A passion for deer hunting paid a hefty dividend this past November for Glenburn resident Mike Murphy.

Murphy’s desire to hunt deer was sparked by his dad, who occasionally took him for one or two hours at a time as a youngster. However, those short hunts never satisfied his growing interest for the sport.

So at age 15 Murphy was introduced to Charlie Ring of Orrington through the invitation of a friend who recognized Murphy’s desire to hunt. Ring, being some 20 years older, was loaded with knowledge of hunting.

He was a “serious deer hunter,” said Murphy, and quick to unload his proven methods on his new hunting partner. So Murphy listened closely when Ring spoke and took careful note of his actions in the field because Murphy was serious about learning.

Deep into that season, as the young hunter was keeping watch from his deer blind, he noticed movement and his plans starting coming. Murphy caught a glimpse of a deer that soon made a fatal mistake. A mature doe stepped into view just long enough for a nervous, heart-pounding 15-year-old to ignite a charge from a weathered old vintage 25-35 Savage, felling it.

With success beneath his belt and the season expired, the mission was still far from complete – for Murphy had found his sport of choice. Now it was time to find answers to the questions the previous season had left him. Knowing most of the answers lay in the woods close to the deer, that’s where Murphy started spending his time.

“Sometimes I would backtrack deer ’cause I wanted to know where they came from,” said Murphy. “This helps locate their beds, trails, and give clues to their direction of movement. Keeping track of their movement in the offseason usually determines were I’ll be hunting the coming season.

“I like a challenge,” he said, adding that scouting and trying to figure out their habits and reasons to move at a particular time helps give him the edge.

Years after shooting his first deer, a now seasoned deer hunter had outmaneuvered some heavy hitters. But in 1980 an oversized doe reminded him how easily they can hold the upper hand.

That year Murphy set aside his deer rifles just long enough to pick up a handgun, with which he was quite familiar. After all, he’d taken top honors in more than one state event with his Ruger .44 magnum, but the fall of 1980 was an event of a different kind.

At about 40 yards a doe standing broadside gave Murphy an opportunity, so he raised his scoped .44 mag, but something was different.

“I couldn’t stop shaking to hold the crosshairs on the deer,” said Murphy. “I shot over the top of it.”

He said, “It was a new feeling” using the handgun for deer hunting after years of toting a rifle, which allows a three-point hold when aiming is difficult.

Well, Murphy took more from the experience than he lost. After all, he’s a student of the sport. That mishap only “made me mad,” said Murphy, who soon smiled at the new challenge and dug into his barrel of determination. It was only handguns in November now, said Murphy.

In 1990, a 193-pound, eight-point buck met the business end of his .45-70 Thompson Contender.

“It’s antler mass scored the highest for a deer shot with a handgun that year,” said Murphy.

After charting a new course, success soon came along. The now steadier hand of a determined hunter decided the final destination of a whitetail with the single crack of his handgun.

Now Murphy, an avid hunter, had the month of November running through his veins, with new ideas about hunting always crowding his mind. In 1991 Murphy grabbed hold of one of those thoughts and built on it. The end result was the 445 MP (Murphy Production) Wildcat cartridge. He took a .45-70 case and necked it down. Then he had the appropriate barrel manufactured to fit his Contender.

“I wanted something with my name on it,” said Murphy, and he felt this was it. It became his primary deer gun and proved more than worthy on paper but could it help deliver the venison?

It could, and did. Over the ensuing years, Murphy shot a number of deer with his new cartridge, and he eagerly awaited each autumn and another chance to prove its worth.

Well, in the early morning hours of a calm day last month, the next generation of Murphy’s cartridge, the 445 WWK (Wicked Whitetail Killer) proved equally effective.

“I heard a little snap behind me,” said Murphy. “I turned around [and] saw movement about 25 yards away. Noticed the antler first.”

It was moving through the green growth, but he didn’t have a shot, then he stopped.

“I let him make the next move,” Murphy said.

The deer changed direction about 90 degrees and started off. He stepped into about a 15-inch opening, allowing no time for long discussions as he was on the move. However, Murphy had that move figured out.

The 445 WWK put a child-like smile on the face of the 54-year-old Murphy, who downed a 215-pound, eight-point buck. Or as Murphy called it after the excitement eased enough for him to gather his thoughts, “big old brute.”