Here's the story by the hunter, Keith Strychalsky:

The month of November came quick this year. In the past, I would count down the days in anticipation for the rut. With a busy work schedule and a daughter just turning one, spending the amount of time in the woods that I felt was necessary for getting a chance at a mature buck seemed bleak. Early in November I usually travel to New York to hunt with my friend Scott, but he was traveling to Kentucky to hunt leased land with another friend of ours. We usually do well this time period taking several bucks that grossed P&Y. Not having that opportunity this year really got my spirits low. I was hearing stories about big bucks being seen and shot and felt like I was a spectator at the big game. So I knew I had to put my time here in Connecticut if I wanted to compete with my friends. I had limited time to hunt, but, as I always do, I sacrificed sleep and tried to squeeze every available minute out of a day to get some time in the woods. I would get up early, go through my morning ritual of a shower with scent free soap, get dressed and leave the house with my green tea and oatmeal breakfast and would devour it as I drove to my hunting spot. As I drove, I thought, this could be the day, you never know.

I hunted several mornings and afternoons for the first three weeks of November. Some of the mornings I would hunt up until 8:00, not by choice, and then go to work. I was seeing great numbers of deer, but no mature buck movements. I remember on the 5th I saw over 20 deer running around the woods. I was excited to see the rut action, but not impressed with the age class of the bucks. It seemed that the mature bucks were locked up with estrous does and the younger bucks were roaming the woods experiencing the rut for the first or second time. I continued to hunt a small 7 acre piece of private land that bordered open space. I just felt with the number of deer I was observing that something mature was going to walk by my stand. Back in 2002, I was lucky enough to arrow a 10-point that grossed 147 4/8 and netted 142 2/8 just a few miles from the spot I was hunting. I had faith in my spot, but it seemed time was running out and the rut action was starting to slow down as I got into the third week of November, so I decided that I needed to make a change. I have two stands on the property, and I was hunting one that I felt was in a better spot. I actually took my leaf blower and blew trails to my stand to ensure me getting in there quietly and without leaving much scent. We all know how noisy dry leaves sound when you are trying to sneak to your stand. So, after one morning hunt when I felt the deer were just out of bow range and going past my other stand that I would sit the next afternoon or morning in that spot. I hunted after work on the 19th and thought conditions were ideal for getting a shot at a big one. I was wrong, it started to rain and heavy construction on the road front seemed to keep deer movement to a minimum. I had three does come almost into bow range, until a pay loader scraped the asphalt surface and scared them back from where they came from. I got out of my stand and planned on going back for a morning hunt on Saturday the 21st.

It was a beautiful morning on the 21st. I usually like this day because it is the opening weekend for the gun season and that really gets deer moving around. I had a small buck go under the stand at first light, but I couldn’t see exactly what he was sporting for headgear. He just had his nose to the ground and was on a steady walk eager to find some receptive doe. After that, I had two does come under the stand and smell my tree steps as I watched through the base of my fixed stand. I figured this was a great sign; none of the deer were nervous or spooked. Throughout the morning I tried to call in distant bucks with the bleat can and grunt call. Deer were on the move and I felt like this could be the morning. Around 8:00 I had a small 4-point with no brow tines come right under the stand. He passed by without winding me and I figured that the conditions were perfect. I then saw another doe feeding in an acorn flat about 100 yards away and watched her vanish into the deep woods. At this point in the hunt I was happy and was thinking that if the hunt ended right now that it was successful because of the action that I had. But little did I know that was all about to change! Suddenly, I spotted a doe running through the woods being chased by a 2.5 year old six point and I was excited because he had nice frame and he looked impressive. But I noticed another buck behind him and it was a “monster”. I could immediately tell from 100 yards away that this deer was a giant. I could remember saying out loud, “Please come my way”. The doe ran down a gully and up onto the ridge where I was sitting, I was optimistic about the situation. It was obvious that this 1.5 year old doe was in heat and that this big buck was going to be glued at her side. As the buck made the decision to follow her down the gully and up on to the ridge, I drew back thinking that I was going to get a shot. As they played “ring around the rosy” under some oaks, my heart dropped when it looked like the doe was going to drag him away from my stand location. Still at full draw, the doe circled a tree and ran right under my stand. The big buck followed her, grunting at every step. At that point I had the 20 yard pin locked on the top of his back, in between his shoulder blades. As he got within 10 yards of the stand, I released the arrow and drilled him through both lungs and he bulldozed the woods down and piled up at the bottom of the hill. He lay only 50 yards from where I parked my truck! At this point I was still in disbelief on what just unfolded. I was thinking to myself, “Did I just shoot a 160” buck? As I text messaged my wife and friends, I was still in awe on how things worked out for me. I unhooked my safety belt, and climbed down and made my way over to the deer that I could see lying in the leaves from my stand. As I approached him, I could not believe how massive his rack was. To my surprise, he had a third main beam that was about 14 inches long that protruded out from under his left brow tine. I was so excited that I just dragged him to my truck and lifted him into the pickup bed myself. I immediately brought him to the check station to make sure I fulfilled my tagging requirements. I was surprised to see that he only weighed 175 pounds live weight! His hind quarters were so skinny that he had to be running around the woods chasing does and not eating for weeks. His neck was swollen and huge.

I made my phone calls and spoke with my hunting partner Scott and told him the news. As he congratulated me, we discussed that it was only a matter of time before I had a chance at an exceptional buck. I hunted this spot for 6 years and never saw anything that was Pope and Young status. For that matter, I never saw a deer that was over 110 inches in this spot. I happen to arrow a 105” 6-point last season and that gave me some hope for this area, but with the amount of woods that surrounded my spot we always said to each other “You never know”. The first phrase that came to mind after I shot my buck was “Never give Up” in the words of bass pro Mike Iaconnelli. I wanted to scream that from my tree stand, but I refrained because there was still deer surrounding my position.

When I arrived at my house my wife and my baby girl came out to greet me. I was still in disbelief! I walked around my driveway with my arms in the air like I just won an Olympic gold medal. I green scored the buck at 164 7/8 as a non-typical 11-point. As a typical 10 point, he grossed 151 1/8. After the 60 day drying period, he should net score as a non-typical just over 160 inches! In my eyes, he is a true giant for this part of the country. I would have never thought that I would have topped my 2002 buck, but “You never know” anytime you step into the woods to hunt.