On Nov. 23 at 11 a.m., Mike Waters of East End left me a voice message that I could barely decipher.

Waters was barely intelligible because he was hyperventilating over a big buck down. Waters didn't kill the buck. His partner Kaitlin Compton killed it. Waters said he estimated that the inside spread of the 8-point rack was 20 inches.

"It's a helluva buck dude," Waters said. "I ain't never killed one like this in my whole life."

Waters regained his voice in his next message. It conveyed irritation and impatience.

"A dadgum pine tree fell across this trail," Waters said. "I'm having to come back to my house to get a chainsaw so I can cut up this pine and get back there to it."

Waters wasn't joking. The buck's body was huge, with a gray muzzle, freeway onramp nose and other features tha

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