This is another attempt to "stitch" several pics into a composit photo - it looks like the space requirements somewhat degraded the image quality - I'm learning to switch the camera to the "small format" when making pics headed for computer viewing. Still, they aren't horrible - they can be viewed in a larger format by clicking the "view sizes" button, under the displayed pic.
As viewed, from left to right (2004;2005;2007) , these nice white-tails (my three all-time best) were offered up by my beloved Memory Valley - all from the same tree, on the first afternoon/evening that I opted to hunt from THAT tree . . . and ALL cruising the territory on some sort of EASTERLY wind! "Knowing the Territory" (an old sales motto: Ya Gotta KNOW the TERRITORY!) and having the patience to stay out of paradise until "invited", is a key to success: during a season, there will be NO better opportunity than the FIRST occupancy of a location - with each successive occupancy, the probability of success dwindles ! ;) I finally "learned" that, when surrounded on three sides, by public lands, 61 acres isn't enough territory to "manage" for BIG bucks - for THAT, you must have ground, with limited/controlled access, measured in square miles! ;)
The pics are not to scale - from left to right, each set of antlers is successively "better" (as measured by P&Y or B&C methods) . . . but the memories defy comparison! ;) For many seasons, I passed on bucks is this class, hoping to allow one to get old enough to grow REALLY BIG - beginning in '04, I decided that I was wasting great opportunities, "saving" the nice bucks only to have them shot by the small armies which dominate the two shotgun seasons - so began launching arrows again! ;) Last season (2006) afforded only four afternoons/evenings to hunt Memory Valley, and I botched the only opportunity the deer gods offered - in archery huntin', there's always something NEW to go wrong! Funny, the misses are just about as vivid as the successes! ;) RG