Mike Turner's Page County bow-kill buck scored 162 3/8 and had an 11-point rack. Photo courtesy of Mike Turner Photo courtesy of Mike Turner

Every year, I set aside the last weekend in February in order to make a visit to the Western Virginia Sports Show, which is always held at the Augusta County Expoland in Fishersville. For those Old Dominion sportsmen who hunger to kill, view and learn about trophy bucks, this show is the one for those individuals to take an initial gander at some of the best broadbeams tagged from the year before.

Show operator Mark Hanger explains the event's appeal.

"Of course, one of the most exciting things about the show is that it gives the avid trophy hunter his first look at the best bucks taken during the preceding season," says Hanger. "The late February date gives many hunters a chance to have their bucks mounted and for the antlers to have dried."

Hanger relates that the 2005 affair sported an incredible number of trophy bucks. He also emphasizes that there is no question that more and more Old Dominion sportsmen are managing the properties they own, lease, or hunt on with the goal of producing better quality deer. And that there's also no question that more and more state hunters are content to let lesser bucks walk and hold out for a mature one.

Here, then, are the stories behind some of the most intriguing big bucks of 2004.

MARK CULLINANE'S FOUR-YEAR QUEST
Mark Cullinane, a 39-year-old stonemason from Purcellville in Loudon County, found the sheds for the deer that became his quest in February of 2001. Cullinane, an ex-Marine, noted that the animal was a 10-pointer and a solid 140 class. The next year while on a Sunday scouting expedition, he spotted the buck and then decided to concentrate on him during the 2002 season.

"That one time I did see him was in the summer when I was looking out over a power line right of way," Cullinane recalled. "It was near dark, and three bucks in his group had already gotten up from their beds and were feeding. But, there, still hidden in the brush was my buck. He was so cautious and secretive that he wouldn't even expose himself before dark during the summer. I knew then he was going to be a real challenge to hunt."

The Virginian never saw the buck that hunting season, despite the fact that his rubs and scrapes dotted the Loudon County landscape, which Mark describes as being "big timber hardwoods."

Adding to his frustration was the fact that a hurricane blew over the tree where Cullinane had placed a stand -- this spot had been deemed the most likely one where the sportsmen could waylay the buck.

The 2003 season came and went and Cullinane never laid eyes on his dream buck and the same was true with the 2004 early bow and muzzleloader seasons.

"I knew the buck was bedding on land that I did not have access to, and I knew that he would never leave that land before darkness," Cullinane said. "So finally I hit upon the strategy that my only chance to kill him would be to catch him during the rut coming back a little late to his bedding area in the morning."

Cullinane then located just the right spot -- a classic saddle on the downhill slope from a ridge peak. Mountain laurel thrived in great profusion at the top of the saddle, and at the bottom, Cullinane and compatriots had conducted timber-thinning operations. The result was that the surviving hardwoods were producing great numbers of acorns and that the left-behind treetops were providing additional thick cover. On the cold, crisp morning of Monday, Nov. 15, Cullinane was positioned near the top of the saddle where it adjoins the ridge. It was the first Monday of the regular gun season in Loudon County.