BY LYNN BURKHEAD

HERALD DEMOCRAT

Last Saturday -- Halloween Day 2009, for those who have forgotten -- was a day for ghosts, goblins and candy fanatics to enjoy.

It was a also a good day for deer hunters in the right place at the right time.

One such hunter was Aron Stepich, a North Texas deer slayer who will never forget the treat that came his way while hunting in Cooke County.

Reportedly hunting with an MLD permit (Managed Land Deer), Stepich was able to unleash a rifle shot that downed a massive buck on a private and well managed deer lease between Muenster and the Red River.

The e-mail sent to me last Saturday - from a fellow lease member - said that Stepich's Halloween freak nasty whitetail had been initially taped out with a "...rough score (of) 202 gross (and) 195 net."

To be honest, with antlers looking like those of a Midwest or Canadian giant, it looks to me like the Stepich buck's super-sized headbones could even be bigger than the score reported above.

While I don't know many of the details concerning the kill of this magnificent Red River Valley bruiser, I do know that if that 195-inch net score proves to be accurate and it stays true throughout the official 60-day drying period, then Stepich will have achieved one of the rarest of all accomplishments in the past-time of deer hunting.

What's that?

The tagging of a bona fide Boone & Crockett Club monster buck on Halloween Day!

And that's a trick that every deer hunter I know -- especially yours truly -- would love to be able to play on a monster whitetail someday.