Drawing my bowstring on a truly big Oklahoma whitetail has been a dream of mine for years. Like legions of other archers, I long for the day that a bragging-sized buck will stroll within range of my tree stand. And then, of course, I'll still have to control my nerves long enough to place a razor-sharp broadhead in the deer's vitals.

It's true: Taking a big buck by bow is tough at best. The effective range of a bow is in most cases much closer than the killing range of a 12-gauge shotgun on an unsuspecting gobbler.

However, any deer taken by bow is a trophy, and perhaps famous conservationist Aldo Leopold said it best: A trophy should not be measured in inches, but in effort! Well -- that said -- please read these stories, and find out how the efforts of a few of our state's archers paid off big time last season with some outstanding stick-and-string trophies.

KYLE WILKINS' 26-POINT GIANT
This 19-year-old occupies an enviable position among bowhunters, having taken a whitetail that most can only dream of. Last season, the Krebs archer took a giant that will enter the Cy Curtis records as the third-largest archery non-typical ever. In addition, the buck is the second-highest scoring deer ever taken in Pittsburg County.

After deer hunting for 10 years, Wilkins had taken 30 deer, his best being an 11-point that scored 130.

Upon graduating high school, Wilkins upgraded his archery gear by taking his graduation money and buying a bow and accessories. Then, joining with his dad Royce and younger brother Brandon, the trio improved the habitat on their property by building food plots.

As the season approached, Wilkins was optimistic after seeing a 160-inch 10-point as well as 10 other bucks. Tree stands were hung so Kyle and Brandon could hunt from opposite sides of a food plot.

The 2007 archery season opened with Wilkins having some close calls with big bucks but no shot opportunities. Things changed on day four. After Brandon got home from high school, the Wilkins brothers headed to their hunting spot, arriving at 5:30.

"When we got in the woods it was warm, and we were sweating and swatting mosquitoes," remembered Kyle. "My plan was to put Brandon in the best stand to kill the big buck we had seen."

On their way to the tree stands, the duo busted a big buck from its bed. Kyle then decided to sneak up on the food plot to check for deer activity.

At 80 yards, Brandon spotted a big buck already on the field, but after stalking closer, the younger Wilkins didn't feel confident with a long shot and asked Kyle to try it. Ironically, Brandon and Kyle were looking at completely different bucks. Both bucks were alerted as Kyle released an arrow.

The shot flew true and passed through the buck, which vanished from the feed field. After finding blood on the arrow, the Wilkins brothers decided to go home for dinner and give the buck time to expire. Returning at 8 p.m. with their dad Royce, the brothers followed a short blood trail to Kyle's trophy.

Brandon, first on the scene, was ecstatic. "I wished I would have shot now," said Brandon. "Oh, my God! I freaked out. The buck was awesome."

The downed buck wasn't the main-frame 10-pointer that the boys had hoped for, but they weren't complaining: It was a main-frame 8-pointer with a total of 26 scorable points! The big non-typical, scored officially at the Backwoods Hunting Show, netted 192 6/8, easily besting Kyle's previous top buck score of 130.

Wilkins credits his younger brother with his success, and hopes to get a crack at the big typical 10-pointer this season.