"Although I hunted every weekend, I stayed out of that specific area during the first few weeks of the season," Patrick said. "I had scheduled several days of leave just before Thanksgiving so I could concentrate my hunting when rut activity was near peak. Normally, we see a lot of bucks moving around that time of the month and I was hoping the big deer might be one of them."

By Thanksgiving Day, Patrick had logged an inordinate number of hunting hours in all sections of the farm, including the hardwood ridge and swamp area. While he had seen numerous deer, the buck he was looking for remained missing.

"To my knowledge, the deer had not been sighted on any of the adjacent properties either." Patrick remarked. "At that point in time, I assumed the buck had probably returned to wherever it went the previous year."

The following morning was clear and cold, and Patrick decided to give the hardwood ridge near the swamp another try. Shortly after daybreak he did a little rattling, but only a couple of small bucks responded.

"Several does and another small buck or two passed along the ridge later in the morning," Patrick related. "About nine o'clock, I watched a big bobcat ease along the edge of the swamp bottom and eventually moved on out of sight."

Minutes after the bobcat had disappeared, two yearlings appeared, feeding slowly along the ridge. Both deer abruptly stopped, directly in front of the hunter's stand and began staring out across the swamp.

"The deer continued standing there, motionless, for some time, and I kept trying to figure out what they were looking at," Patrick said. "Thinking back on the situation, they may have either seen or smelled the bobcat. I happened to glance off to my right, and was shocked to suddenly see a very big buck standing down the ridge about 75 yards away. At the time, I had no idea it was the buck I had been hunting because the deer's head was down and partially hidden by high grass and weeds. However, I could see enough rack to know the buck was a definite shooter."

The hunter managed to twist his body to the right; however, the small platform of the ladder stand made it impossible for him to maneuver his knee upward to act as a solid shooting brace. By this time, the buck had turned and was within a few steps of moving out of sight.

"I had no choice but to shoot off-hand from the position I was in," Patrick said. "When I fired, the buck dropped instantly. At that point, I was really excited because I had seen enough of the rack to know it was the big deer I had been hunting."

The hunter remained in the stand for a few minutes, primarily to regain his composure. After shouldering the rifle, he grabbed his backpack and climbed to the ground, only to see the buck suddenly jump up and begin running.

"I couldn't believe it," Patrick remarked. "Fortunately, after going a short distance, the deer happened to stop where I could get another shot, and I dropped the buck again, this time for good."

As earlier estimated, the buck's rack included 13 scorable points. Official antler measurements include 26-inch main beams, an 18 5/8-inch inside spread, impressive 8-inch brows (G-1s), and paired G-3s that exceed 11 inches.