In 2004, Mark Thomas did something most Bay State archers only dream about: He arrowed a 10-point typical in Norfolk County that gross-scored 175 6/8 Pope and Young points -- establishing a new Massachusetts state record for archery typical bucks. He held that record until 2006, when a hunter from Worcester County arrowed a massive 180-class buck that pushed Thomas' great buck down to a respectable No. 2.

Mark Thomas' incredible non-typical Bay State bruiser was the biggest buck taken in New England last season. Photo courtesy of Mark Thomas.

However, Thomas cares little for what other people think. He just loves to hunt big bucks. His passion produced yet another great buck that fell on Oct. 31, 2007: the state's new non-typical archery record!

THE THOMAS BUCK
At 444 square miles, Norfolk County in eastern Massachusetts is one of the smaller counties in the state. It lies south of Boston and runs down to the corners of Rhode Island and Connecticut.

In other words, Thomas was hunting in a suburban area with a population of 650,000 people, or more than 1,600 humans per square mile!

Not exactly what you might consider ideal whitetail habitat.

However, experienced New England bowhunters know that deer densities are higher in suburban counties. And hunting pressure is often very light, translating to great trophy-hunting opportunities for bowhunters who can gain access to small pockets of cover. In fact, small Norfolk County has produced more than 50 bucks that make the Northeast Big Bucks Club record book, including the state's largest gross-scoring buck, a giant 210-inch non-typical found dead off Route 128, one of the state's busiest highways.

That buck currently ranks as the state's No. 1 non-typical of all time.

Thomas has been hunting this area for many years. A bowhunter primarily, he has killed many great bucks in this county, including that big former state-record buck. In late October 2007, he found himself on familiar ground; he had been hunting on it for several years.

In 2006 his trail camera produced several photos of a great drop-tine buck. Thomas hunted the buck hard that year. One rainy day, he had a close encounter, but thought better of trying a shot. He became obsessed with the monster whitetail and hunted the buck hard the rest of 2006. But the season closed without his sighting the buck again.

Later, Thomas found the buck's right shed. He continued to follow the buck through the summer, capturing 10 trail camera photos of the deer.

Thomas was thoroughly psyched for the beginning of the 2007 season.

HIS HUNT BEGINS
Last year, Halloween morning was very cold, although the forecast called for the temperature to rise quickly during the day.

Thomas was in a tree stand about 200 yards from where he had seen the great buck in 2006, and he rattled and grunted as the morning temperature rose. At about 8:45 a.m., just as Thomas was getting ready to quit the spot, he heard a deer walking in the distance.

Scanning the pines 100 yards from his stand, he caught sight of a single tine from the rack -- and instantly he knew it was "his" buck.

The deer walked out of the pines spoiling for a fight, and immediately spotted the hunter in his stand.

The hunter froze, and the two had a standoff that lasted for about a minute -- which for Thomas seemed like an hour!

Finally the buck flicked his tail, demonstrating that he was relaxed, and started walking. At 37 yards, the deer turned broadside. Thomas drew his bow and let the arrow fly! The arrow struck the buck high, and the deer bolted out of sight.

Thomas was juiced with adrenaline, but his experience with big bucks taught him to wait three or four hours before starting to track this one. While he waited, he called his friend, Matt Grady, and also called his father.