On the afternoon of December 29th, '01, Dan Pierce of Indian Springs Village, Ala. shot this 185# 8 pt. on leased land in Clarke Co., Ala. Dan was hunting with his father from a two-man ladder stand.

In the late afternoon, the buck stepped out of a thicket and began feeding through a fairly open acorn bottom. Dan quickly determined the buck was a "shooter". Dan watched the buck feed across the bottom for about fifteen minutes, but could never get a clear shot.

Finally, just before the buck stepped into another thicket, Dan's father whistled to stop the buck. At the sound, the buck stopped and gave Dan a clear shot to the vital area. The shot placement was correct and the buck ran about 7 yds. before expiring.

Dan shot the deer with a Thompson-Center carbine in 7x30. The gun was topped with a Leupold 6X scope.

Dan's father said "Sitting unarmed beside my son and watching this story unfold was priceless! Many thanks to the folks @Mark's Outdoor Sports for providing the gear to help make this happen."

Dan wants the readers to know that his 14 year old brother Will has "passed" on several smaller bucks in his hunting career. Hopefully, with continued sound herd management practices, he will have the opportunity to harvest a fine buck as well.