I was bowhunting my fathers farm. I had seen a true monster of a buck the whole winter and summer previous while feeding, brushhogging, etc. I had glassed him several times and knew the caliber ofwhitetail he was. He had a 20" spread a typical 6 x 6 frame with spilt browtines making him a 14 point. I estimate that he was a true 170 incher. I had passed ona fewP&Y caliber bucks because I had one deer in mind or nothing. It was nearing the end of the first bow season. Missouri's bow seasons are split by rifle season. I had hunted the morning, sitting in my stand until noon. I got out of my stand to stretch my legs and relive myself. After a half mile walk away from my stand I returned to hunt the rest of the day. As I neared my stand I saw him. 100 yards away, a mear 20 yards from my stand. There was nothing I could do but hunker down. I watched him mill around my stand for 10 minutes. No cover to make a stalk. As I watched him walk away I knew that I had blown my chance. Still I climbed into my stand and sat until 30 minutes after dark. I hunted the rest of the season sitting in my stand from before daybreak until dark, but never saw him again that first season.

The late season I didn't hunt for the first week after gun season hoping he had made it through the rifle portion and would return to his normal routine if not pressured for awhile. The first day I returned to hunt the wind was wrong for my primary stand. I decided to hunt a patch of woods that I hadn't hunted all year. The timber is thick and their is a spring at the head of a ravine. I decided to sneek in and hunt from the ground. As the sun rose and started warming my face I started nodding off. There is something about sitting in the woods with the sun on my face that makes me tired. As I was snoozing I heard a twig snap. I opened my eyes to see the monarch mere feetaway staring me down. He could see me but didn't know what I was. The stare down seemed to last forever. As he wheeled to leave I tried to bring my bow to full draw before he was gone. NO LUCK! He dissappeared and I never saw him again. I heard that a neighbor had killed him out of season a year or so later. When I heard the rumor it was like getting kicked in the stomach. I remembered my failed attempts and felt responsible for the disgrace of his illegal demise.