To Ballard's surprise, when the arrow hit the buck's spine, it failed to penetrate.

"He jumped up like a new buck, and I watched him disappear out of sight," Ballard said. "I wondered if this was some sort of super deer or something."

Instead of waiting, the frustrated hunter decided to put pressure on the buck by pursuing it immediately. He walked to the place where he'd last seen the animal and found it bedded down again roughly 20 yards away.

"Again, he had his back to me," Ballard said. "The brush was too thick for a shot, and I couldn't sneak any closer, so I figured I'd just sit down and wait him out. After all, I had all day."

Five minutes later, the buck stood up. He tried to jump a nearby log, but fell back into his resting place and lay down again. Ballard continued his nervous vigil.

"After about five more minutes, he stood up again, and this time he went over that log like a trophy hurdler," Ballard said, shaking his head. "I wondered what the heck I was going to have to do to get this buck."

The buck moved uphill. Ballard followed close behind.

"He bedded down again, about 20 yards up the hill from me, but all I could see was his antlers. I started counting points, which I know you're not supposed to do, but I couldn't help myself at this point," Ballard recalled. "I realized he was a really nice buck."

A few minutes later, the buck stood up and started walking again. Ballard approached within 10 yards, but the buck spooked before he could get a shot.

"This time, though, he broke and ran downhill," Ballard said. "I knew he couldn't have much left in his tank, so I ran as fast as he ran. He lay down again after about 30 yards, and this time I was able to get an arrow into his lungs and finish him off."

Ballard had bowhunted the southern counties for 25 years, and he'd seen his share of big bucks. This was the first trophy-book buck he'd ever taken.

"I had a lot of opportunities, but I also had a lot of things go wrong," he said. "Finally, this one turned out right."

The buck dressed out at a whopping 175 pounds -- a big whitetail in West Virginia's southern counties, but an absolute monster anywhere else in the state. Its antlers feature a heavy 12-point frame with one broken tine, one small kicker point and a number of "ring-hanger" points around the base.

"All in all, it ended up having 18 points that were big enough to measure," Ballard said. "The biologist scored it as a non-typical. It scored 164 4/8. It was the first Pope and Young buck I'd ever taken, and if it's the last, I'll be a happy man. But I hope it won't be, because I'm going to keep on trying to get another one."