“We wanted to restore the property to what it originally had been a hundred years ago, and create a widely diverse habitat,” Jordening explained. “We planted the trees in stages beginning in 1999. We planted more in 2004, and then again in 2006. Since we have created a wide range of habitat, the wildlife has responded. About three years ago, we began to have resident bald eagles that nested here. The alligators returned, along with black bears and cougars.”

Of course, the deer responded in a big-time way. Two Rivers Hunting Club has always had good genes in the deer herd, the same genes that are on Crowley’s Ridge, which produces a good number of B&C bucks. (You can actually see Crowley’s Ridge from the property.) The mature bucks that had been killed on Two Rivers in the past were big-bodied, heavy-antlered bucks with twisted, gnarly racks -- some even palmated -- but few had racks that would score very well. An intense doe harvest and management buck plan was put into motion to lower the deer numbers and remove the mature bucks that needed to be removed.

“I don’t feel that we made any substantial habitat improvements until 2001,” Jordening recalled.

They began to establish food plots of clover, corn, and soybeans double cropped with oats. The trees that were planted were of five different kinds of oaks, persimmon, ash, and pecan. They also planted switchgrass, and let the weeds take over some areas. Poison ivy made a major assault on some areas; it’s an important plant food for deer, so they let it grow. (According to a biologist with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission as much as 2,000 pounds of poison ivy pods per acre can be found in some places.)

Every leaf, every bean and every kernel of corn is left standing in the fields for the deer. Supplemental mineral licks were established, using base elements of calcium, phosphorus, and salt. Trail cameras were put up over the mineral licks; in 2006, they recorded 5,400 deer between mid-July and Sept. 1.

“Of the 5,400 deer that were recorded, there were 17 more does than bucks. We have a virtual 1:1 doe-to-buck ratio,” Jordening said. “In 2001, when I saw a picture of a wide, very long-tined buck in velvet, I was excited, because I finally felt that we had made some progress. Without the cameras, we would have no idea what kind or how many deer we have. Also, all of the big bucks that we have killed were taken within 200 yards of where they were photographed on a mineral lick. Our bucks just do not seem to move very far.”

The first megabuck taken was shot by Lil’ Burt, son of Burt Robinson. “Lil’ Burt killed a world-class buck in 2003 in a place we call the ‘Hog Pocket,’” Jordening explained. “The buck grossed about 180. He killed another one in the same place in 2005 that grossed in the 170s. We knew it would just be a matter of time until we killed something really big.”

That really big deer was the one that Jordening was after this day. He hoped he wasn’t too late. The hunter could see deer moving in the distance, but the light was so dim that he could not tell what they were. As daylight slowly came, he continued down the road towards the food plot where he expected to see the big buck. This was only one of 41 food plots on the Mississippi River side of the property, but it was the one where the buck’s image had been captured on a trail cam several times.

As the sun began to rise over the Mississippi, peeking from behind the gray clouds, it cast an eerie orange glow over the river basin. A doe stepped into sight, followed by a huge-bodied buck with a massive rack. Jordening briefly looked at the buck with his binoculars and could tell that he was a definite shooter.