Rob Ross and his 13-year-old daughter, Ginny, will never forget Ohio's 2013 deer season, when both shot record-book bucks from the same homemade ground blind, two weeks apart.
Ginny was first to fill her tag on the afternoon of Nov. 23, and her father was beside her.
"We didn't see this buck until it was practically in our lap, only 30 yards from our blind," she said, the words tumbling lightning-fast from her mouth. "We'd been there for only half an hour."
The deer stood behind a bush for maybe 10 minutes, which was almost painful for Ginny. When it finally cleared the bush, she squeezed the trigger. Twice. But because the safety was still engaged, it took a third squeeze to do the job.
As soon as she shot the 13-pointer, which ran about 30 yards before losing its land legs, Ginny began crying.
"I just couldn't believe I'd shot one THAT big," she said.
The BTR composite score is 159 2/8 inches.
Thirteen days later, it was daddy's time.
"A big snowstorm was coming on Dec. 6, and I wasn't even going to hunt until an old friend, a great hunter, told me that deer are almost always on their feet before a front. Afterward, I decided to go to the same blind my daughter and I had shared," he said.
What he thought was a 10-pointer - barely big enough to qualify for his self-imposed, 150-inch minimum - appeared just before legal shooting light was gone. The 30-yard shot was a piece of cake.
Rob was speechless when he approached the buck and saw all the abnormal points. He almost felt as if someone had played a practical joke on him.
"I honestly thought this one was a squeaker when I first saw it," he admitted.
His has a BTR composite score of 163 2/8 inches.
More details of these hunts will soon appear in Buckmasters magazine.