Even at a distance of 350 yards, Mike Hicks knew this whitetail deer buck was extraordinary.

"I saw him in the corner of my eye at 350 yards on my range finder," Hicks told Abilene Online. "There was no mistaking those antlers. ... I had heard of him, but I had never seen him."

Hicks, a veteran deer hunter from Dallas who has hunted in Shackelford County for at least six years, was hunting alone on the Merrick Davis Ranch on Sunday. And by the second day of the 2009-10 season, Hicks had his trophy buck.

The ranch is operated by H&M Cattle Co., primarily a cattle operation, with a focus on conservation to benefit both cattle and wildlife on the ranch.

"Big Jim," as Hicks calls the deer in memory of his friend and former hunting and fishing partner Jim Thomas, was running with other bucks and does on a flattop ringed with mesquite trees. "He was in and out of the mesquite for about 15 minutes," Hicks said. "I had no good shot at him. I thought, ‘I'm going to have to stalk him.'

"My best friend, Jim (who died recently), had told me to be patient," Hicks continued. "He (the deer) took a step out from the mesquite and started into the flat, and I told myself, ‘This is it.' "

Rick Hanson, a partner in H&M Cattle Co. with Matt Matthews, said: "Mike was a very, very patient hunter. He waited for the buck to expose himself. He was running with about six other bucks chasing does. Mike waited until he got a perfect shot, and he downed him with one shot."

Hanson said the 16-point buck unofficially measured 203.375 by standards of the Boone and Crockett Club of Missoula, Mont., and field dressed 155 pounds. That score most likely will be lowered when the deer is officially scored by a Boone and Crockett representative in about 60 days.

"Overall, everything about deer is good this year," said Brian Huckabay, game warden for Shackelford County. "Hunters have told me there aren't many mature deer coming to feeders because there's so much for them to eat.

"I know there have been some deer that scored in the 180s and 190s (by Boone and Crockett), but this is the only one I know of over 200," Huckabay added. "It's much bigger than average. There's definitely only a few deer running around in Shackelford County like that."

Hanson said "Big Jim" could be the biggest or one of the biggest white-tailed bucks killed in Texas this year. "He's enormously larger than the biggest scores I've seen," he added. "I've heard the Shackelford County average is about 140."

Hicks said one Shackelford County rancher told him "Big Jim" is the second-largest white-tailed buck ever killed in the county.

"I knew if I had tried to stalk him, I would have missed him," Hicks said. "Some guys think you go out there and shoot and leave, but you can't do that. You have to be patient.

"Out there you always hear about this mythical deer," he said. "Sometimes you make yourself see them when they aren't there.

"It's the prettiest deer I've ever seen. This will cause some excitement. It already has. Shackelford County is well known for large game."

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