STATE RECORD MUZZLELOADER TYPICAL

TROY GRAVES - Hot Springs, AR

    On October 19, the second day of the state's early muzzleloader season, 42-year-old Troy Graves walked a mile-and-a-half to a secluded spot he wanted to hunt in the western part of Garland County. It took some effort, for the area was typical Ouachita Mountains terrain, which means lots of up and down. It had also turned off hot, and when Troy finally reached the spot about 4:00 o'clock in the afternoon the temperature was still in the 80's, the woods around him dry and noisy. He cleared a spot at the base of a large oak and sat down, overlooking an area of draws where he had seen several bucks in the past.

   "I took out my grunt call and started to blow it," Troy said. "I would blow every 10-15 minutes, then wait to see what happened. Nothing came, and I was just about to get up and head back out, I guess it was about 6:30 or so, when I heard a deer coming toward me through the dry leaves."

   "I had laid my American Knight .50-caliber across my lap, and this buck came out of one of those hollows so fast that I didn't have time to pick it up. All of a sudden he was just there, about twelve yards away, and I had to try to ease it up with him watching me."
   "He saw the movement and broke into a run. I thought I had missed my chance, but he stopped about 40-50 yards way, then turned and offered me a perfect broadside shot. I fired and couldn't see anything at first for all the smoke, but then I heard him kicking in the leaves!"

   Officially scored at the Big Buck Classic, Troy's big 8x6 buck netted 170 2/8 B&C points. That figure makes it the new #2 Arkansas typical muzzleloader kill of all time, behind only the 171 7/8 buck taken by Charles Marcum back in 1994.