For this 16-year-old Illinois sportsman, taking the state's top archery whitetail of 2002 was anything but child's play.
By Bobby Worthington
"I just glanced at his rack and knew he was good enough, so I pulled back my bow and fixed my 20-yard pin on his vitals," Gavin says. As he was finishing his draw, the buck turned and glanced at him.
The deer then started to turn to run away, but it was too late; the broadhead struck just below the spine and angled downward, hitting both lungs. The buck wheeled, then fell in his tracks!
Gavin yelled to his dad that the deer was down. Brian started running, and as he got closer, he asked how many points the deer had. Gavin didn't answer, as he was still counting. Brian again asked, "How many points?" Still no answer came, as Gavin had lost count. He was still counting when Brian got there!
Father and son knelt beside the buck in amazement. After they got the buck home, Marvin was also overjoyed with his grandson's buck. It's fitting that three generations of Risleys participated in this hunt. Gavin gives his father and grandfather credit, for without their willingness to teach him about deer hunting and playing key roles in this hunt, he wouldn't have shot the buck.
While the Risleys were at the check station, local hunters began to gather to admire the deer. Gavin then left and picked up his girlfriend and went to a restaurant to eat. All of the hunters and other customers came out to see his deer. When he got home, four or five trucks were already there, filled with people wanting to see the buck. Then more hunters arrived. By 11 p.m., Gavin was realizing just how special a deer he'd shot.
The next morning, a neighbor who owns a small outfitting operation rough-scored the rack at close to 240 non-typical. That's when it really hit home that Gavin had shot a world-class deer. In fact, the official net score of 227 5/8 made him the state's top archery non-typical of 2002.
After Gavin got his buck, the Risleys realized they'd had a few encounters with him before. The first had been in 2000. That October was extremely dry, and the big bucks were coming to drink at a pond on Marvin's place. Gavin had hid in some old hay bales nearby.
One evening, as the hunter was watching numerous bucks chasing does, he heard clashing antlers in a nearby wood lot. After Gavin pulled out his call and gave a few grunts, the woods came alive with bucks. One had at least 12 very long tines. He came to within 70 yards of Gavin, but the then-14-year-old archer wouldn't think of taking such a risky shot.
The next evening, Gavin resumed his quest for the buck he'd nicknamed "Tall Tines." This time the archer hid in a small ditch, and after a short wait, he looked up to see "Tall Tines" coming down a scent trail he'd made. But just as the buck got within range he stopped behind a pin oak, offering no good target. Gavin decided not to shoot, and the buck turned around and went back up the trail.
"There were times when I wished I had taken the shot," Gavin says, "but as I believe the 12-pointer grew to be this enormous 20-pointer, I am very thankful now that I didn't."
The buck wasn't seen in 2001, and the Risleys feared he'd been killed. Then, in late October 2002, Gavin spotted the biggest deer he'd ever seen. The buck dominated all others around the pond, just as the 12-pointer had two years before.
Gavin hunted hard for the buck, but whenever the deer came out of thick cover, it was only long enough to look around before disappearing back into the brush. After a few days, Gavin quit seeing him at all . . . until that final encounter on Nov. 10.
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