Andy May's 11-point buck had a final score of 158 7/8 net typical inches. It was the highest-scoring bow-killed typical known taken in Michigan last year. Photo courtesy of Andy May. Andy May's 11-point buck had a final score of 158 7/8 net typical inches. It was the highest-scoring bow-killed typical known taken in Michigan last year. Photo courtesy of Andy May.

The autumn of 2006 was a memorable one for Andy May of Jackson when it comes to deer hunting. Last fall, May killed his best bucks ever with a bow and with a firearm in Michigan. In addition to those deer, May also arrowed a trophy whitetail in Illinois last year.

The highlight of May's 2006 season was his highest-scoring Michigan bow kill. The fact that he put an arrow through the record-book buck from a spur-of-the-moment stand setup made it special, and because it was May's 29th birthday, it was extra-special.

If the big 11-pointer May arrowed on the afternoon of Nov. 5, 2006, isn't Michigan's No. 1 typical bow kill for last year, it will be a surprise because nobody brought a higher-scoring typical rack to our state's spring deer shows. The rack has a gross score of 168 7/8 typical inches, but because of lack of symmetry from one beam to the other, it netted 158 7/8 inches. Tines on the left beam are much longer than those on the right side. Differences in tine lengths of matching points count as deductions in the Pope and Young and Boone and Crockett scoring systems. The rack has 1 non-typical point, which is also a deduction on the typical rack. Even with 10 inches of deductions, the May buck only falls 1 1/8 inches shy of qualifying for B&C's awards program. It easily qualifies for listing in the national bow-and-arrow records maintained by P&Y (125-inch minimum) and the state records compiled by Commemorative Bucks of Michigan (100-inch minimum).

Jackson County is one of our state's best big-buck producers. A total of 11 typical racks scoring more than 170 inches -- the minimum for all-time listing in B&C records -- are in state records from that county, including the current state record and four bow kills. May's birthday buck ranks 10th among bow kills for Jackson County, according to the seventh edition of Michigan Big-Game Records.

The 11-pointer May arrowed in 2006 was not the only book buck he has killed with archery gear in Michigan. In fact, May has done amazingly well for only having bowhunted for 10 years. He has seven bucks in state records, and five of those also qualify for P&Y records. Most of them have been taken in Jackson County, but one came from Hillsdale County and two were taken in Kalamazoo County. His best buck before last fall was an 11-pointer he arrowed in Hillsdale County on Oct. 1, 2003, netting 147 inches. He has also dropped whitetails during bow season netting 137, 135 and 125 inches.

"I hunt a lot," May said, while trying to explain his success. "I have a job that allows me to get out every evening."

May does a good deal of scouting, which enables him to pinpoint spots where he thinks he has a good chance of connecting on mature bucks. Some of his time involves seeking permission to hunt private property. Once he obtains permission to hunt a parcel, he examines the terrain on maps, aerial photos and on foot. May said he does a lot of scouting in the spring when buck sign made the previous fall is still visible. He often positions tree stands at that time, too, based on the sign he sees. However, when he killed the 11-pointer in Hillsdale County in 2003, he wasn't able to put a stand up until summer.

Upon seeing the two bucks, May pulled his bow back up to himself without alerting the deer. One of the pair of whitetails was walking directly under his stand as he untied the rope from the bow. The second buck was 10 yards away when May put an arrow through its lungs.

May put that tree stand in a funnel of woods between two corn fields that led to an alfalfa field. He figured it would be a perfect travel route for whitetails to use between bedding and feeding areas, and he proved to be correct.

On the evening May took the buck that scored 147 inches, he had actually lowered his bow and arrows to the ground on a rope when he suddenly saw a pair of "shooters" coming toward him from 50 yards away. Even though there were about 10 minutes of shooting time left, there had been a lull in deer activity and May was planning on trying to get out of there without spooking any whitetails, so that's why he lowered his bow to the ground. Upon seeing the two bucks, May pulled his bow back up to himself without alerting the deer. One of the pair of whitetails was walking directly under his stand as he untied the rope from the bow. The second buck was 10 yards away when May put an arrow through its lungs.

Although May has taken some mature bucks during Michigan's firearms season, their antlers have always been smaller than his bow kills. He said the genetics for antler development doesn't seem to be as good in the Jackson County location where he hunts during gun season. The 9-pointer he smoked with a muzzleloader on Nov. 15, 2006, for example, was aged at 3 1/2 years old, but its antlers only netted 118 inches -- his best gun kill. He shot another 3 1/2-year-old 9-pointer in the same spot in 2005 with a lopsided rack that would have scored much lower.