To Gary,

Who walked with me through the chapters of life.

Calvin Edward Branscom lived with his parents on their farm in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina.  Everyone called him Cal for short.

There was a Big Buck contest every hunting season in the county in which Cal lived.  The winner of this contest received numerous prizes.  Among them was a brand-spanking new deer rifle and a big silver trophy.  Whenever Cal passed the hardware store in town, he would stop and stare at that new rifle and silver trophy in the store window.

Ever since Cal was knee high to a grasshopper, his dad had promised him that when he got to be twelve years old he would be allowed to hunt by himself.  This summer, on July 21st to be exact, Cal would celebrate his twelfth birthday and this hunting season Cal would hunt alone.

Cal was a good shot and he just knew that he would win the contest by bagging the biggest buck.  Actually, he had been shooting cans and bottles off the fence posts for several years.  Now all he had to do was find that buck.

In March of that year, Cal started scouting the woods looking for bucks that were starting to grow their antlers.  By June, Cal had seen several deer with antlers, but he really didn't think any of them would qualify as the "biggest buck."

Finally, one day in July, as Cal was heading to the creek to do a little fishing and swimming, he saw it!  The biggest buck Cal had ever laid eyes on was drinking water at the spring. Right then and there, Cal knew had had found his buck.  He even named him Big Boy!

Every day after he finished his chores on the family farm, Cal stuffed his pockets with corn from the silo and headed off in the direction of the spring.  He never told anyone, not even his parents, what he had seen for fear that someone else would discover that Big Boy.

Almost every day, when he arrived at the spring, the corn from the previous day was gone.  He was not sure if he was feeding Big Boy or some pesky raccoons who also loved corn.  He really hoped it was his Big Boy benefitting from the corn.

In his daydreams, he could imagine Big Boy coming in the evenings or in the early mornings to nibble the corn that he had left for him.  On a few occasions, Cal caught a glimpse of Big Boy, and yes, those antlers were covered in velvet which meant they were still growing!

When school started in the fall, Cal would rush home, do his chores, stuff his pockets full of corn, and hurry off to the spring with Big Boy's supper.  Before long, Cal noticed the smaller saplings around the spring had been attacked and most of the bark had been scraped off.  This meant that the bucks were rubbing the velvet off the antlers and the antlers were as big as they were going to get that season.

Shortly, Cal saw Big Boy and counted twelve points or prongs on his set of antlers.  This was more than enought to win the contest.  Now Cal started imaging that fine set of antlers mounted and hanging on the wall in his bedroom.  He had the perfect spot picked out for the mount.  He would be able to see it as he walked into his bedroom and  would also see it the first thing in the morning when he woke up.

That evening Cal could not keep his secret a secret any longer.  He could not eat his dinner and could not quit babbling about Big Boy.  His mom told him not to get his heart set on Big Boy as there would be many, many hunters on the first day of the hunting season.  However, Cal could see only one outcome...those antlers on the wall, the new rifle in his hands, and the tropy on the nightstand next to his bed.

Along about October, Cal's dad helped him clean his old rifle.  He told Cal that he needed to pick out a big tree in which to build his tree stand.  After school, for the next three days, Cal climbed tree after tree in the area of the spring searching for the perfect lookout spot.

Finally, he found an oak tree in which to build his hunting stand, where he could sit and wait, and bag his prize buck.  He constructed a fine stand and spent many hours sitting up in it picturing in his mind how he would shoot Big Boy.

The great day in November finally arrived.  Yes, on that first day of the hunting season in North Carolina, Cal was up well before any other family members.  After a big breakfast, fixed by his mom, with flashlight and rifle in hand, Cal set out to get that big buck.  Dad had reminded him again, that if he saw the big one to wait for a good shot, not to make noise and to move slowly.  He also cautioned him not to fall asleep and fall off the deer stand.  Call didn't think there was much chance of that with all the excitement he was feeling that day!  

However, that evening proved to be a slow and disappointing walk home for Cal.  Yes, he had seen raccoons, some female deer and a few small bucks he could have easily downed, but no sign of Big Boy.