Scot Chevalier's Rockingham County trophy is the third state-record buck taken in three years! It scored 175 4/8 Boone and Crockett points. Photo courtesy of Scot Chevalier

How often do we pick up a hunting magazine and read a story about some dishonest hunter who stole another hunter's deer? It's a depressing trend, and something every hunter dreads, especially bowhunters who make good hits but often must let their bucks "stiffen up" overnight. The thought that someone else might come across the blood trail and find the downed buck is enough to worry any hunter. When worry turns into reality, the sport is marred and tainted by such unethical actions.

Fortunately, this is not one of those depressing stories. This one has a happy ending, and a new state-record archery buck!

Archer Scot Chevalier has been hunting since he was 8 years old. He has roamed the woods of New Hampshire, Maine and New Jersey and has shot many whitetails with his bow, muzzleloader and shotgun. But, in 2004, at the age of 40, Chevalier encountered a buck that could only be called a "buck of a lifetime." And thanks to the honesty of a fellow hunter, Chevalier has that buck hanging on his wall today.

Oct. 15 was one of those perfect overcast days. The air was heavy, the sky was grey, and rain was in the forecast. Chevalier loves to hunt on such days, and on this particular afternoon he headed to a stand in Rockingham County that he has hunted several times before.

The stand was on a ridge nestled in a piece of property Chevalier has been hunting for several years. The 170-acre privately owned property has a nice mix of pastures, hardwoods, hemlocks, swamps and bogs, and is bordered by a few square miles of additional hunting land.

Chevalier had taken some nice bucks off this property in the past, including a 168-pound 7-pointer bow kill and a 178-pound 6-pointer with a 23-inch inside spread that he shot with his shotgun.

He had recently moved the stand to a slightly better vantage point, and in a few previous hunts had toyed with a smallish buck but had not gotten a shot.

However, this day would be different.

Chevalier was hunting alone, as he usually did during archery season. He used to hunt with a close friend, but over the last few years he had decided that solitary bowhunting was the best way to kill a good buck. He arrived to his stand and got ready to hunt. The temperature was in the 50s and the winds were calm. Chevalier silently hoped the rains would hold off till after dark.

As he waited, Chevalier thought about the monster buck the owner of the property had been watching all summer. He wondered if the owner had really seen that buck, or if he was just "yanking my chain" with his stories. If the buck was real and as big as everyone said, it would have to be a monster!

Chevalier's train of thought was derailed by the sound of a walking deer, and his eyes quickly found movement on the ridge. Thirty yards away he could see a deer moving toward him, and through the leaves he noticed the glint of antler. It was a buck, but Chevalier did not know how big and really didn't care. He got himself ready and concentrated on the kill zone as the buck moved through the hemlocks.

Waiting for the right moment, Chevalier came to full draw, as his eyes followed the walking buck. He knew this was a "good" buck, but as any experienced hunter should, Chevalier was concentrating on the shot, not the rack.

Finally, the buck presented a beautiful shot at 20 yards, quartering away, and Chevalier let the arrow fly. Based on the buck's reaction, Chevalier knew he had a good hit. He waited 10 minutes and then got down to check for his arrow.

When he was down, he heard another deer take off on top of the hill above him. That made him wonder if this was the deer he hit, possibly heading back where he came from? Or was it a different deer? The uncertainty was enough to cause Chevalier to leave the woods and get some help.