Billy Graham of Arkansas was within a hair's breadth of pounding a buck that would rival his career-best when a much bigger one popped out of its hole on Dec. 17, 2012.
The 59-year-old went out that afternoon with the intention of hunting from his wife's favorite box stand overlooking a small food plot and pecan orchard. Neither Debra Graham, nor their daughter, Crystal, had seen anything of note there, but Billy had faith in the location.
The Phillips County farm they hunt flanks the Mississippi River.
Because he had plenty of time before the neighborhood whitetails usually came to the food plot, Billy decided to do a little scouting in the nearby strip close to the river, about 100 yards from the stand. He was so excited about all the buck sign he discovered that he wound up sitting in what was obviously a staging area.
Prime time came much earlier than usual.
Billy glanced up at one point to see a 160-class buck approaching, which would've equaled his best to that point. He'd have shot it, too, but another one popped into his field of view before he could squeeze the trigger.
"While I was looking at (the first) deer, these other antlers appeared right in my scope," he told Lisa Price, who wrote the story for Rack magazine. "It was like the (second) deer just rose out of the brush."
After the boom of Billy's 7mm Mag, it dropped just as quickly.
This happy Arkie claims he was simply in the right place at the right time, but if he hadn't put his time to good use - by arriving early and looking for deer sign - he probably would've never seen the 15-pointer that dwarfs his others. This one has a BTR composite score of 194 5/8 inches.
Braggin’ Board
Send your 2014 big buck photos to mhandley@buckmasters.com. Please include hunter’s name, where the animal was hunted, and its score (if known). Remember: The BTR has no drying period.