Imagine letting your eyes wander the gymnasium in search of a dance partner. You’re just about to ask a pretty girl or handsome guy, and then you glance left and see the sexiest kid at the prom giving YOU the once-over and smiling like you’re the catch of the decade.

To be good looking in a world where appearances are everything is like being in estrus in the world of whitetails, where looks mean nothing.

What if you had the power to be the king or queen of the deer prom?

You can get it in a bottle, if you want it.

Dennis Adams and Rusty Moore know the potency of estrous doe urine.

Dennis enjoyed that prom king high during a 2001 trip to Saskatchewan (before the province banned deer urines). Normally, an outfitter hunt in Canada involves sitting in one place from dawn ’til dusk. About midmorning, however, Dennis could no longer take the minus-20-degree temperature and biting wind.

When he was ready to brave the elements again, he was taken to a new place that had been avoided all season. He doctored the area with estrous doe scent before settling in for the afternoon.

He twice passed on a great 8-pointer. And within minutes of the second decision not to shoot, he spotted a buck chasing a doe 150 yards distant. An east wind carried the scent straight to Romeo’s nose, and he left Juliet high and dry.

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Because I'm the chief bottle-washer for Buckmasters Whitetail Trophy Records and editor of Rack magazine (not because I'm an expert), Jackie Bushman once asked me to identify the top techniques and tactics used to collect the nearly 12,000 bucks in our record book. That was the easiest question I've ever answered, and I didn’t have to think about it.

"Luck" gets the credit in almost 90 percent of the cases.

If Jackie had framed the question another way - "What one piece of equipment has put the most money in the pockets of taxidermists?" - grunt calls would've been my instant response. If 40 years of hunting whitetails haven’t taught me that, the thousands of hunters I've interviewed have.

One of those was Geoff Lester, whose Illinois brute is the reigning world-record Perfect in the BTR's compound bow category. His story was a real eye-opener.

You could call Geoff, pronounced "Jeff," the Wyatt Urrp of deer hunting. He's the first person I met who carries not one, but two grunt calls in his holster. And the second is NOT a spare.

This guy made deer hunting history during an impromptu afternoon hunt on Oct. 27, 2000. With so little time before dark and no real expectation of seeing deer moving in the 60-degree heat, he decided to push the envelope. It was another one of those what-do-I-have-to-lose gambits.

He routinely carries two different grunt calls with totally different tones. He alternates between them, switching up every 15 minutes or so, in order to sound like multiple bucks.

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If what I’ve seen in the last couple of weeks is any indication, this is going to be an outstanding year for big bucks.

Last season was the best on record, and it began early. The first photograph of a huge whitetail to arrive in my inbox in 2009 – toward the end of September – came from Clay Tiringer in Saskatchewan. With a BTR score of 227 3/8 inches, that deer wound up taking our Golden Laurel Citation.

It’s usually well into October before the e-mails start flying. Already this season, however, I’ve received several. Here are the best, so far. If you or a buddy happens to shoot a monster, please send photos to me at mhandley@buckmasters.com. Be sure to include your name, date and location of harvest, weapon used and a telephone number.

The first great buck I saw this year was taken in Montana by Jackie Bushman. Our fearless leader skewered the 175 2/8-inch buck with an Easton Axis tipped with a Muzzy Phantom as it passed within 15 yards of his treestand on Sept. 8 – the first deer to be taken with his new Mathews Z7. Best of all, the hunt was filmed and will appear on our TV show in 2011!

A couple of great bucks were arrowed in Orange County, N.C., on Sept. 13. Friends Dustin Rimmer and Tim Warren made their shots three miles and 45 minutes apart. Can you imagine how excited they were?

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Have you ever been so focused on a distant deer that you were oblivious to - or unprepared for - one in your lap?

I made that mistake once. I was hungry for venison, determined to put down the first legal deer I saw, and I did. And when I shot that doe, the earth moved, trees swayed, I was struck mute and reduced to a mouth-breather ... while the largest buck I’d ever seen whirled and ran. He’d been right behind me.

And then there was the time I forgot all about a young 6-pointer a mere 15 yards from my stand, and it saw me draw my bow when a record-book 10-pointer was a couple of steps away from a broadhead’s kiss.

I know I’m not alone. I hear the stories.

Greg Sims has a good one with a happier ending. His is proof of what can happen when you’re able to think and act on the fly. He probably doesn’t snore either, but I digress.

The Arkansas bowman was hunting in Iowa in 2005 when he saw what he swears was a world-record Typical 500 yards across a pasture. He was willing to barter with the devil to gain the giant whitetail’s attention.

Greg smashed his rattlin’ antlers together in a Hail-Mary attempt to stop the buck with the wall of tines, but it never flicked an ear. Seconds later, his cell phone vibrated. A buddy was calling from Kansas to tell him that he’d taken a big 8-pointer.

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