Last year, during the second week of the season, Aaron Kirk was running late for an afternoon hunt in Caldwell County. Instead of driving through deer-inhabited terrain to reach the stand he had planned to use, Kirk parked his vehicle and sat down in a nearby tree-lined fencerow bordering a 40-acre grown-up Conservation Reserve Program field.

Previously, while on his way home from another evening hunt in the same general area, he had briefly glimpsed a buck as it was leaving the field. Although he'd never actually hunted that particular site, he now decided to give it a try.

"After sitting there for about an hour, I stood up to stretch my legs," Kirk said. "As I did, I immediately spotted a large buck about 120 yards away, thrashing a small tree sapling with its antlers."

The deer was standing in a low depression in the field. As the hunter looked on, he suddenly spotted a doe between himself and the buck.

Realizing there was no way he could make an offhand shot of that distance, he decided to wait and hope the buck would move in his direction, toward the doe.

"That's exactly what happened," Kirk said. "As the buck walked out of the low area, I could gradually see its rack, its head, and then the top of its back above the field grass. I had my rifle braced solidly against the fence. And when I could clearly see the deer's body, I fired. After running a short distance, the buck went down."

The big whitetail's rack includes 15 points, 12 of which make up the basic typical frame. The antlers exhibit exceptional mass, with all eight circumference measurements falling between 5 6/8 and 4 5/8 inches.

Beam and tine length are also impressive. After grossing 188 0/8, the rack nets a final non-typical B&C score of 180 1/8.

Find more about Kentucky fishing and hunting at KentuckyGameandFish.com