Bobby Abernathy was all smiles when I quizzed him about his profession. He said: "I am a retired taxidermist. My first Social Security check (arrived) in June and now I can hunt and fish all I want to without having to be tied to a work schedule."

Bobby Abernathy with an 8-point buck, one of the deer he killed last season with his bow. Photo courtesy of Bobby Abernathy.

Some of the trophies he has mounted in the past have come from Canada, Texas, Kansas, Missouri and quite a few from South Carolina. One giant buck had an 11-inch circumference at the base of his antlers, and almost too many points to count. Abernathy has killed so many trophy bucks that he doesn't even mount them for himself now, but he has plenty of photographs to look at to remind him of these wonderful hunts.

Though he may not mount all his trophies, he still hunts seriously, and normally kills four to seven deer per season with archery tackle.

Abernathy started hunting deer in 1967, but it was the following year before he killed one; his first was a nice 8-pointer and his second sported 7 points. Both of these bucks were killed with a rifle.

After killing these bucks, he was hooked on deer hunting -- but he wanted even more excitement from his hunts. He started bowhunting in 1969 to be able to get in two extra weeks chasing deer. He found that this type of hunting required more concentration, and more attention to detail than a rifle hunt required. With a rifle, a 100-yard opportunity was a "chip shot," but you could only look at deer at that range with a bow. He had to get within 40 yards of deer for a shot with a bow, and 20 yards was even better.

As for many hunters, the challenge of having to get up close and personal to get a shot pumped extra adrenalin through his veins. His first bow was a recurve, but he changed over to a compound when they first came on the market. The compound didn't affect his range, but made it drastically easier to hold a bow at full draw for a longer period of time with the compound's let-off feature.

When the 2003 deer season started, Abernathy made the decision to only hunt with a bow and he has done so ever since.

Stand placement while hunting with a bow is much more precise than with a rifle because of the killing range of the weapon. Abernathy started thinking about ways to lure deer inside the 40-yard range he needed to consistently kill deer.

To a large extent, that meant he focused on habitat features that funnel deer through defined paths. For example, one funnel he hunted was a narrow strip of woods that butts against a steep bank -- the bank restrains the deer, and the cover of the woods are attractive to them, so deer moving through the area are likely to move along that strip of woods.

Other funnels include any place a strip of woods bisects two fields; deer like to travel where they feel they are somewhat protected and unseen. Places where several trails intersect in effect become a funnel. Another high-percentage funnel is where you find a line of scrapes and rubs around the edge of a field.