The morning of Dec. 4, 2007, would be one to remember for Scheidegger. The hunter woke up around 5:15 a.m. and headed out to his tree stand. With temperatures less than 20 degrees and snow expected later in the afternoon, it felt like a perfect day for deer hunting.

As he crested a small hill, Scheidegger saw what appeared to be antlers just inside the woods. He was stunned to be so close to the big buck. The deer was bedded on the other side of a brushpile, but Scheidegger could see some of his antlers showing.

"I got ready for a shot, but he just laid there," he said. "I tried to move to get a shot, but I think he heard me and quickly got up and ran straight away."

After all that time and effort to track the buck, his opportunity was blown.

Scheidegger still didn't realize how big the buck really was but knew it was the biggest one he would ever have a chance at. He felt sick. He had expended all that time and hard work to track the big buck, only to have him get away again. Many guys would have probably thrown in the towel at this point, but Scheidegger wasn't giving up.

He called Brian and asked for his help tracking the deer. This time, Brian was available to lend a hand. Scheidegger also enlisted the help of his Uncle Gene.

Derek Scheidegger's Buck-12.4.07 Total Points....17 Greatest Spread....25 4/8 Inside Spread.....23 0/8 Main Beams....38 6/8, 28 7/8 Longest Tine....10 0/8 Antler Bases....5 0/8, 5 3/8 Abnormal Points....34 6/8 Gross Typical....220 6/8 Deductions....10 0/8 Net Score....210 6/8

"I tracked him for about another half-mile and knew where he was going -- right back into my main hunting area," Scheidegger said. "So, I had my brother and uncle get around the woods and I stayed right on his track until I inside the woods.

"I knew where they usually bed down, so I swung out to one side, going very slow and looking at everything. I finally spotted him for the third time. I could hardly believe it.

The buck was bedded down only 50 yards away, and this time Scheidegger could see the deer's body. He used a tree to rest his gun and shot. The deer fled at full speed.

Based on the deer's reaction, Scheidegger wasn't even sure he had hit it, but Brian watched the events unfold and could tell the deer was hit.

Scheidegger followed the tracks and some blood to the spot Brian last saw the buck. Brian told his brother that he thought the buck was hit in front of the back legs. Scheidegger felt sick to his stomach again. It was late afternoon and after five hours of tracking and still-hunting, he couldn't have felt lower.

The trio began tracking the buck. At first, there was very little blood for the first 200 yards, but things started to change.

"There was blood and more blood," he said. "By the time we got to the woods, blood was coming out both sides. But our luck changed again. It was starting to snow, covering the trail. We tried to work faster and luckily the amount of blood just kept getting more and more."