Devin Key of Stockbridge hunted in the wind and rain to down this 24-point non-typical with a shotgun. Photo by Bill Cooper.

Two years ago Devin Key experienced an event that many deer hunters across the Peach State can relate to. He lost his deer lease.

While that alone is a big problem, along with it comes the even bigger dilemma of finding another hunting location. Living near Stockbridge, on the outskirts of the Atlanta suburbs, didn't help the situation. High population growth and development has basically placed all land there into two categories: Either no hunting is allowed, or the hunting rights have already been acquired.

"I've been hunting since my teens, and it really bothered me not having a reliable place to go whenever I had a day off," Key said. "I really wasn't interested in a big club, just a small acreage location that I could occasionally hunt and take my two boys, Colt and Cal, that are 12 and 9."

Finally, last October, Key was given permission to deer hunt a small block of land only a short distance from his home. The landowner's only stipulation was that he could only use a bow or shotgun.

"At the time, gun season had just opened the previous weekend," Key noted. "I had an afternoon off, so I decided to do a little scouting, put up a ladder stand for my son, and hunt the remainder of the evening. However, just as I was about to leave, I got a call from David McCoy, my preacher at Peoples Baptist Church in McDonough. He was out of town and had just gotten a call from his 82-year-old father. During an apparent burglary, his dad's door had been kicked down and he asked if I could help with getting it repaired and the house secured. I assured him that I would."

Being a general contractor, Key knew he had time to make a quick stop at the hunting land to set up the ladder stand before continuing on to take care of the door repair. During his initial trip to the property, he had found a couple of small rubs and one scrape near a thick stand of young pines. After parking the truck, he picked up the ladder and headed straight for that location.

"As I approached the pines, I was really amazed at the dramatic increase in buck sign," Key said. "Immediately evident were several freshly rubbed trees and two or three large scrapes. Normally, I prefer to position the stand a fairly good distance away from that type of sign, just to make sure there's no possibility of spooking any deer. But in this instance, knowing the distance limitations of a shotgun, I realized that wasn't an option."

After getting the stand secured, Key drove to the elder McCoy's home, took a few measurements, picked up a new door from a nearby home supply store, and by 9 o'clock that night the job was completed. Earlier, the church's assistant pastor, Ray Turner, had also stopped by to offer his help. As Key was leaving, Ray stopped and shook his hand.

"Devin, the Lord's going to bless you so much for helping God's man," he said. "The next time you go hunting, you're going to kill one big as two 10-pointers."

The following morning, Key awoke to sounds of wind and rain. Weather reports indicated a strong storm system was beginning to move through the North Georgia area.

"It sounded like the wind was blowing 100 miles an hour and the rain was pouring down," Key said. "I checked the local weather reports and radars for any forecast of possible severe weather or tornadoes.