Chuck Hamstra arrowed his great buck in early November 2008 during the peak of the rut. On the afternoon of his hunt, Chuck didn't have time to change out of his work clothes before heading to his tree stand. The 21-point megabuck had a 6x5 frame with 10 additional abnormal points. The rack grossed 202 5/8 inches and netted 181 4/8 after deductions. The right antler grossed 98 5/8 inches as compared to the previous year's shed antler, which scored 113 4/8 inches. The old monarch was definitely going downhill.

Situated in northwestern Illinois a stone's throw from Albany and the Mississippi River, Chuck Hamstra's farm encompasses the same rolling terrain where his grandparents settled during the early 1930s. Over the years, in addition to maintaining the family's farming lifestyle and strong work ethic, Chuck also developed a passion for hunting, especially deer hunting.

"Neither my father or grandfather were hunters, so I'm not sure what happened with me," Chuck said with a laugh. "I must have picked up an extra gene or two from somewhere. But whatever the reason, I seem to have passed the interest on to my children and grandchildren."

The Hamstra farming landscape includes numerous agricultural fields of various sizes interspersed with small-acreage woodlots, brushy ravines, CRP lands and winding tree-lined creek drainages. In regard to whitetails, the habitat simply couldn't be much better.

The farm's home site, which is centrally located along a high ridgeline, originally included a stone farmhouse that was built in 1856. The stone house had been used by Chuck's parents and grandparents. Unfortunately, it was completely destroyed in 1996 by a tornado. The monster storm also eliminated several nearby buildings and barns, plus two large silos. A new house and farm buildings have since been rebuilt on the same site.

With agricultural fields nearly surrounding the ridgetop location, it is fairly common for Chuck or his wife Judy to spot deer from the house or barn. For the most part, these are incidental sightings made at various times throughout the year, but occasionally a buck that warrants special attention is sighted.

A NEAR MISS ON A CHARMED BUCK
During the fall of 2006, Chuck was working on equipment near the barn when he happened to see a large buck crossing one of the open fields. Gun season was open, and he assumed that hunters on one of the adjoining properties had probably jumped the deer.

"The buck was well over 200 yards away," Chuck said. "But even at that distance and without the aid of binoculars, I could tell that the deer's rack was obviously very large. I continued to watch the buck until he eventually disappeared into a brushy drainage ravine between two of our fields. After several minutes elapsed without seeing him reappear, I was pretty confidant that he had bedded down in the thick cover."

Chuck immediately contacted his two sons, David and Kevin, and told them what he had seen and where he thought the buck was located. Grabbing their shotguns, the two hunters walked to the lower end of the ravine. They split up, one man on each side of the thick, brushy cover, and slowly began to advance toward the spot where their dad had last seen the deer.

"The buck came busting out on my youngest son's side (Kevin), and he missed the deer completely," Chuck said. "Later, he told me that he'd gotten close enough to get a pretty decent look at the buck's heavy rack, and he said it appeared to include at least two drop tines.

"From my high vantage point, I had continued to watch the buck cross two additional fields and go into a distant block of woods on a bordering farm. Earlier that day, I had seen other hunters at the same location, and I naturally assumed it would be only a matter of time until the shooting started. But surprisingly, not a shot was fired! I have always been amazed at how an animal the size of a mature whitetail buck can somehow go undetected in relatively sparse cover, especially a fairly open woodlot."

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