By Bill Cooper

In the twilight of late evening, Randy Lewis slowly made his way down the snow-covered hillside. It was mid- January and the last day of the 2001-02 bow season. Glancing from side to side as he walked, the hunter suddenly stopped and stared off through the trees; some 70 yards away, silhouetted against the snow, was the body of a very big deer.

"At first, nothing but the body was visible, but as I continued to watch, the deer lifted and turned its head, allowing me to see the outline of a giant set of antlers," Lewis said. "I had been hunting that particular location because of a huge buck the landowner had spotted in a nearby wheat field during December. Now, after finally determining the buck's whereabouts, the season was over."

In spite of the unfortunate timing, Lewis knew the deer was in an area where there was little likelihood of it being disturbed. With luck, the two would cross paths again in the fall.

Living along the Ohio River in South Portsmouth and hunting the rugged Lewis County hill country bordering the Cumberland Plateau, Lewis, unlike many bowhunters, normally bypasses the early weeks of bow season. Instead, he waits for the November rut and colder weather, when whitetails are on the move. Last fall, long-time friend and fellow bowhunter Rick Swearingen of Florida joined Lewis; the occasion marked the 23rd straight year the two men had hunted together.

"Except for the high hill where I sighted the buck in January, Rick and I hunted the same property for two weeks without ever getting a glimpse of the big whitetail," Lewis noted. "By that time, I had begun to be a little concerned that something might have happened to the deer."

Bowhunter Randy Lewis downed this giant whitetail in late December in Lewis County. After grossing 171 2/8, his fine trophy nets a final score of 158 2/8. Taxidermy by Floyd Bolander. Photo by Bill Cooper

Because of unfavorable wind directions, Swearingen waited over a week to hunt his favorite stand location. However, the long wait certainly proved worthwhile, as the hunter arrowed an impressive 140-class buck shortly before having to return home. Lewis continued to hunt the property, but the deer he was searching for remained a no-show.

"My plan was to stay off the hill until December, the same month the buck was first sighted in 2001," Lewis said. "However, on a rainy day in late November, I carried a stand halfway up the steep hillside and positioned it near the location where I had previously encountered the deer. I was confident the rain would quickly wash away my scent and I wanted to be ready in case the buck eventually turned up."

In mid-December, Lewis received the welcome news that the landowner had once again sighted the big buck in his wheat field. While the bowhunter was anxious to hunt the deer, the stand he had positioned required the wind to be either calm or blowing from the southeast. The last thing he wanted to do was risk alerting the buck without ever getting a shot opportunity.

Two days after Christmas, Lewis had planned an early-morning hunt just across the river in southern Ohio. However, after parking his vehicle and walking to the hunt location, he discovered someone had stolen his tree stand.

"I was pretty upset, but there wasn't much I could do other than return home," Lewis said. "On a more positive note, the weather forecast had called for very light winds that day and assuming that proved to be accurate, I planned to try my stand on the hillside for the first time."

As predicted, the afternoon was calm and by 4 p.m., the hunter was settled in position. The stand was located near the junction of three well-used deer trails, halfway up the steep hillside and approximately 400 yards above the wheat field where the buck had been seen.

"I had been in the stand about 30 minutes and as I looked up the hill, I saw a doe standing in the open about 60 yards away," Lewis said. "To this day, I don't understand how she got that close without me seeing her, but nevertheless, there she stood."

The doe eventually made her way down the hill, passing just to the right of the concealed archer, at 35 yards. After watching the deer continue on toward the distant wheat field, Lewis turned back around in the stand and almost immediately spotted another deer about 100 yards up the hill.

"The deer was standing with its head down and, initially, I thought it was another doe," Lewis explained. "But seconds later, it stepped forward into the open and I could see, even at that distance, a big set of antlers."

In no apparent hurry, the buck slowly made its way down the hill, moving through brushy pockets of saplings and saw briars, while avoiding openings whenever possible. As the deer advanced, Lewis cautiously raised his bow and adjusted his position in the stand.

Forty yards away, the buck abruptly stopped and surveyed the downhill terrain. At this point, the big whitetail had three choices: It could turn left and drop over the back side of the small ridge it was on, in which case, Lewis would have no shot possibility; it could continue straight ahead down the open ridge, as the doe had done, passing the stand at 35 yards; or it could turn right and take a path directly toward the hunter. With a sudden twitch of its tail, the buck swung to its right and headed in Lewis' direction.

"The deer was so close, I was afraid to move until it passed behind a tree, 20 yards in front of the stand," Lewis said. "At that time, I immediately came to full draw."

Just as the buck reappeared, Lewis whistled sharply, stopping the deer in its tracks, 18 yards away. Having already settled into a solid shooting position, the hunter quickly aligned the sight pin and released.

"I don't remember hearing the arrow hit, but I felt good about the shot," Lewis remarked. "The buck kicked backward with both legs, like a mule and then took off running down the side of the ridge. For a brief moment or two I became a little concerned at how well the deer appeared to be moving, but a few seconds after running out of sight, I heard him crash to the ground."

At that point, Lewis felt an immediate and overwhelming rush of relief from the seemingly hour-long minutes of nervous tension and suppressed excitement as he watched the huge deer approach. Now as he happily made his way to where the buck was lying, the hunter's thoughts raced ahead to a call he would be making to Florida and the exciting story he would tell his friend.

To be sure, a big part of the conversation would involve a description of the buck's awesome rack. Official antler measurements, taken after the required 60-day drying period, substantiate exactly how impressive the whitetail is.

The antlers have 11 scorable points, 10 of which comprise a basic 5x5 typical frame. The main beams, which measure 26 1/8 and 27 4/8 inches, hook inward forming antler spreads of 21 0/8 inches outside and 17 4/8 inches inside. Without question, tine length is the rack's most outstanding feature. For example, its brow tines (G-1s) tape an amazing 9 5/8 and 7 2/8 inches, followed by paired G-2s and G-3s, all of which measure between 12 0/8 and 10 5/8 inches. Antler mass is also impressive throughout the rack.

In regard to scoring, the rack grosses a superb total of 171 2/8. Unfortunately, asymmetry deductions, plus a 5 4/8-inch abnormal point on the left brow tine, significantly drop the final Pope and Young (P&Y) score to 158 2/8. Nevertheless, within Lewis County, which is well known for producing record-book bucks, Lewis' great whitetail stands as the second biggest typical ever taken by bow.

"Two to 3 inches of fresh snow was on the ground that morning," Higdon related. "I remember thinking it was the first snow of the season. Over the years, that (the first snow) always seemed to give me good luck in regard to taking a buck."

Positioned in a climbing stand 25 feet above the ground, the bowhunter was overlooking an area of dense undergrowth where timber had been selectively logged a year or so earlier. Deer trails leading from an adjacent hardwood hollow meandered through the brushy thickets below.

Shortly after daybreak, a group of seven does came out of the hollow and began moving through the undergrowth, some stopping occasionally to browse on clumps of honeysuckle vines. Eventually, they moved on past Higdon and disappeared over the top of the ridge.

"Not long after the does left, I began hearing the sounds of another deer down in the hollow," Higdon said. "I could tell the deer was walking my way and from the noise it was making I thought there was a good chance it might be a buck."

The deer walked into the edge of the cutover, approximately 30 yards from Higdon's stand. However, even at that relatively close distance, the hunter had a difficult time seeing through the thick vines and saplings.

"I could see well enough to identify the deer as a buck," Higdon noted. "And I finally managed to get a glimpse of an antler beam; I realized then the rack had to be pretty big."

As the hunter looked on, the buck suddenly stopped and turned in his direction. For several seconds the deer seemed to be staring directly at the stand.

"I thought the buck had somehow picked up my scent," Higdon said. "Luckily, that wasn't the case and after a minute or so it resumed walking."

Despite the thick cover, as the buck closed to within 20 yards, Higdon's elevated position provided him with shot opportunities through openings in the brush.

"The direction in which the buck was heading gave me a great broadside target," Higdon noted. "When I released, I saw the arrow hit almost exactly at my aiming point, and after a short run of about 45 yards the deer went down."

Everything happened so quickly; Higdon never had time to be excited. However, that wasn't the case once the action had ended.

"As the buck was running, it crossed an open ATV trail, giving me a clear look at its big rack," Higdon said. "That really got me excited and when the deer went down, I sort of lost control. I remember walking to where the buck was lying, but how I got out of the tree is a mystery."

Considering the buck had an 8-point rack that would rank it above all but a couple of the state's top 8-pointers, it's no wonder the bowhunter was excited. Antler measurements that include main beams of 24 4/8 and 25 0/8 inches, an awesome inside spread of 23 4/8 inches, and four tines that tape between 13 1/8 and 10 0/8 inches, contribute to a tremendous gross score of 173 7/8.

The problem, strictly from a measuring standpoint, is the rack has four additional abnormal points, totaling 12 3/8 inches. These, plus minor asymmetry deductions, significantly reduces the final P&Y score to 155 3/8. This is still an outstanding score for a basic 8-point frame and ranks Higdon's great whitetail as the all-time top typical bow kill for Daviess County.

Alerted by a slight noise behind the stand, the bowhunter turned just as a huge buck walked out of the woods and headed toward him. This, too, was a buck he instantly recognized from earlier sightings; while it was not the deer he had hoped to see, the buck was nevertheless a great trophy whitetail.

With the season about to end, Dobbs' options were obvious and his reaction predictable. Coming to full draw, he let the buck approach to within a short shooting distance before releasing his arrow.

By any measure, Dobbs' "second-choice" buck is a great trophy. The 6x5 typical frame has main beams of 27 and 26 inches, an antler spread of 21 6/8 inches outside and 18 4/8 inches inside. The rack's tine length is above average and antler mass is impressive, with all eight circumference measurements taping 4 4/8 inches or more.

The 11-point typical frame grosses a whopping 175 5/8 and nets, after significant asymmetry deductions, 161 4/8. The rack also has 8 4/8 inches of abnormal points, which can be added or subtracted from the score, depending on which trophy category, typical or non-typical, the deer enters. In this case, the rack would qualify for the P&Y record book in either category and Dobbs chose to enter the buck as a non-typical with a final P&Y score of 170 0/8.