When Johnny Thacker called his wife on Nov. 18, 2006, the tremor in his voice prompted her to ask, “What’s wrong?”
“I’ve just killed a huge 14-pointer,” he blurted.
“Are you sure?” she pressed.
“Well, that’s what I think,” he said. “I counted at least seven points on the side I could see.”
Johnny had been too unnerved to actually approach the downed deer at that point, but too excited to postpone the telephone calls. Had he walked over and lifted the buck’s head first, he might’ve had even more trouble speaking.
It was opening day of Indiana’s 2006 gun season, and he was hunting with his cousin, Randy Buttery, Randy’s sons Andy and Jason, and his brother-in-law, Pedy. The group leases 120 acres in southern Indiana that border a large state-owned tract. Lots of deer travel back and forth across the property, especially when the firearms season is underway.
“I was in a 17-foot ladder stand that I had used several weekends during bow se...