The hunter went on to add that the club's quality deer rules allow the members to take bucks that have eight or more points, or have racks 16 inches wide or greater. His buck's outside spread measured an awesome 21 inches.

Pettis also knows his deer is no fluke and the club rules do work. Not far from his hunting area, a fellow member killed a 12-pointer on opening day of the 2002-03 bow season that measured 138 2/8 typical Pope and Young Club points.

THE ROBERTS BUCK
The region's No. 5 buck last season fell to Josh Roberts, a ninth grade student at Chipley High School. His 10-pointer measured 141 2/8 B&C and was very symmetrical. The 6-foot-2-inch-tall 175-pound Roberts plays baseball, basketball and football, but also hunts every chance he gets with his father and stepbrother.

The threesome and some friends hunt an area not far from their homes in Jackson County. There are a handful of big-buck counties in the state that every year give up a few incredible trophy deer, and Jackson County is high on that list.

The 2004-05 season had been slow for hunting, but Craig Roberts counseled his boys to be patient. He fully expected good things to happen during the rut, and they were not disappointed.

On Jan. 30, 2004, Josh headed to a familiar stand where the day before his father had found plenty of rut activity. At 9 a.m. the youngster killed a big 11-pointer, a deer his father pointedly told him would probably be his deer of a lifetime. The buck's rack later scored 130 1/8 B&C.

Not one to rest on his laurels, Josh went back hunting the following weekend with his father. Craig had hung two "scent bombs" in the area and at daylight on the morning of Feb. 5 dropped his son off for a walk to the stand.

Josh had made it only partway down the edge of the field when in the early morning light he spotted a doe several hundred feet away, and then a heavy-racked buck off to one side. Fortunately for Josh, neither deer had seen him. Wanting to close the distance as much as possible, Josh got down on his hands and knees and crawled 20 yards closer. He was relieved when he looked up and could see that neither deer had spotted him.

Confident of his shooting ability and knowing he risked spooking the deer by trying to move closer, Josh slowly rose to his knees and put the crosshairs of the 7mm-08 rifle just behind the buck's shoulder. He took a breath, let some air out and squeezed the trigger. Even though the shot felt good, the buck gave no indication of being hit. Later, they determined he had taken the shot from 190 steps.

"I couldn't find any sign I'd hit him," Josh recalled. "There wasn't any blood or anything. But I'd watched him run out of the field and into some small pines, and there he was. I just couldn't believe I had killed another big buck."

Neither could his father. Craig was even more proud when he learned Josh had now taken both the No. 5 and No. 14 largest bucks in all of northwest Florida for 2004-05.