A Boone & Crockett Texas Whitetail

For many in the Lone Star State, hunting is part of their culture. Although Cody Griffin has hunted most of his life, he had never killed a whitetail before. That may seem hard to believe. He lives in the state that claims the highest whitetail density in the world, which currently stands at just under 4 million. But when your stomping grounds are the suburbs of McKinney, Texas—which is by no means a whitetail stronghold—it's easy to see why. That said, Cody grew up hunting dove, ducks, and hogs on his family's 200-acre cattle farm.

Over the past few years, whitetail numbers have grown across the region where super highways seem to stretch in every direction, and Cody took notice when a particular buck suddenly showed up on the family farm this past June. There was still more than two months of antler growth remaining, but it was already obvious the buck was special.

As the hot Texas summer churned on, the trail camera photos of the buck poured in, and his rack seemed to explode with the summer heat. By the time the velvet stripped off in late August, the buck Cody dubbed Dream Maker truly was a whitetail that dreams are made of. His 12-point frame stretched over 20 inches wide, and his long main beams swept forward like no other. Cody had never killed a whitetail buck—with gun or bow—but in his mind, the season was going to begin and end with only Dream Maker in his sights.

On October 9, Cody couldn't wait to leave his construction job behind and head to the farm. Dream Maker was still on his summer bachelor group. Furthermore, he was on a solid bed-to-feed pattern, too. Cody was hoping for an opportunity.

The buck had been seen in a particular plowed field and was entering the field near a couple of hay bales Cody had placed for a ground blind. With the wind gusting to 25 mph, Cody quickly set up the blind and settled in for the evening hunt. The warm and windy conditions were less than ideal for an early-season opportunity. But you can't kill them if you're not in the game, Cody thought.

As the sun began to drop toward the western horizon, the wind settled down, and the two 8-points that had been seen with Dream Maker all summer came into view. Cody gripped his bow a little tighter, hoping Dream Maker was in tow. It didn't take long for him to appear. Cody's heart pounded with each step Dream Maker took. When it stopped 15 yards in front of his blind, he knew the moment he'd been planning for all summer—his whole life—was right in front of him.

The buck continued to feed as Cody drew his bow back. The buck turned his head toward Cody. Its eyes burned a hole into the well-placed blind, and Cody's heart raced. He held his breath. Time seemed to stand still, but when the buck turned its head to take another bite, Cody touched his release.

Dream Maker ran back where it had come from. Cody knew the arrow struck true. When he walked up to the North Texas king, he realized Dream Maker truly did live up to the name.