May said he saw the big 11-pointer he arrowed last fall on one occasion the previous year. He was bowhunting from a ground blind on Nov. 4, 2005, when the big buck crossed a road from a neighboring property. But when the buck saw May's truck parked on the edge of a field, the deer returned to where it came from.

Realizing how terrific the first days of November are for killing big bucks, May said he normally hunts all day during that period. However, the wind wasn't cooperating in the spot he picked to hunt during the morning of Nov. 5, 2006. He tries to be as scent-free as possible, including wearing Scent-Blocker clothing, but he still doesn't like it when the wind blows toward where he expects to see deer. So, May left that location and was scouting the property where he had seen the big buck the year before when he found some hot sign.

"I was scouting around noon when I found some huge tracks, fresh scrapes and four rubs on trees the size of my thigh," May said. "I could tell the rubs and scrapes had been made recently. I had been there a day or two earlier and they weren't there.

"The rubs and three scrapes were all in a 30-yard area at the corner of a 100-acre cornfield, an overgrown pasture and a patch of hardwood trees," May continued. "I carry an extra Lone Wolf stand and climbing sticks in my truck for when I find a hotspot like that. I got them right away and set them up downwind from the buck sign. I thought the buck that made the sign was close. I usually carry a deer decoy with me, too. I set that up in the overgrown pasture. It's a Delta buck decoy with a little 8-point rack."

May moved into position as quietly as possible. He was ready for action 22 feet from the ground by 1 p.m. He sat quietly while waiting for something to happen. Then about 3:30, he decided to do some rattling.

"As soon as I rattled, I heard something coming in the corn about 100 yards away," May said. "I couldn't tell what it was, but it was coming fast, so I got ready. When it got closer, I could see the cornstalks moving.

"It proved to be the biggest buck I've ever seen," May continued. "As soon as he came out of the corn, he made eye contact with the decoy. He did some aggressive posturing and then started circling downwind. It was perfect. He gave me a 15-yard shot. When the arrow hit, he took off running into the hardwoods. His antlers became caught on a big limb that broke, and it sounded like a gunshot. When the limb broke, he did a somersault and went down for good."

May actually surprised himself with his coolness.

"I was surprised at how calm I was when I shot him," May said. "Only about 30 seconds elapsed between the time I rattled and the time I shot him. But after I saw him go down, I really started shaking."

May shot the whitetail with a Blackhawk Vapor carbon arrow tipped with an expandable Rocket Sidewinder broadhead out of his 70-pound-pull Hoyt Trykon bow. The bow is equipped with a three-pin Vital Gear sight. May shoots the bow with a Truball Release.

The buck had a dressed weight of 190 pounds, and its age was estimated at 4 1/2 years old. When May saw the buck in 2004, he thought the antlers would score in the 140s. Thus, in two years, the rack added over 20 inches of gross mass.

Editor's Note: For more reading on Michigan's trophy bucks -- including Jackson County's biggest racks -- refer to the four-book series of Great Michigan Deer Tales. Ordering information is available online at www.richardpsmith.com.)