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It was close, but big buck expert, Mike Hawkins (also my local postman), judged Mark Gilliland's buck to be the winnner of the 2008 Familyman Big Buck contest. Congradulations to Mark and to all you big game hunters who truned in some might impressive bucks (and a few does).

As Big Buck King, Mark will receive the very cool Zipper knife made possible in part by the good folks at Buck Knives as well as some great products donated by Cabela's.

Remember: there's always next year...probably.

I’ve been hunting for nearly 45 years, and, for the last 25 years my yearly hunt has been refined just to 4 days each November. A cousin owns a ranch in the very center of Montana, and it is home to elk, mule deer, and my quarry, whitetail deer. I pull my camper the hundred and forty miles to park near the old farm house, and for the next days I hunt during the daylight hours and tie flies after dark.

I always look forward to the time of quiet and relaxation -my very own once a year time away from the busyness of life. For the past couple years Caleb, my now nine year old, has been lobbying hard to tag along with me, and I have resisted, telling him about getting up way before sunrise and sitting for hours in a ground blind waiting for deer to pass.

This was a great season at the Rainey house for deer. We have been a home school family for 13 years and will continue for another 18 years or so. I am sending three pictures in, one of myself with a 138 inch 9 point I took during the early bow season. My largest with a bow so far.

Then there is Jessalyn my oldest daughter (17) with her 8 pointer she took on Nov.21 with her 44 magnum rifle, Jess has been hunting since she was 11, and she has become a very successful deer hunter.

Last but certainly not to be left out is our youngest daughter Mikaela with her first buck, she has been in the woods with me for three years now, but this was her first year to get to shoot. She took her buck at 50 yards with her new 44 magnum single shot on opening morning.

Those of you who hunt in southern Indiana know what the opener was like; cold, rainy and windy. But this nine year old hunter was determined to be out there with dad and get her first buck. She is really the only reason I went out that day. It's hard to put to words what it means to a dad to see his kids, especially girls wanting to get into the things that dad enjoys.

We enjoy many days outdoors together either in the woods or in the boat, I think it is very imporant to teach your kids about the things you trully love to do, it is a heritage you can pass on for generations to come.

But not only do these two young ladies like the hunt, but we also process our own meat and Jess is probably the best deer skinner I have ever had help me, and Mikaela likes to help wrap the meat before it goes in the freezer. I have a 9 month old son too, who in time will learn these skills as well.

I have to mention my middle daughter too, even though she does not hunt (she has too big of a heart to hunt)she encourages the rest of us in our success's in the field or woods. We also have a 9 month old son too, who in time will learn these skills as well. God is so good, He has blessed us with a great family that loves the outdoors and all He has created for us to enjoy! ( deer jerky, chili, back straps, ect... all the good things in life!)

A few minutes pass by, the wind picks up, and then – a red fox comes running down the hill towards my treestand! I figure, why not – I have chickens to protect, and I aim, take fire, and completely miss the running poof-ball of a fox. As I looked back toward where the fox came from…there stood a doe and large buck! They had no idea I was there, the hormones in the deer must have affected their hearing, as they stood about 50 yards away!

I hadn't had much luck the past couple of years so finding this nice 3-point was a real blessing!

I got pretty excited because usually the does come out first and I only had a buck tag. But it went into a big patch of pines a ways away. About 2 minutes later Dad saw saw the same one come out again. It was headed to a swamp to our right. It was too dark to use my 20 gauge because it doesn’t have fiber-optic sights. So Dad gave me the scope muzzle loader.

Dad grunted at the deer and it stopped. It was through some brush so I started to look around for a clear shot. The deer started to walk again so Dad grunted again and it stopped. I started looking around again but didn’t find a hole to shoot through. The deer started walking and got behind a bunch of brush. When it got to an area where it wasn’t so brushy, Dad grunted at it and it stopped. Again I started to look for a clear shot.