Dylan Carney decided to take a chance and wait for a better deal.

The gamble paid off.

Carney decided to be picky and patient as he went deer hunting back in October.

Carney, who lives only a few miles from the Collins Career Center, scouted the area around his home for several weeks prior to the deer bow season and set up a couple of deer stands.

On the evening of Oct. 4, two bucks came walking past the area at dark.

“I was at full draw with my compound bow and I could not tell which buck was the bigger buck,” said Carney. “By law, I knew that I cold only harvest one buck per year, so I decided to let them both go.”

Carney didn’t have to wait long for a second chance. The next day he was watching five does when a seven-point buck and his eventual prize buck went scurrying past. He took aim and brought down the buck with a shot traveling about 32 yards.

After harvesting the buck with some friends, they started counting the points and kept coming up with different totals. Carney decided to take the buck to a checking station in Proctorville.

The man who operated the checking station asked Carney if the deer was a buck and he confirmed the kill.

When asked how many points were on the deer, Carney said, “It depends on how you count them.”

The store owner went outside to check the deer himself and returned with an accurate county.

“He counted the points and check my buck as an 18-pointer,” said Carney.