Bowhunter Tony Moore took this awesome 21-point buck while hunting in Crittenden County last year. His trophy scores 185 2/8 Pope and Young points. Photo by Bill Cooper.

Last year, during the first week of September, Tony Moore and a companion were doing food plot-work on some hunting land in Crittenden County. While taking a late-afternoon break, the men were shocked to see a large buck walk out of the woods about 60 yards away.

“The deer quickly spotted us and left, but not before I got a good look at its rack,” Tony said. “The size of the buck really surprised me, because I had never seen the deer before, or found any of its sheds.”

The plot had been planted in a clover-and-oats mixture, basically in the shape of a half-circle, with woods surrounding two sides and a large thicket covering the middle of the circle. A deer stand is located in a huge oak that stands at one end of the opening, not far from where the buck had been sighted.

“The stand has been in that oak for at least 17 years,” Moore noted. “During that time, I have arrowed a number of deer from there, including three exceptional bucks. But none were in the size-class of the big deer we had seen that afternoon.”

The one absolute requirement for hunting the oak stand was a prevailing north wind. But for several days following the buck’s sighting, the weather chose not to cooperate.

Finally, after 10 days, a fairly strong front passed through the state, dramatically dropping temperatures and bringing the desired shift in wind direction.

After climbing into position around mid-afternoon, the hunter immediately began seeing deer. Several does and a few small bucks appeared first, with a 130-class, 10-pointer eventually joining them.

About an hour later, a larger 10-pointer, still in velvet, walked into view. The big whitetail was following close behind.

“Since the first sighting, the buck had stripped all the velvet off its rack. However, it was certainly no less impressive,” Moore said. “For some time, the deer remained just out of shooting range, which was nerve-wracking, to say the least.

“Finally, the buck began heading in my direction and approached to within 25 yards, before pausing momentarily to look at a doe. Already locked into shooting position, I immediately released the arrow.”

At the shot, the buck bolted forward and disappeared into the woods. The rest of the deer also quickly cleared out of the plot.

Although the hunter felt good about the shot, he was surprised he hadn’t seen or heard the deer go down.

“I shoot a Phantom broadhead, and most of the time, a deer never goes over 50 yards,” Moore said. “I became more concerned after picking up my arrow. Instead of it being completely covered with blood, there was a mixed coating that actually appeared to be more green than red.”

Unsure of his exact shot placement, and not wanting to take any unnecessary chances, the hunter decided to leave the deer alone for the night and return the following morning. During the night, unfortunately, rain washed out all signs of the blood trail.

Beginning at daybreak the following morning, Moore and a companion searched over three hours for the deer -- without success. With no real idea of where or how far the buck had gone, the hunter decided to contact Steve Winbigler to inquire about the possible use of his tracking dogs.

“I met Steve in Henderson and brought him down to the hunting tract,” Moore related. “He had two dogs -- a bloodhound and a Labrador retriever -- and they seemed to get on the trail immediately.

“I had assumed the buck probably stayed with the rest of the deer after leaving the plot. But to my surprise, the dogs headed off in the exact opposite direction.”