"When I reached the location, I poured the remainder of the doe estrus in the scrapes and on my boots," Barnett said. "About 75 yards down the old road from my tree stand location, a big oak tree had recently fallen. Fortunately, I was able to sit under the tree, near the stump and be partially shielded from the heavy rain."

Shortly after 3 p.m., with the relentless rain still pelting down, the hunter detected a flicker of movement off to his extreme right. Slowly turning his head in that direction, the view sent a sudden shock wave through his nervous system; standing only 30 feet away was a giant buck!

"I was facing in the wrong direction, with my rifle under a rain cover between my legs," Barnett said. "I decided my only hope was to remain still and allow the deer to move far enough off so that I could maneuver into some sort of shooting position."

Obviously not alarmed but very alert, the big whitetail began to slowly move away from the fallen tree; taking short deliberate steps, with its head low near the ground. Frozen in position, the hunter continued to watch the buck out of the corner of his eye.

"From its actions, I really believe the deer was scenting the doe estrus I had poured out," Barnett said. "When the buck got about 45 yards away, I took the rifle out and rolled around onto my knees. By this time, my excitement level had reached a point that I was shaking too bad to shoot off hand. Luckily, I was able to brace the rifle against part of the tree. When I pulled the trigger, the deer dropped in its tracks."

Walking to where the giant buck was lying, Barnett no longer felt the rain and cold. All of the work and time now seemed irrelevant, and perhaps best of all, he had taken the buck of a lifetime on his family's land.

The awesome rack includes 20 scorable points, 10 of which comprise the basic typical frame. The long main beams exceed 27 inches, and the inside spread is 19 2/8 inches. The tine length is excellent, with four tines measuring between 10 7/8 and 9 1/8 inches. Antler mass throughout the entire rack is exceptional, too. For example, two of the eight circumference measurements exceed 6 inches, and four are greater than 5 inches.

In regard to scoring, the typical frame grosses 178 3/8 and nets 170 4/8. After including the 10 additional abnormal points, totaling 29 4/8 inches, the buck's final non-typical Boone and Crockett (B&C) score is 200 0/8. This qualifies the deer for B&C's Awards and All-Time record books, and ranks it as the state's No. 2 non-typical for the 2008 season. Additionally, it stands as the biggest non-typical whitetail ever recorded from Rockcastle County.

ROGER LONG'S 17-POINTER
Well before dawn on the second morning of the gun deer season, Roger Long of Madisonville climbed into a familiar hillside tree stand on his land in Hopkins County. At daybreak, he was amazed to see that a large cedar tree directly in front of the stand had been freshly raked and rubbed sometime during the night.