The cat-and-mouse routine continued for another two weeks. The buck appeared on occasion but never in a position where Adam could even consider taking a shot.

Finally on October 22, as the buck entered the field, 200 yards away, Adam took a deep breath and went to work with his rattling antlers. As the huge buck began walking toward the treestand, Adam's heart was pounding, and when the deer came within 100 yards, Adam set the rattling horns down. But it wasn't quite time. The buck came only within 50 yards -- so close, yet well beyond responsible shooting range. As the light faded, the buck again vanished into the trees. Well after dark Adam quietly lowered his bow, backpack, and rattling horns and walked slowly back to his truck.

"I was doing everything right," Adam said later. "The deer had never spooked and had never been run out of the field. He just wouldn't make the critical mistake. At least not yet."

ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26, the buck again appeared late in the evening, at 5:20 p.m., as he joined more than a dozen deer already feeding in the field.

"He entered at about the same place he had four days earlier," Adam recalled. "But this time things just seemed different." In place of the rattling antlers, Adam grunted loudly with his call. The strategy seemed to be working as once again the buck closed to about 50 yards.

But again he stopped. Deciding to push the issue, Adam turned his head and grunted lightly back into the trees. The buck responded and began walking right at the stand. Gripping his bow, Adam knew this was it…

As the deer approached within 40 yards and was still coming, Adam's blood pressure soared and his mind raced. It was time to focus on the fundamentals, time to concentrate on picking an aiming spot.

At 30 yards the buck still offered no shot, and he was circling downwind to figure out where the grunt had come from. When the deer entered a shooting lane at 18 yards, Adam came to full draw, settled in, and released.

The arrow hit just behind the left shoulder. Stunned, the buck bolted deeper into the beans, and Adam's heart was pounding so hard he could hardly breathe. The buck sprinted 35 yards, stumbled, and crashed to the ground. The shot had been perfect. Hard work had paid off.

"As I walked up to the deer my hands were still shaking," he said. "I just could not believe it all had finally come together. It was just amazing!"

A few weeks later the buck was officially scored, netting an impressive 2022?8 nontypical. It may in fact be the buck of a lifetime. But with continued hard work and the help of a good dog, Adam Hays very well could get lucky on other bucks of a lifetime in the future.

Steve Gruber is President of Wolf Creek Productions, which produces three programs on The Outdoor Channel, including "The American Archer."