"I knew Tyler was discouraged, but we decided to ride some of the big strip sites and see if we could spot any deer feeding," Tom said. "While riding across one strip of about 400 to 500 acres, we spotted three deer slightly over a hundred yards away, standing in a small cluster of trees right in the middle of the site. Two of the deer were bucks, one much bigger than the other. I kept thinking, at any minute they were going to run before Tyler could get out of the truck and find a solid rest for his rifle."

Fortunately, the deer remained motionless as the young hunter maneuvered into position. At the shot, all three deer jumped into the air and quickly disappeared into the trees and high grass.

Tyler thought he had missed, but after walking a short distance through the brush and grass, they found the big whitetail lying dead.

The buck has a massive 6x7 typical frame that includes 26-inch main beams, 9-inch paired G-3s, plus four additional tines that tape between 8 2/8 and 7 2/8 inches. It grosses a tremendous total of 174 7/8, but asymmetry deductions, plus 7 3/8 inches of abnormal points, drop the final B&C score to 164 0/8. This qualifies the deer for B&C's Awards record book and ranks it as the biggest whitetail ever recorded for Leslie County.

For Tyler, it's hard to imagine how the young hunter could have experienced a better start to a brand-new year.

Find more about Kentucky fishing and hunting at: KentuckyGameandFish.com