caught one lung. I was glad I had backed out the evening before. I could hardly budge the deer and didn't have my drag rope with me, so I went back to the house. Debbie suggested I call my son-inlaw Bob to help drag the deer back to the house, saying something about me no longer being a spring chicken, and I was glad I took her up on the suggestion. The buck was heavy and, looking at the teeth, I had him at 3½ years old. It was the best buck I had taken behind my house. Once again, Nov. 9 had been good to me. The pheasant hunting was so good, I had an unexpected chance to spend time in my deer stand; and the deer hunt was one of those hunts where everything worked out perfectly and I was able to harvest a buck I probably wouldn't have on any other day. And I did it with 10 minutes of hunting time left in the day. There's a lot to be said for being plain lucky. The 8-point buck the author took on Nov. 9, 2016 had near 21-inch main beams, a 16-inch inside spread and nearly 4½-inch bases. It scored 103 Boone & Crockett Club points. JULY 2017 17