Parker Brown had the hunt of a lifetime, but he earned it. Around five years ago, Brown decided to focus on hunting top-end whitetails, which takes exceptional dedication and patience. That journey has produced successes and drawbacks along the way. Some seasons, he’s even finished the year with unfilled tags. That’s part of the game.

But he didn’t eat a tag last season. It was the thing of dreams, and it resulted in a monster buck on the wall. It all played out on November 4, right at the start of the 2021 rut. The day produced a 15-degree temperature drop and a southeasterly wind at 5-8 mph.

He went afield in the predawn darkness, easing through the terrain mix of uncut milo and timber ridges. A bubbling creek cut through the property, too. But Brown’s destination was an 18-foot wooden treestand located in a draw that deer frequently traveled through. It overlooked some uncut milo and a small finger of trees. He placed a decoy in hopes of drawing the attention of a target buck.

Around 9 a.m., a 130-inch 10-pointer walked into 12 yards, which stood like a statue and observed his decoy. After a short staring contest, the deer blinked. “Either the wind swirled, or he didn’t like that decoy, because he blew and ran 10 yards away,” Brown said. “He stood there for 10 minutes before walking off the way he came.”

Shortly afterward, around 10:45 a.m., Brown conducted a short grunting sequence followed by light rattling. “I also had my heavy pants and jacket tied to my bow pull-up rope,” Brown said. “It was laying in the leaves, and I would make noise with it throughout the sequence. I had the bow rope around my leg, and I was shaking the leaves. As soon as I put up the horns, I heard him coming from my right — fast. He was probably bedded about 75 yards behind me, and the grunting sequence got his attention.”

Seconds later, the deer appeared, running through the timber. “I grabbed my bow and while I was clipping on, I saw his huge heavy right side. The shoot light was on,” he said.

He tracked the buck as it trotted through the underbrush. Fortunately, the decoy did its job. The huge deer stopped and stared at the fake intruder. “He was staring at the decoy and let out a deep long grunt,” Brown said. “He was 5 yards from where that other buck got spooked, so I wanted to take the shot, but he would’ve seen me if I drew my bow.”

Finally, a stick snapped in the woods behind the buck, which grabbed its attention. Brown seized the opportunity and drew back as the buck whipped its head around to locate the stick-breaking source. After a few seconds, it lost interest, and turned back toward the decoy. 

“I had a small window and shot him,” Brown said. “He dropped in his tracks.” Being so high up in the tree, along with another 10-12-feet drop-off behind the tree, and a short, 9-yard shot — it produced a severe shot angle. “That is probably why I hit him higher in the spine,” Brown said. “I nocked another arrow and put a shot in his vitals.”

The buck fell, and Brown wrapped his tag around the 6 ½-year-old, 196 2/8-inch Kansas whitetail. “Everyone was in shock and couldn’t believe that I shot him,” Brown said. “This deer means so much to me. Whatever position you are in, you can change what you’re doing, and be successful. Think outside the box and use aggressive tactics. The only reason I got a shot at that buck is because he had no idea I was there. I sounded like a real deer and had the proper cadence.”

Brown also attributes his success to speed scouting and access. He used real-time information to decide where to hunt. Plus, if he’d used his typical entry route into the property, he likely wouldn’t have gotten a shot at this huge deer.