TROPHY PHOTOS

Bill Major
Illinois Dream Buck

NAME: Bill Major WHERE FROM: Massachusetts HARVESTED: Illinois TYPE OF FIREARM OR BOW USED: PSE Vengeance with an 85 grain Grim Reaper vaper arrow tip SPECIES TYPE: Whitetail SIZE AND WEIGHT: 192 inches and will net some were around 182 inches and dressed out at 241 lbs. DESCRIPTION: I've been hunting in New England since I was very young and I've taken a lot of respectable animals both archery and firearms. A couple of years ago I had decided I really wanted to hunt where the big deer lived, so I started to look for property to lease in the Midwest. I did a lot of homework and came to the conclusion that Illinois was were I was going to spend my time hunting. I found a 600-acre farm in Fulton County that would be just perfect for what I wanted. In 2004 I hunted the property for the first two weeks in Nov. and saw many deer but only one that would fit the bill. He was a huge eight pointer that I figured would score somewhere around 170-inches. I only saw him once and not again in 2004. I ended up shooting a 145-inch eight point on my last sit. In Oct. of 2005 I returned to the Fulton county farm and spent 5 days putting up tree stands. I put up 15 stands total and then drove back home to Massachusetts. I buttoned up all of my work (horseshoer) gave my wife and son hugs and headed out on a mission to harvest a big mature whitetail. The eighteen hour drive seem to fly by I was so excited to get up in my treestand. I hunted hard for four days seeing plenty of deer but no shooter yet. It was November 2 and the wind was finally right I drove to the farm for an afternoon hunt, parked my truck and slipped into my Scent Loc, around 1:30 and climbed up in what I thought was my best stand. It was very quiet for the first couple of hours but then things started to happen. First I saw a doe and a lamb acting very skidish. Then I saw a young 10-point run by my stand as if he just saw a ghost. It wasn't a ghost it was much bigger. I then herd a deer walking on the other side of the ridge. It sounded as if it was walking away from me, so I took out my trusty True Talker and gave him a doe in estrus call and it stopped him dead. Then I gave him a tending grunt call behind the estrus call and here he comes. As he came over the ridge all I can see is massive horns. At this point he is about 15 feet above my stand up on the ridge looking right through the tree I'm in. Now he starts to walk up the ridge, I come to full draw with my PSE Vengeance and stop him at 32 yards; only most of his vitals are behind a tree. I took careful aim and sent my vaper arrow tip with an 85 grain Grim Reaper into the front shoulders breaking both shoulders and cutting the windpipe. The Illinois giant only went 15 yards. All my work had finally paid off, from my Scent Loc to bathing in my Scent Away soap and the hours of shooting my bow in the summer. This year was a dream come true for me. My deer gross scores 192 inches and will net some were around 182 inches and he dressed out at 241 lbs. I hope to some day do this for a living as I envy those who do.