Hunter: Amy Gibson
Buck Score: 168 inches
Date of Harvest: Nov. 11, 2025
Location of Harvest: Kentucky
Weapon of Harvest: Savage Axis 6.5 Creedmoor
Many deer hunters spend a season or two attempting to kill their first deer. Few have the patience and discipline to purposely hold out for a trophy, though. Even fewer end up with a deer that stretches the tape to nearly 170 inches.
Amy Gibson, co-owner of Fire Line Outdoors in Kentucky, is no stranger to the outdoors. She’s been around it for decades, plus owning and operating a successful hunting retail store.
“When growing up, I didn’t have the opportunity to hunt much,” Amy said. “I went with my grandfather a couple times during my teenage years before he passed away when I was 15 years old. Hunting was put on the back burner while having a family and raising my boys.
“In 2019, I met Ryan who had a love for hunting and outdoors,” she continued. “He was patient enough to show me everything he loved about hunting and fishing. My love for the outdoors grew more than I knew possible and we decided to open an outdoor store in 2020.”
Amy went hunting five years before drawing first blood. As she puts it, “I waited this long for my first deer, I wanted to wait for the perfect one.”
Ryan has hunted the property for 35 years, so he knows it, and the deer, quite well. During the 2025 deer season, she finally bagged a 5 ½-year-old whitetail buck that she and her husband followed on trail cameras for at least three years. He was seen in person multiple times as well.
Nov. 11, 2025, was the fateful day. It brought clear skies and temperatures in the upper teens. The sunlit clouds created a beautiful scene. Sitting in a blind, she glassed the rolling hills, open fields, and timber edges around her. Frost shimmered on billions of blades of grass.
They hunted until lunchtime with minimal action. They still-hunted for a couple hours during midday. Around 2 p.m., they went back to the blind.
The scene remained calm until around 4:10 p.m., when three does entered the open. They circled behind them about 20 yards before walking up the hill.
Around 4:15 p.m., the buck showed up followinfg the three does that came from the woods. Just as they ascended the hilltop, the buck materialized about 100 yards away. Her gun in the Death Grip tripod, she leaned down, shouldered the rifle, and found the buck in the scope.
“He walked closer to the does as they were walking away from us,” Amy said. “It was now or never, so I took the shot.” The gun kicked and report rang out.
“You got him!” Ryan said. They hugged, high-fived, and hugged.
“I was in complete shock,” Amy said. “After waiting 38 years, and watching this buck grow for over three years, I couldn’t believe it was actually real. This deer represents five years of learning, patience, and persistence. The antlers are impressive, but what they represent is even bigger — the journey, the memories, and the hard work that made this moment possible.”
