About an hour after Bertram had settled in his stand, a sudden flash of movement farther down the ridgeline attracted his attention. Within seconds, he spotted a buck -- a very large buck -- in a fast walk, about 100 yards away and moving through the timber directly toward him!

"One glance, even at that distance, and it was immediately obvious that the deer's rack was huge," Bertram said. "From that point on, my only focus was being able to get a decent shot opportunity at the buck."

Having hunted whitetails for a number of years, Bertram could tell from the deer's deliberate stride and quick pace that there was little chance of it stopping.

Another important consideration was the property boundary, which happened to be less than 100 yards behind his stand, in the same direction the buck was heading.

"I knew I would be in trouble if the buck somehow managed to get past me," Bertram said.

"However, in spite of the brisk wind, I was locked into a pretty steady shooting position. And as the deer passed into a clear area on the hillside, 60 yards away, I fired."

Located near the top of the ridge and from 20 feet above the ground, the hunter's shooting angle was sharply downward. As a result, the bullet struck high on the buck's back, near the spine, dropping the big deer instantly.

"As the buck fell, its head flipped backward. That was when I noticed the big drop tine for the first time," Bertram noted. "I was excited to the point that I'm still not exactly sure how I got out of the tree. But I know I was on the ground within seconds."

Bertram made a quick call on his cell phone to request help. Within 25 minutes his father-in-law arrived on the ridge. After taking a long look at the giant whitetail, Pickens smiled and said, "Now, this is what dreams are made of."

Later, the rack's official measurements put his comment into perspective. The exceptionally long main beams tape 28 inches and the inside spread is 21 5/8 inches.

However, tine length is what places this buck in a special class. For example, the brow tines measure 10 2/8 and 9 2/8 inches, followed by paired 15-inch G-2s, and G-3s of 10 6/8 and 9 4/8 inches. Antler mass is impressive throughout the entire rack.

The basic 8-point typical frame grosses an amazing total of 183 4/8 and nets 179 3/8. If the rack had no abnormal points, this score would rank the buck as Kentucky's biggest 8-pointer ever. However, there are six abnormal points, including a 7 6/8 inch drop tine, that total 18 inches.

This brings the deer's final non-typical B&C score to 197 3/8, qualifying it for B&C's Awards and All-Time record books.

Interestingly, the buck's "signature" drop tine is on the right antler, while the big buck sighted in 2005 had a long drop tine on the left antler.

Whether or not this is the same deer is a question that could be answered during the 2007 season!

While Bertram was elated at having taken the huge whitetail, he was also disappointed that he hadn't been able to produce a deer for James.

That situation was solved early the following morning when the two hunters climbed the ridge and sat underneath Bertram's stand at the base of the big cedar. Shortly after daybreak, the young hunter took an impressive 6-pointer on the same trail the big whitetail had followed.

"At that moment," Bertram said. "I don't believe there were two happier hunters in the state of Kentucky."

AARON KIRK'S CALDWELL COUNTY 15-POINTER
With whitetail hunting, sometimes a last-minute decision ends up placing a hunter in the right place at the right time.