After a slow opening-day morning in 2008, Michael Mees decided to do a little scouting and spotting from inside the cab of his truck. He had the whole afternoon, as well as access to several thousand acres of private land in Emmons County, N.D.
When he parked at one point to get out and relieve himself, the last thing Mike expected to encounter was a deer. But as soon as he'd walked a few feet in the knee-high snow, he heard a commotion and looked over his right shoulder at a huge buck standing up from its bed.
"I was dumbfounded," Mike told John Phillips, who is writing his story for Rack magazine. "The buck was about 20 yards away, broadside. If I'd had my rifle in my hand, I could've easily taken that buck.
"I quickly zipped up my pants and ran to my truck to get my rifle. By that time, however, the monster buck had run over a hill and out of sight," he continued.
Every night thereafter, when Mike closed his eyes, he thought about that buck, the biggest he'd ever seen. He spent the whole season in hopes of getting a second chance.
On Nov. 15, the next to last day of the deer season, Mike was in his truck with his father, Rick, and a friend, Mason Ohuser, riding and looking for deer sign and/or hoping to spot the monster buck. They eventually parked on a little rise above a CRP field and lowered both windows.
With only about a half-hour of daylight remaining, they heard two rifle shots off to their left. Mike then spotted two does running across the field at about 160 yards. Figuring they weren't alone, he grabbed his rifle and jumped out of the truck. Sure enough, about 50 yards behind the does was the big buck he'd seen on opening morning.
"I leaned on the hood of the truck to get a steady rest, picked up the buck in my riflescope and fired my .270 Win," he said. "I saw my bullet hit about 2 feet behind the buck's back leg."
He quickly chambered another round, planted the stock in his shoulder, and led the running deer.
The follow-up shot tumbled it.
Moments later, a Cadillac SUV topped the hill. Mike's friend, Mark Vandervorst, jumped out of the truck very upset and yelling, "I can't believe I missed that big buck twice!"
Mike's glad he did.
The buck's BTR composite score is 197 3/8 inches.