BIG BUCK BOWS TO HOBBS' BOW

As Darrell Hobbs sat in his tree stand Nov. 28 hunting deer the hard way -- with bow and arrow -- he didn't fully realize he had a date with destiny.

Also with an unbreakable date with fate was a 10-point buck, which ambled onto the property adjacent to Hobbs' home, located near Procter and Gamble, north of Cape Girardeau.

For now and forever, the deer as well as Hobbs' name will be linked together in a few hunting publications. With a net rack score of 146 inches, Hobbs' take ranks world class in the realm of archery.

"It's the biggest one I've ever got, especially with a bow," said Hobbs. "It's been exciting for me."

Since the start of deer bow season in October, Hobbs had been hunting religiously, spending a couple hours on any day where he could manage to spring free from his painting business.

Hobbs had been bow hunting for four years and had one deer to his credit, a doe which field dressed to about 75-80 pounds. He shot at a deer earlier this season but, hunting from a tree stand for the first time, misfired high.

An avid fan of both hunting and deer meat, he has taken approximately 10 deer with guns over the years, including one the first day of this year's firearm season.

And to say he hunts religiously is both literal and figurative. A devout Christian, Hobbs lifted up a prayer as he silently waited in his stand on this particular afternoon in late November.

"I said it would be nice if He blessed me with a deer," said Hobbs. "It didn't matter how big or how small. It's just a challenge with a bow."

By Hobbs' estimate, fates began to intertwine about 10 minutes later. While bow hunting is more difficult than gun hunting, an unmissable target presented itself to Hobbs.

He heard a noise in the heavy thicket and suddenly a 200-pound-plus, 10-point deer revealed itself, wandering to within 15 to 18 yards of the hunter.

"He was coming at me head on and had his head down," said Hobbs. "I didn't have a good shot there. Then he slightly turned and I had a good shot at his main part."

If the deer had had a bull's-eye, Hobbs would have drilled the eye. A lethal arrow punctured both lungs.

"It did a lot of damage," said Hobbs, who watched the animal lope off. An excited Hobbs headed for his house to tell his wife Karen.

They both returned to the scene and found the deer dead in a nearby gully, about 35 yards from where he had been hit.

While Hobbs looked for the arrow, Karen counted the points.

"She said, `It's a 10-pointer!' and that's when I really got excited," said Hobbs.

The buck field dressed to 185 pounds.

"This thing was huge," said Hobbs. "It was something else."

The deer was taken to Devon Amelunke at Ozark Mountain Taxidermy. A seasoned veteran, Amelunke doesn't get too excited when someone says they have a big deer outside. He had his usual straight face on when Hobbs told him about his deer.

"When I saw the deer I was really impressed," said Amelunke. "I told him he had killed the deer of a lifetime."

The deer's rack scored well enough to qualify for listing in the Missouri Archery Big Bucks Club (minimum score of 100), Show Me Big Buck Club (deer taken by any method) and the Pope and Young Club (world-wide records for archery).

"It's quite an honor to be in there (Pope and Young), and he made that with flying colors," said Amelunke.

Amelunke said the inside spread of the rack is exceptional, measuring 20 1/2 inches. A healthy spread is usually around 16 inches.

"It's a very impressive deer to be taken by archery methods," said Amelunke. "Deer that get that big tend to be pretty old, 4.5 to 5 years. Deer that old typically don't make many mistakes. They're pretty wood-wise. They usually don't allow themselves to be in bow range."

Hobbs may never get another deer like this one, but he'll continue to hunt religiously.

"It was truelly a blessing from the Lord," he said.