Editor’s Note: We’re highlighting all of the bucks that ran in August’s Deer of the Year feature. We asked each of these four hunters to tell us their stories in their own words. To enter your own buck in our 2014/2015 Deer of the Year program, click here. Ed Pepin, Maine (above)

“I’d started a new job and didn’t have much hunting time—only a few hours one Saturday. I headed into a thicket and spotted a buck but missed clean. Out from behind a pine steps a monster. After a misfire, I chambered a fresh round and shot. It felt good. I …read more