Andy Sheldon of Sidney, Iowa, arrowed the buck of a lifetime in Fremont County. The 22-point giant has a 5x4 main frame with 13 abnormal points. The massive rack grossed 229 7/8 inches and netted 217 7/8 P&Y points.

When Andy Sheldon took off one afternoon to go hunting last November, he never expected to see, much less shoot, the buck of a lifetime. Not only did he end up shooting his biggest deer ever, but the 22-point non-typical also turned out to be the third-largest buck taken by bow in Iowa during the 2008 season.

"Fremont County, Iowa, has never been known for having huge deer," Andy said. "In fact, if anyone shoots anything bigger than 160 inches it's generally in the Loess Hills area 15 miles away from where we hunt.

"While shed hunting with my kids Mason and Quinn last spring, I found a large shed antler from a deer I hadn't ever seen before. The property has been in the family for three generations, and none of us could ever remember seeing a deer of that caliber. So you can only imagine how excited I was to find the shed. My nephew, Luke Sheldon, told me about a big buck he had seen in 2007, but I hadn't confirmed that a big deer existed on our property until I found that shed."

A FAMILY AFFAIR
"While growing up, deer hunting became a family tradition," Andy continues. "My dad got me started at the age of 11, and I shot my first deer that same year. We set up a trailer on our property some years ago, and we call it the 'Sheldon Deer Camp.' It's not much, but it's become a place where family and friends meet before and after every hunt.

"I've taken several big deer over the years, but my priorities changed when my 13-year-old son, Mason, and my 11-year-old daughter, Quinn, started hunting. Instead of concentrating on hunting for myself, my goal shifted to teaching them about the outdoors.

For the most part, I now take both kids hunting nearly every time I go. Mason is old enough to hunt from a stand by himself, but Quinn isn't strong enough yet to pull a bow, so we generally hunt together from a popup blind. She hunts for turkeys while I hunt for deer.

"For the most part, our property is as flat as a pancake because it parallels a river. I've been hunting the same ground for 34 years and I know it well. Rubs, scrapes and trails usually show up in the same places every year, so most of those spots have become key stand sites, some for 10 years or more. Other than spring shed hunting and hanging stands in September, I generally steer clear of those areas until the season opens."

GOOD MANAGEMENT
"We started practicing quality deer management several years ago by shooting more does and fewer young bucks. In the last three years or so, I started seeing it pay off with a more balanced buck-to-doe ratio and bigger bucks!

"The deer in our neck of the woods have never been very responsive to calls. And in the past it was rare to see more than one buck chasing or attempting to breed a doe. Last season, however, I watched three or four bucks chasing the same doe on more than one occasion. It was also the first year I had a buck respond to rattling or grunt calls. So I guess you could say our management program is working.

"We farm about 2,000 acres. Since fall harvest comes at the same time as hunting season, my brothers and I can't all hunt at the same time, so we share the workload around the farm. If one of us wants to go hunting, someone else fills in by doing the chores.

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