I saw this buck two times while bow hunting, but never managed to be in the right place at the right time. I have three plots of Imperial Clover planted, and each time I saw him, he was feeding in one of them.
I did not see him during the first half of the Illinois gun season and feared he had been taken by someone else. On the first day of the second season, I saw several does feeding in one of my clover plots. Then this buck walked right out in the open, and I was able to take a 40-yard shot with my muzzleloader, knocking him down in his tracks. The deer scored 142 6/8 because of a broken right drop tine but it still made the National Longhunter Record book and the Illinois State Record book.
I have a small 40-acre farm in Southern Illinois, and it always seemed that all the deer, especially the big bucks, were taken by my neighbors or in the national forest behind my property. Now I have turned the tables and my 40 acres is the hottest spot around the area thanks to Imperial Whitetail Clover.
