I was born in Wausau, Wisconsin and grew up on a dairy farm. Hunting was a big part of my life and the whitetail deer were very plentiful. When the leaves of the trees would brighten the skies with their multi-colored beauty you could feel the fever of deer hunters all over the area. In mid November the nine-day holiday (as most called it) would begin. The hunting fever brought out young and old to try their skills to get the big one or the one that got away. I have enjoyed hunting since I was twelve years old and shot my first deer, which was a 6 pointer, on the first day of the hunt. I have always enjoyed the outdoors and spend a good amount of time studying various animals' habits and habitats.

In October of 2000 I was offered a position with the Federal Railroad Administration as a Hazardous Materials Inspector. My family and I had to move across the country to our new home in Post Falls, Idaho. We purchased a home on in the mountains on 10 acres, which helped us to feel more at home. We had the good fortune to have many different animals visit us on the land including whitetail, moose, bobcats, coyotes and grouse. In the harsh winter months we had the chance to see a herd of elk come down the mountain to find food.

I started to scout out this new area as soon as we moved and spent hours scouting out good hunting land. As I would sit out on my deck in the evening I realized that there were some phenomenal animals right around the area. I noticed an 8-pointer (4x4) in the area and with the pattern of deer movement and conditions the results could be promising. When the season finally started I found myself getting more and more worried. Where was that buck I had seen? As I walked into the kitchen my wife looked at me and asked, "when are we going to get some venison?" With only two days to go I decided my priority would be to get meat and not worry about the horns. The next day I missed the early morning hunt due to my alarm clock not going off. Early afternoon would be my next chance to set up for the hunt. As I stepped out of the door snow flurries began to fall. After setting up my stand the flurries turned into a winter storm. Snowflakes were falling so hard that visibility began to diminish and every tree limb was covered with new fallen snow. I decided it would be a better idea to try again tomorrow and started to pack up my stuff when I saw a deer walking at a fast pace across from me. The deep brown color of the deer's body stood out with everything covered in white by the wet snow. I raised my rifle to determine the status of the deer through my scope. It was a doe but the way it was acting told me that there was something going on. I was right! Behind the doe was the 4x4 and only 90 yards away from me. With the snow coming down so heavily I did not have time to wait and see what he was going to do. Will he stop in the clear so I could squeeze out a shot or would he turn? All I knew was that if I had a clear shot I would need to make it count because there would be no time for a second shot. I knew I would probably not be able find him in this snow storm if I wounded him.
I waited and finally the time came when the buck stopped. He put his nose to the ground and raised his head straight out in the direction of the doe. I put the scope cross-hairs on his neck and squeezed the trigger on my .270 Weatherby. The buck dropped to the ground.

As I started walking closer to the deer my heart began to race. Something was definitely different about this buck compared to the one I saw earlier. When I arrived at where he lay I saw the most beautiful animal I have ever seen in my life.
The right antler totaled 15 points, the left had 12 points, and the most unusual antler was protruding from his forehead. The "unicorn" antler stood 4 1/2-inches from the base of the forehead, then forked to additional 1 1/2-inches. The inside spread of the antlers totaled 19 5/8-inches and the weight of the deer neared 200 pounds.
One of the locals in the area calls it a 15 x 12 x 2! Some people just say, "he's the one who shot the Unicorn".

The buck scored 253 7/8 in the non-typical category and is the fifth biggest ever taken in Idaho. Mel and Kevin of Wildlife Recaptures Taxidermy in Libby, Montana created a unique one of a kind mount. I highly recommend Wildlife Recaptures for any type of taxidermy. My deer was done in a short time and I was emailed pictures during the progress. They treated me as if they have known me all their lives and even laughed when they told me "Al, two more inches and that deer would have got away".