Marty Sharp received his first shotgun when he was 9 years old. In fact, the avid deer hunter, who lives in west-central Illinois, still hunts with the old Remington Model 870 12 gauge. The vintage gun proved to be more than enough to put down the largest non-typical whitetail killed in Illinois during the 2007 season.

The photo does not do justice to this massive main-frame 4x4. Given his buck's 24-inch inside spread, exceptionally long main beams and tines, and plenty of extra kickers, including an 8-inch drop tine, Marty Sharp has plenty of reason to be smiling.

You have to be tough to hunt out of a honey locust tree, and that's where Marty was before daylight on Friday, Nov. 16. It was opening day of the first Illinois gun season. Prior to heading to his ladder stand, Marty got up early and went to Hardee's for breakfast. He figured if he was going to stay in the stand all day, he needed a -- pardon the pun -- "hardee" breakfast.

Marty had already enjoyed a great deer season. The week prior to shotgun season, he arrowed a beautiful 10-point buck that scored in the 150s. Now, as he headed for the locust tree, he hoped that his good luck would continue. He had been saving this special stand for opening day of shotgun season, and this would be the first time the stand was hunted in 2007.

He arrived at his ladder 30 minutes before daylight and set up a scent wick filled with Golden Estrus doe-in-heat scent in front of the stand. At that point he was ready for daylight. The moment it started getting light, he started seeing deer. Several does and small bucks walked by his stand totally unaware of his presence.

A HEART-STOPPING SIGHT!
Marty continued to see sporadic deer movement all morning and well past noon. At 3 p.m. he decided to do a little calling. He used a can call and then a grunt call. As far as he could tell, there was no response. Marty then got out his cell phone and called his dad, Bill Sharp, to make sure he had gotten into his stand without any problem. Bill told his son that he was in his stand and ready for some action.

Marty put his phone back in his pocket and turned around. Unbelievably, his eyes were greeted by a sight he would not soon forget. The biggest buck he had ever seen in 37 years of hunting was

30 to 40 yards away and closing fast. Marty reached back and grabbed his shotgun. The buck was totally unaware of his presence.

At this point, the buck's antlers were partially obscured by the grass in the CRP field from which it was approaching. Marty knew the buck was big, but he didn't realize that it was gigantic! As soon as the buck cleared the grass and lifted his head, Marty saw an amazing rack full of long tines and a distinct drop tine on the left side. The buck was walking straight toward him, offering no shot. At 20 yards, however, the huge deer turned broadside. Marty was ready and waiting. He instantly squeezed the trigger.

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