With its Pope & Young score of 216 1/8, Jim Casto's giant non-typical from Dunn County could set a new state record for bow bucks. Photo by Jerry Defoe.

On the evening of Dec. 2, 2006, three avid bowhunters met at the airport in Bismarck, N.D., to embark on a much-anticipated deer hunt in the Badlands.

One of them, Jim Casto Jr., has been an avid bowhunter for the roughly 45 years since he was 8, when his father presented him with his first lemonwood recurve. Jim was to hunt with lifelong friend and fellow West Virginian Frank Boggess, of Ripley, W.Va., who has bowhunted for over 40 years as well. Dale Casto of Bentonville Ark., Jim's cousin, was the third member of the team.

For Jim, bowhunting is not only a pastime, but also part of who he is -- as he's put it on more than one occasion, "I don't use firearms, I don't fish and I don't golf . . . I'm a bowhunter" -- and he tries to shoot at least a few arrows every day. He loves to hunt with a recurve, but like a lot of avid shooters, he suffers bouts of target panic from time to time, and so carries a compound bow as a backup.

The expedition would afford Dale, who'd only been bowhunting for a few years, mostly for whitetails, his first Western hunt; indeed, the trip would be his first outside either his native Arkansas or West Virginia.

All three men were filled with excited anticipation by their coming hunt -- but no one could possibly have imagined what lay in store for them during the next five days.

AN ENDLESS ADVENTURE
Both Jim and Frank had hunted in the Badlands before, and they'd fallen in love with the region's rugged beauty. This would be their fourth trip to the area hunting with me, a licensed guide and outfitter, and owner and operator of Dakota Adventures out of Watford City.

On previous trips, Jim had been fortunate enough to arrow two mule deer and a whitetail. Frank had glimpsed many bucks, but hadn't yet scored -- but he knew that it was only a matter of time.

The group's destination was Dunn County and the Trail End Ranch, owned by Ernie Hellickson. The three men, who had booked the hunt for the week of Dec. 4-8 a year in advance, arrived in camp on the afternoon of Dec. 3. After stowing their gear, it was time to share some familiar hunting tales and then to settle in to prepare for the big adventure.

On Monday, the first day of the hunt, the morning temperature was in the mid-20s, and things were unusually calm for this area. That night, the three hunters' relation of the day's experiences was enough to cause quite a stir around the campfire.

Jim had seen 15 whitetails from his stand during the afternoon, one an exceptional 4x4 that he estimated would score in the mid-140s. The buck was at least 20 inches wide, with 11-inch G-2s and 10-inch G-3s; its main beams would run near to 22 inches. He drew his recurve and sent an arrow on its way, but no damage was done -- except to his ego.

Frank had seen 25 mule deer, including six bucks. One was a big, heavy 8x8. All he would say was: "What happens on stand stays on stand . . . end of story!"

As beginner's luck would have it, Dale made a perfect double-lung shot on a nice 3x3 mulie; on his first big-country hunt, he'd downed his first mule deer.

A DIFFERENT BALL GAME
The second day of the hunt, Tuesday Dec. 5, began much differently. The weather wasn't as cooperative, with skies overcast, the temperature standing near zero, and typical North Dakota winds blowing at 30 miles per hour. Jim and Frank decided to endure the elements and go hunting, knowing that their chances were 100 percent better in a stand than in camp.

Surprisingly, it turned out to be an exceptional day. Jim saw 56 deer, eight of which were bucks. He took a shot at a 150-class 5x5 mule deer at 22 yards, but the arrow flew a foot under its target. A little buck fever, perhaps -- or maybe that dreaded target panic?

Frank saw more than 20 mule deer. Dale had filled his deer tag, so he spent the day chasing Merriam's turkeys, but had no luck. In camp that night, Jim decided to make a change in equipment. After two shots with his recurve had failed to connect with two nice bucks, his confidence, understandably, had taken a hit, so for the hunt's third day, he planned to use his backup compound.