“I never picked up my binoculars again,” Jordening said. “I knew this deer was a mature buck that would probably push 200 inches, but I was not totally sure if it was the buck that I had hunted for the last two years. I was going to shoot him regardless -- because he was a monster!”

Ducking below the rise of the ground, Jordening eased into the woods to get to where he could intercept the buck. He removed his backpack to use it for a rest, and lay on the ground waiting for the buck to appear over the rise. The doe materialized, and then the enormous rack, followed by the rest of the buck’s body, came into sight. Taking a deep breath, Jordening found the buck in his scope, let half of the breath out, steadied the rifle, and squeezed the trigger. The hunter was totally stunned to hear the metallic click of the firing pin dropping on an empty chamber! Always thinking of safety first, Jordening had intentionally omitted to chamber a round during his long walk in the darkness.

The buck was apparently too far away to hear the click, and so was unaware of the danger that lurked ahead. As slowly and silently as possible, the hunter, keeping his composure, bolted a live round into the chamber. This time, with the buck at 100 yards, Jordening held the cross hairs steady and again squeezed the trigger. At the shot, the deer bolted 40 yards before falling.

Flooded by emotion, Jordening headed over the rise toward his fallen buck. The elated hunter first wondered if it was the animal that he’d sought so long -- and then realized that, yes, it was the one.

“When I got to him, there was no doubt that it was my buck,” Jordening recalled excitedly. “He was even bigger than I thought! There lying on the ground was the most magnificent, beautiful animal that I have ever seen! This was the first time I had ever seen him in the flesh. I had only seen pictures of him.”

Jordening called his best friend, his wife Sharon. She knew her husband was hunting this specific buck.

“I killed him. The big one!” he told her. Then he called caretaker Denny Green to say, “You better bring the front-end loader. We’ve got a big one!”

Jordening’s beautiful record book buck from Arkansas is a typical 5x5 with three abnormal points. The brow tines measure 7 5/8 on each side; the G-2s and G-3s are from 10 6/8 inches to 13 inches, with G-4s of 7 5/8 and 9 1/8 inches long. The inside spread is 19 2/8 inches. The circumferences total 39 inches. Due to the three abnormal points, two on the right side and one on the left, with a total of 18 7/8 inches, the very typical-looking buck was scored by B&C scorer Clinton Latham as a non-typical with a net score of 205 6/8 B&C.

All of the work, time, and money invested in the Two Rivers Hunting Club have paid off for Jordening and his partners. Jordening’s record-book buck was not the only oversized buck taken on the property in 2006. Club member/owner Chris Canale took a massive monster that would gross in the 180s as well. The Two Rivers Hunting Club, in Lee County, has hosted the taking of four world-class bucks in the last three years, along with 20-plus does annually. Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that this club was voted as the “Best Co-op of the Year 2004” for Arkansas Acres for Wildlife by the Arkansas Wildlife Federation.

And David Jordening, Burt Robinson and Chris Canale feel that they’ve only begun to see the fruits of their labor. No one knows for sure what the future holds, but the partners firmly believe that they -- and we -- ain’t seen nothin’ yet!