Thanks guys. As you may have figured out, I kind of like to do stuff myself. So I have been cutting up and caping a couple of bucks today. I really do appreciate all of the kind words and would like to say up front that I have been after whitetails nearly all of my life and realize how blessed I am.
Lets cut to the chase. I hunt on some property with my brother David and we take a few does while we wait for the challenge of close encounters with mature bucks. We pass up and film many young bucks in the hopes that one we or my brother or other family member gets a crack at it. This is the start of the story of the first buck.  
We passed him up several times during 08, 09, and 2010 seasons.
picture from a couple years ago.

He has a thick antlers, but only an 8 point typical frame and short tines. In 2010 he was at least 5 1/2 years old, but he proved too smart for us. I did find his sheds though, adding them to the collection of 3 sets of his sheds we found. He was a "home body buck".
This year I hung a set camera in volunteer apple tree that grows up in rough terrain. Here is the picture that perct our attention in this mature buck with a rack that is becoming interesting.
   

The apples usually drop in august and we know them to be a good change in food source from the typical soy beans in agricultural fields that the deer tend to concentrate in. These are not food plots, just nornmal ag fields in Illinois.
The apples get eaten long before the season starts.
On opening day I did get a chance to see this old buck working an over-hanging limb, but he was out of range. He look great out of velvet and his neck was just starting to fill out. Antler growth draw a lot out of a deer so they really only put on and replace body mass during the weeks in September and October prior to the RUT!
This is what he is looking like now!
 

No he is not sticking his tonge out at me ... yet! LOL

Geez Mike, what is it with you and doubles?!

Ray Charles could see the trail this deer was using. Ha! But he did not seem to use it any more in October. After I saw him opening morning, he went underground , and neither me or my brother saw him until the day I killed him.

So...... fast forward through an uneventful October to November 4.  With an East South East wind I knew I would be able to sit a stand in a small cedar tree on the edge of the transition area between open grassy spoil banks and those smaller honeys suckle bush and autumn olive choked spoils. It was 4:00 PM. This was the first time I sat this tree/bush. The trunk was only 3 inches in diameter at 10 feet high and the stand was strapped in to rest on the cedar boughs. It did sway in the wind a little, but the blue green needles provide great background cover for me. It was a perfect time to be wearing the Sitka Forest Optifade jacket.  After sitting there for 20 minutes I hear some sticks breaking behind me. I gave out a faint grunt, but got no response. It may have been a doe. 3 minutes later I heard some sticks breaking about 80 yards out in front of me- so I wheezed three times. I still heard the braches brake and knew that it was not from a walking deer, but from that of a buck thrashing limbs.

To get more range I grunted on a grunt tube a couple times. I could hear the buck coming closer. He was breaking limbs to let me (a wheezing and grunting buck) know he was coming. He was taking the bait.

Finally I saw the limbs of a tree shake and knew where he was. Then I knew who he was as his form popped up over a spoilbank as if coming right out of the ground. He was the old 'Tree Shaker' that grew up on our property. He looked huge! His neck was enormous and we knew from the 4 inch sticker tine on his right antler that he was responsible for all of the deep parallel grooves cut into many of the thigh-sized rubs in the area. I let out one softer wheeze that caused him to abandon his eastward route and come nearly straight south toward me. He dropped down into the bottom of two merging spoils and climbed up right at me. I had the bow up and the lower limb tip resting in the pocket I sewed on the inside of my left pant leg. This helped me steady the bow as I hid behind the wide limbs of the Tall Tines recurves. He kept coming. I hoped he would go more easterly and give me a broad side shot while giving me some breathing room as far as my scent trailing in the wind, but he did not. He heard a buck dare to wheeze at him, so he was coming to square the deal. Well he ended up looking directly at me several times as he approached. The wide lower limbs of the tree helped frame his vision and keep me a part of the tree (in his mind). He was not turning and ended up closing to 5 yards or less. I drew and held for 5 seconds as moved beneath me. I found a large opening through the cedar boughs and released the 250gr Woodsman Elite tipped 2219 arrow. Tree Shaker dropped in his tracks as the head severed his spinal cord. A second arrow dispatched him and the little cedar tree began to shake from my nerves. Tree Shaker was still working his magic on me.
   

It may be hard to see the sticker tine on his lower right beam and small start of a droptine on his left beam, but his mass is a standout!
I was so happy to get a good chance at this truley great old buck, that we were begining to think was un-killable.

 

Tomorrow I will tell you a twisted tale about "Twister" the buck I took the following morning.   Thanks for listening,  MIKE

Mike,

Great deer and great story.  I look forward to hearing tomorrow's tale.

Another great job,Mike! Thanks for let me see a so great buck,for me those are only on the magazines!  

Beautiful deer.

Mike,
  WOW! That is a beutiful deer...That smile in that first pic is what it's all about and and can't be bought!God Bless you andcan't wait to hear part two of this story...
 

Awesome Mike, congrats bro!        

Wow.......not that is a true monster, check out that mass!

Wow!!!!!!! That thing is huge.

His Antler mass is great but his Body is Huge!

Congrats on a fine Buck .


 

Totally awesome, congrats!  

Congrats!

Well done Mike!  Great report with that deer.  Glad you made good on your opportunity.

Good tale.  

I would of had a heart atack and fell out of the tree.What a monster buck,congrats.