Chad Tate and his fiancée Erica share in the celebration as 11-year-old Shelby Tate shows off the massive Mississippi monster that he shot on Dec. 28, 2007.

A WINNING STRATEGY
"I realized that this buck was probably too woods-wise to ever show himself during the day without having an incentive to do so," Erica noted. "And since I watch a lot of outdoor TV, I was interested in one particular show where a buck was attracted to a doe decoy. I felt strongly that a decoy might work, so I purchased a Flambeau Redi-Doe. I also bought some doe-in-heat mixture marketed by Wildlife Research for us to use with the decoy."

Chad was highly in favor of using the decoy because he'd had good results decoying in the past.

"I've used yearling-buck decoys and I've seen dominant bucks respond to them, so I felt that Erica's plan might just work," Chad said.

On the afternoon of Dec. 28, the wind was just right for hunting the blind overlooking the food plot.

"We put the Redi-Doe decoy out in the food plot and sprinkled the doe-in-heat on it and got back in the blind," Chad related. "Since the blind was too crowded for all four of us, Dillon decided to hunt another stand about 150 yards away. From the direction the wind was blowing, we knew the breeze would carry the doe scent into the thicket, and we hoped the buck would become curious enough to get up and check it out."

A PROUD YOUNG HUNTER
Chad, Erica and Shelby settled into the ground blind at about 3 p.m. Two hours later it was show time.

"At around 5 p.m., out he stepped from the thicket, and we all gasped," Chad said. "I remember whispering, 'My Lord, look at that!' "

The buck made a beeline for the decoy and offered a perfect shot when he turned broadside at 30 yards.

"We had already planned to let Shelby take the shot if one was offered," Chad said. "He was shooting a .270 Remington Model 700 loaded with 150-grain Core-Lokt bullets."

Shelby, who was already a seasoned deer hunter with at least 10 deer to his credit, performed like a pro when the deer stepped out of the thicket.

"I just tried to do like my dad had taught me and not look at the rack," Shelby explained. "Instead I tried to concentrate on his shoulder. I put the cross hairs where they belonged and squeezed the trigger. After the shot, the deer stumbled and took off, but he only ran about 50 yards. He didn't even make it out of the food plot."

It was celebration time as the three hunters gathered around the fallen monarch. The buck was rather thin from the rigors of the rut but still weighed 200 pounds. The massive rack contains 21 points with an inside spread of 17 2/8 inches. Basically the rack was scored as a main-frame 4x4 with a whopping 71 2/8 inches in non-typical growth. With heavy palmation, drop tines on both sides that add a lot of character, and great mass, the "wow" factor on Shelby's one-of-a-kind Mississippi monster is significant.

A TRUE MISSISSIPPI GIANT
After the 60-day drying period, Shelby's amazing whitetail grossed 218 5/8 non-typical inches and netted 207 6/8. This places the trophy within the top 15 all time for non-typicals taken in Mississippi.

Older brother Dillon was proud of his younger brother, but he couldn't help being a little disappointed that he didn't get a crack at the big buck.

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