 2008 to start our own chiropractic clinic. One of the main reasons we moved to central Wisconsin was to seek out some better trophy whitetail hunting in the Upper Midwest. Even though we now live in an entirely new part of the country, my hunt in New York for the Niagara Giant is one hunt that I will relive over and over again in my mind for the rest of my life!

THE KEITH LEVICK BUCK
Scorable points....22(11R,11L)
Tip-to-tip spread.....8 4/8
Greatest spread..... 25 0/8
Inside Spread..... 19 3/8
Total length of abnormal points: 48 1/8
Areas Measured	Right	Left	Difference
	26 0/8	25 6/8	2/8
1st point (G-1)	12 0/8	11 2/8	6/8
2nd point (G-2)	14 0/8	15 3/8	1 3/8
3rd point (G-3)	12 4/8	7 8/8	4 6/8
4th point (G-4)	2 2/8	--	2 2/8
1st circ. (H-1)	5 3/8	5 3/8	--
2nd circ. (H-2)	4 6/8	4 6/8	--
3rd circ. (H-3)	4 5/8	4 3/8	2/8
4th circ. (H-4)	4 1/8	3 4/8	5/8
Totals	85 5/8	78 1/8	10 2/8
Gross typical score.........................183 1/8
Subtract side to side differences........... -10 2/8
Add abnormal points......................... +48 1/8
FINAL NET NON-TYPICAL SCORE..................221 0/8
Taken by: Kevin Levick
Date: Nov. 20, 2007
Location: Niagra County, New York

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