Pete Porter first spotted the large buck last year during rifle season on one of his trail cams. Porter is a bowhunter and he used to shoot right-handed, but being unable to turn his head he had to rehabilitate himself to shoot a bow left-handed. Porter had been in an accident, hurting his back, and making it impossible to turn his head to the left.

The deer that he continued seeing on his trail cams gave him that extra push to stick to his physical therapy and lift weights to be able to use a bow again. He monitored the buck for 10 months, seeing it throughout the winter, and was able to find both of the buck's sheds. He knew that the buck was a large one.

He continued monitoring the buck through the summer, and by October 1st the beginning of archery season, he knew where the buck day bedded. He set up his tree stand accordingly. The first two days he was there from dusk til dawn with nothing, so he moved the tree stand in closer to the bedding area. The third day he saw the buck, still too far out so he moved it again.

Porter went in the next day, October 5th. A doe came in after him, followed later by the buck. Porter had a clear shot, and he took it. The buck dropped. Porter being up in the stand had to wait awhile for the excitement to chill down so he could safely come down and check the buck.

The buck, even with a magnificent set of antlers, was not in good shape. He had damage to his side, as if in a recent collision with an automobile and weighed in at 128 lbs. which is disproportionate to the antlers and body size.

The buck has a typical 8-point frame with a split brow tine on its right side. It has an inside spread of about 18 inches, and its main beams are more than 24 and 23 inches long. The longest tines, the G2s, are each about 12 inches long. The 9-point buck with tall, wide antlers that had a gross "green score" of more than 150 inches using the Boone & Crockett scoring system.

Porter says now it is only a potential state record, but it is a great Vermont buck and he is happy with it. Congratulations Porter! From BurlingtonFreepress.com [2].

Photo added 10/26/11. Thank you Ca_Vermonster!