29-year-old Xen McAllister's Fayette County Freak was less than an inch shy of cracking Buckmasters Trophy Records' top-10 in the irregular, compound bow category for the state of Illinois.
Buckmasters master scorer Bill Alexander measured this 22-pointer at 222 3/8 inches of antler with a 20 7/8 inch inside spread, totaling a BTR score of 243 2/8 inches!
Every hunter in a 5-mile radius knew about the monster, but it was Xen who sealed the deal. Amazingly, a neighbor more than two miles from the private chunk Xen was hunting captured a trail camera photo of the buck at 10 a.m. the same day Xen shot it. Another hunter down the road apparently missed this deer not long ago, too.
You have to respect the poise of this young man.
The moment Xen's target buck appeared in a cutover cornfield 200 yards away, he knew it was a shooter and initiated a soft rattle sequence that lured it to within 15 yards. The entire encounter lasted about 40 seconds and it happened just 7 minutes after he got settled in his stand around 2:20 p.m.
"He was about 75 yards from entering the timber, and I was set up about 40 yards in," the hunter said. "I threw the antlers together and started rattling maybe 3 or 4 seconds - just a soft rattle because I didn't want to spook him."
Xen was situated in a 15-acre block of timber overlooking a cut soybean field to the east and a cornfield to the west. He watched the buck as he rattled and said it immediately took off through the woods with its head down.
"He was trotting in through the same pass I walked in on, which I thought was weird because I thought for sure he'd come downwind of me, but he just kept walking towards me," Xen said. "Trying to get my release on my d-loop as fast as I could and pulling my bow back was the hardest thing. I couldn't see him moving through the woods, but I could hear him. He was charging in and picking up speed."
When it hopped the fence and crossed the property line, Xen didn't have time to think about points or spread. He concentrated on making an good shot and aimed for the lower third of the buck's chest.
"I waited for him to cross our property line at this fence maybe 20-feet into the timber block from where I was hunting. When I first saw him to when I shot, I was laser focused."
Xen is a lineman and spends many work days elevated in a climbing belt, so it's only fitting he was situated 25-feet high in an ash tree with a Latitude Outdoors saddle rig and a Lone Wolf Alpha hang-on platform to go with it.
He shoots a Mathews V3X with 340-spine Easton Arrows and 100-grain Rage Hyperdermic broadheads.
"Before I shot, I stopped him, and before he had a chance to turn his head, I double-lunged him quartering away," Xen said. "I never thought I'd have an opportunity to get this deer, it's crazy!"
— Read Recent Blog! Buck on the Run: Dani Thomas killed her biggest buck to date in the rain from a hay wagon in October 2022. This Licking County Giant posted over 11 inches of irregular points and scored 194 inches for Buckmasters Trophy Records.