With the opening day of archery only a little over a month away, this was more than Stout could take.

He and his dad hung a stand close to the trail that the magnificent animal was traveling, just 17 yards from where the camera had been recording the buck's movement. They cut a few shooting lanes and brushed in the stand with some limbs.

Soon it was time for Stout's second year of college. But no matter what the class or the time of day, all he could think about were the long tines and huge mass on that buck.

A few weeks later, a friend called Adam Stout to inform him of a nice 10-pointer -- with an identical kicker off its G-2 -- that had been killed close to the same area.

He waited an agonizingly long time but finally got home to hunt in late September. He immediately checked the camera, but all the pictures had been taken at night. His hopes of seeing the animal were diminished, but he was determined to get in his stand and make the best of it.

Stout knew he had to get into the woods as early as possible. That fateful morning of Sept. 29, he woke at 4:15 a.m. and showered himself with cover scent. After breakfast, he dressed lightly because he knew it would be a long, hot day in the stand.

He drove out between the two turkey barns to park, and then worked his way to the stand quietly so that he would not spook the buck if he were close by. He walked about 40 yards to the edge of the woods, took his time crossing a small creek, then eased his way the last 20 yards to his stand.

He climbed as quietly as he could and strapped in for a long and much-anticipated sit. Around 5:30 a.m., he called his dad to let him know he was settled in safely.

Just as he hung up the phone, immediately he heard heavy footsteps coming his way. It had to be him!

As the deer crossed the path, the trail camera flashed. Stout was temporarily blinded.

He knew it was a deer, but didn't know for sure it was the deer.

The next hours passed uneventfully. By 11 a.m. Stout realized that he'd forgotten something to pack something to eat.

He climbed down quietly, knowing that the deer that had passed by in the dark was probably bedded closer to the house, only 220 yards away.

The temperature was already in the upper 70s. Stout pulled the card from the camera, went back to the house and shed some of his clothes. He had something to eat and took the card down to the picture viewer on his television.

Sure enough, it was him! In the dark, the big buck had crossed right in front of Stout. Now he was torn. Would it be a waste of time to sit there during daylight hours, especially since all the recent photos had been taken after dark?

He knew he'd never get a shot sitting in there in the house thinking about it, so around 1:00 p.m. he headed back to the stand and sat down.

After a while, with the sun beating down on his face, he began to sweat a little. So Stout removed his gloves and facemask and enjoyed the peace and quiet.