GREEN HAMLIN'S TROPHY
Unlike today, when Green Hamlin was growing up during the 1930s and '40s, whitetails were nonexistent in the countryside around his family's Clay County farm near Manchester. Employment opportunities eventually made it necessary that Green move to Ohio, but he kept track of the growing deer population in his home state. During the 1960s, as several of Kentucky's eastern counties were opened to limited hunting, he made plans for a Bluegrass deer hunt.

In November of 1966, Green -- along with two brother-in-laws, Wilber and Marvin Allen -- headed south for a weekend deer hunt. However, an unforeseen problem nearly derailed the hunt before it even started.

"It happened to be Veterans' Day," Green remembered, "and most stores and offices were closed for the holiday. We were unable to locate any type of business that sold hunting licenses." Late that afternoon, when the men stopped for gas in Richmond, the station attendant asked if they were planning on doing some hunting. After Green explained their license dilemma, the man offered to call a friend of his who ran a hardware store in nearby Berea. Luckily, the store had exactly three unsold licenses.

"That fellow couldn't have been nicer," Green remarked. "He even insisted that we wait until he closed the station, so he could go with us to make sure we found the store."

As it turned out, the station attendant and a companion had planned to deer hunt the following morning in Wayne County, which had only a one-day season. They encouraged Green and his brother-in-laws to go with them. After a short discussion, the men accepted the invitation.

The group of men drove to the designated location that night and, after sleeping a few hours in the truck, walked approximately two miles back into land that was part of the national forest, not far from Cumberland Lake. Green selected a stand site along a wooded ridgeline. But around midmorning, he decided to move to a different location.

"Around 11 o'clock, I sat down at the base of a large beech tree," Green said. "There had been a heavy frost that morning, but the sun had warmed things up a bit. After sitting there a few minutes, I drifted off to sleep."

The hunter's nap was suddenly interrupted by several shots from just beyond an adjacent ridge. Not knowing exactly where the other hunters were located or from which direction they were shooting, Green moved around to the opposite side of the tree.

No sooner had he gotten settled, than he spotted a flicker of movement on the opposite hillside. A closer look revealed a large buck approximately 150 yards away, walking up the hill toward the top of the ridge. Obviously, the deer was also concerned about the nearby shots, since it had stopped and was looking back in that direction.

Green was using a new Model 94 Winchester, without a scope, which he had purchased a few months earlier for $60. Although he had spent considerable time practicing with the rifle, his first shot missed the buck completely.