For years in Illinois, any youngster or newcomer to hunting born on or after Jan. 1, 1980, had to pass a hunter safety certification course to buy a regular hunting license. That changed in 2006 when Illinois created an apprentice hunting license, which allows youngsters ages 10 to 17 to hunt with a parent, grandparent or guardian who has a valid hunting license. Individuals 18 and older can also buy apprentice licenses, which are available through vendors and are valid for only one year.

Some youngsters are taking advantage of that new rule. Many others rely on the tried-and-true method of attending a safety course first. Classes consist of a minimum of 10 hours of instruction on hunter responsibility, wildlife conservation, firearms, field safety, wildlife management, first aid, archery and state regulations. The class culminates in a written examination.

Haley aced the exam because the information was very familiar.

"When I went to that class it was simple. I already knew everything because my dad is a big hunter and taught me all that stuff," Haley said.

The payoff for time in the classroom and on the shooting range came last season. For a variety of reasons, Haley did not practice shooting heading into gun season. Yet, her only shot in 2008 yielded a basic 10-pointer with an inside spread of 20 inches. Her big buck's rack contained eight abnormal sticker points and netted 181 1/8 inches.

Shooting a deer that large was a surprise for Haley and her grandfather. But seeing such a trophy was not completely expected. They were hunting on property belonging to a friend of Beaman's who has several sizable racks hanging on his walls.

"So we kind of knew there were big bucks there, but we never knew there was this huge one," Haley said.

Then, too, Montgomery County remains an under-appreciated sleeper deer-hunting county. You'll never hear the south-central Illinois county mentioned in the same breath as Pike, Adams, Brown, Fulton, Knox or Peoria counties. But as in many Illinois counties, there is ample deer habitat in Montgomery County. Evidently, there are also numerous places for big bucks to develop.

Last year, hunters shot 2,125 deer in Montgomery County. That's in the middle third of the state for overall harvest. Yet the county ranks in the top 15 for whitetails registered in the Big Buck Recognition Program run by the state's Department of Natural Resources.

What's more, in the past two seasons, Montgomery has produced some impressive trophies. In 2007, while hunting on public ground, Litchfield resident Greg Wilson shot a 21-point Montgomery County buck that netted 222 5/8 inches. Wilson's deer grossed 230 inches and was best of show for gun entries at the 2009 Illinois Deer & Turkey Classic.