That was a day Rod Shepley will not soon forget. He simply watched in disbelief as the huge deer sauntered past his stand at 40 yards, and into an open field where he remained for 20 agonizing minutes. This was the first time Shepley had seen a deer of such impressive proportions, and he could not get the image of the buck out of his mind.

A full year had gone by, and the Ontario bow season arrived once again. Shepley still had but one thought in his mind. He wanted to get one more look at the multi-pointed whitetail that passed by his stand the previous year. An entire year was spent replaying the vision of that great animal in his mind, over and over again. It became an obsession for the young hunter from southern Ontario.

By the time November 4th rolled around, Rod Shepley had already been hunting for several days, but had not used his 'lucky stand' yet. He wanted to save the special stand location, where his big boy had showed himself, for later into the rut. It was during this prime period that he had hung his hopes of running into the big, dream buck again. It was time to tempt fate he thought, as he positioned himself in the old stand. That first evening's perch, high in his favorite tree, brought back memories for Rod. He watched intently that evening, as several deer presented themselves within bow range. There still no sign of the king.

Then, just before nightfall, Shepley heard what sounded like a large buck chasing a doe further back in the woods behind his stand. Because it was too dark, Rod made plans to return the following morning before light, with hopes of seeing the mystery deer that made all the commotion. The hunter promptly and silently descended his tree-stand, and exited the hunt area under a cloak of darkness.

That evening, Rod Shepley could hardly sleep with the anticipation, and the glimmer of hope that the deer he heard may, in fact, turn out to be his dream buck. By early dawn, Shepley was already packed up and ready to try his luck again. He made his way into his stand well before daybreak and set up in preparation for his date with destiny. The plan almost seemed too easy.

As the morning wore on, a few does fed quietly on acorns around the stand, until one of the females snapped her head up in Rod's direction. She almost appeared to be staring right through the hunter. Shepley slowly swiveled in his seat to see his dream buck cautiously approaching the feeding does. There was no mistaking this deer. He had a huge, non-typical rack that appeared even more massive than the season before. It was almost surreal how the great animal stood there in all his glory. Shepley had to pinch himself to confirm that he had not dozed into dreamland.

The monster non-typical was a mere twenty yards from the hunter at that point, and just about to take a step into Shepley's pre-cut shooting lane. The hunter had to act fast, as he brought his Matthew's Feather-max bow to full draw in a split second. As the big buck stepped into the clearing, Shepley's arrow was already on its way for a perfect shot. The huge buck bounded out of sight, seemingly unscathed. The now hyperactive bowhunter could hardly contain his excitement; however, he made the decision to wait the big deer out. He felt confident in his shot, and decided to return home for help.

As Shepley, his children and brother began tracking the big buck, it did not take long before a glimpse of antlers led them to the largest deer crown they had ever witnessed. It was the most beautiful deer Rod Shepley had ever seen. "My dream buck did come back to me!" Shepley thought as the entire group admired the huge animal. It was a massive 17 pointer, with large bases and great symmetry - truly a once in a lifetime whitetail deer. Shepley's non-typical buck was officially scored for the Pope & Young record book at 187 1/8". It turned out to be the largest non-typical whitetail deer harvested with a bow during the 2000 season. The deer has also been honored as the province's second largest non-typical ever taken with a bow and arrow.

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