Joe Carter of Sherrill, Iowa and friend Matt

My good friend Matt and I were situated in our stands near the Mississippi River on Nov. 5, 2008. There was a good breeze blowing out of the south, with the temperatures in the low 50s. At 4:45 p.m., I caught movement 90 yards to my right near the top of a bluff. I knew right away it was a good buck working his way down through a series of scrapes.

The buck passed our stands and stopped to drink. After what seemed like forever, he made his way into my shooting lane 21 yards away. Making a great shot, the buck ran about 60 yards before going down. After only four years of bowhunting together, Matt and I felt extremely blessed to have harvested such a whitetail.