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Luke Woodruff of Hanover Twp. bagged this 20-point buck during the youth season this year, Nov. 22-23. It was the 11-year-old's first time hunting.Click to enlarge

REILY TWP., Butler County, Ohio — If his initial deer-hunting trip is any indication, Luke Woodruff's first car will be a Mercedes-Benz.

His first Ohio Lottery ticket will make him an instant millionaire.

And his first date — you know, in about five years — will be with Jessica Alba.

On the morning of Nov. 23, Luke Woodruff was an 11-year-old fifth-grader at Bogan Elementary in the Talawanda School District.

A few hours and one bullet later, he was Daniel Boone.

Luke and his father, Matt, spotted a large buck standing behind them in a bean field in the Vollmer Farm in Reily Twp.

Matt, 39, and a hunter for the last 19 years, called the buck the biggest he had ever seen.

But not the brightest.

The 19- to 20-point buck walked out of the thick brush and stood in front of the Woodruff's ground blind, about 30 to 40 yards away.

"It was the perfect situation," his father said. "The sun was coming up, the wind wasn't blowing. Everything was in our favor."

Without being encouraged by his father, Luke, a first-time hunter, removed his gloves, released the safety off his 20-gauge shotgun — last year's Christmas present — and pulled the trigger.

His heart, he said, "was racing pretty good."

Luke thought the worst.

"Did I hit it or did I not," he said.

Finally, he admitted: "I missed."

A few hours later, after hearing some barking dogs, Luke and his father started tracking blood. They found the deer across two fields, lying in a back yard, about 600 yards from where it was shot.

"I couldn't believe how big it was," Luke said.

His father added: "It was twice as big as I thought."

The buck will be a trophy.

"We're not letting this one get away," his father said.

In about two months, a member of the Buckeye Big Bucks, a state scoring organization, will dry-score the deer to determine whether its antlers qualify for any state record.

Todd Haines, who works for the Ohio Department of National Resources, was e-mailed a picture of the deer. He called it "a fine, fine deer," but not a state record.

Regardless, Luke can boast that he killed a big buck with his first shot.

"He's ruined," his father said. "He probably won't even go hunting this week."

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