Mike Riley poses with his trophy 14-point bow-killed buck, which scores 167 1/8 in the typical category. Photo by Kathy Butt.

On the afternoon of Nov. 7, just four days before the opening of Kentucky's 2006 rifle season, Mike Riley grabbed his bow and headed to one of his favorite hunting spots. Riley was filled with great anticipation of an active afternoon, primarily because of a major change in the weather and the fact that the rut was about to kick into full swing.

This particular afternoon, Riley headed to his stand much earlier than usual. It was much cooler, the air was drizzly and damp, and as Riley approached his tree stand, he was surprised to see the deer already out feeding. This was definitely encouraging!

He had been watching deer for almost two hours when he spotted an impressive buck at the far end of the food plot. When the sportsman pulled out his binoculars to take a closer look, he quickly realized he'd seen this buck before. On two different occasions, he'd captured footage of the same buck on his Cuddeback digital game monitor.

Many in the Russellville area know Mike Riley for his love of the outdoors and his passion for hunting, but in Logan County, he is perhaps more recognized for his successful auction and realty business. During the last three to four years, Riley has also developed a booming business for locating and listing prime hunting properties in the Bluegrass State.

Riley devotes much of his time to his family and business, yet spends as much time as possible in the woods each spring and fall. He's almost as passionate about spring turkey season as he is about his deer season. He quickly admits he feels blessed to have a wife who's been so understanding and tolerant of his passion for hunting.

When talking to Riley, it's also quite obvious that spending time with his family is at the top of his agenda. So now that his 9-year-old son Michael has also become interested in hunting, Riley squeezes in as much father/son time in the woods as he can. Michael shares his dad's passion for hunting, so he totally understands why his dad spends much of his spare time in his deer stand each fall.

And this year's deer season was turning out to be one of his dad's most exciting ever!

Mature bucks typically become more active with the onset of the pre-rut (normally occurring the first of November in Kentucky). Knowing that, and the arrival of a major cold front, were factors that boosted Riley's optimism and gave him high hope of seeing the buck during daylight hours. Perhaps he'd even being so lucky as to see the buck standing within bow range.

Riley realizes he's fortunate to own and lease prime properties in the Logan County area. Deciding where to hunt is often difficult, but capturing this elusive buck for the second time on camera prompted him to concentrate primarily on the spot where the buck had shown up once again.

"Last year, I got two pictures of what looked to be a really nice deer that had 6 points on each side, and I'm sure it's the same deer. Both pictures captured on film last year were taken on the same night. When I got the picture this year and first looked at it, it looked as though it was a 5x5. I showed the photo to a couple of my hunting buddies. We all agreed that it looked as though it would score as a 160-class deer. And after seeing this latest photo, I decided I would spend all the time I could on this farm hunting this particular deer."

The day Riley finally came face to face with the elusive buck is one he's sure to remember for years to come.

"It was a misty, drizzly, messy afternoon," he recalls, "but the wind was right for hunting this spot. The deer activity was non-stop. I saw a lot of deer, and a lot of bucks cruising.

"I had a good friend of mine, one of my best bowhunting buddies, Phillip Pillow, hunting with me that afternoon. It was close to 3 p.m., when we got to our stands. There were deer already in the field.

"Late in the afternoon, I looked across the grown-up field and saw what I knew was a good buck entering the field. I picked up the binoculars to get a better look. I quickly realized it was the same deer I'd gotten pictures of on my digital camera. When I first saw the buck, he was approximately 200 yards away and veering away from my stand."

Riley knew he had to act fast and quickly pulled his Lost River Game Calls buck grunt out of his jacket. "I hit that call until I saw the buck stop and look in my direction," he recalls.

"I'm a firm believer in using a grunt call at this time of the year; I'll normally grunt at a buck until he stops. Then I call once more to reel him in. It worked! The buck turned in my direction, left the grown-up field and entered the food plot.

"He was approximately 100 yards from my stand, but turned again and headed away from my stand. I grunted one more time, and he did an about-face and headed straight for me, just as though he was on a string.