It wouldn't be until spring 2013 that the bowhunter would find the matching sheds and see how big the rack really was. He stood behind a big pecan tree for about five minutes. Published Nov 26, 2020 2:00 PM EST. A legal buck on the St. Francis National Forest must have either a 15-inch inside spread or one antler of at least 18 inches. Hall sure did. He hunted hard, but the deer evaded him. Did I hit him in the leg? "All my buddies were expecting me to be jumping up and down when I found the buck," Ryan says, "but I didn't. He missed. He had cameras at the private hunting lease he hunts with his brother, Josh. Jake Murdaugh is a rancher who spends much of his time living the agricultural lifestyle. Literally a 600-yard radius. Eight hours later, one of the trail cameras captured photos of the buck, who seemed to be acting as if nothing had happened. It brings me to tears thinking of dads face when I told him the news. Let us know what you thought about these Monsters! Jacob Latimer first learned of this buck during the 2020 deer season. It scored 164 6/8 and ranked 9th overall. Arkansas rounds out the top of the special state stats thanks to William L. Loyd's 2018 typical buck from Lee County that scored 200-1/8 points and ranks #17 All-time and #1 in the state, pending review by the Judges Panel for the 31st Big Game Awards in 2022. I just love chasing big white-tailed deer., Lynn Jareds Kentucky WhitetailScore: 171 inchesDate of Kill: Sept. 7, 2021Location: Clinton County, Ky.Weapon: Bowtech compound bow, Lynn Jared grew up hunting in the hills of Tennessee, and now also hunts in Kentucky. The deer had fallen, but gotten back up and continued running. He was just a special deer, and very much a result of patience in both management and hunting. It was so thick that he couldnt see what made the sound, though. Im a pretty good rifle shot; for some reason it comes naturally to me, and I dont typically miss. I couldnt see behind me so Im not sure where he came out from but he was walking up out of that drainage ditch. Knowing the buck was too far away for a shot, Murdaugh carefully stalked down the fence line toward where hed last seen the deer. "I keep cameras up nine months of year on the 300-acre block of woods I'm now in charge of managing," he says. Purdue clinched the Big Ten regular-season title outright earlier in the day when Illinois beat Ryan hunted the buck all season but saw him just one time from the tree stand. The big buck was right behind her. Every deer I harvest means something. MILWAUKEE (AP) Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam have agreed to purchase Marc Lasry's 25% stake of the Milwaukee Bucks in a deal that puts the value of the NBA franchise at $3.5 billion, two people with knowledge of the negotiations said Monday. To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow.com and learn how to access your digital magazine. After all the crazy things that happened to me while hunting this buck, I just think that I was meant to shoot him.. However, when it happened, he was focused on finishing the job. I've got to be in the stand.'". Everything about himhis frame, tines and beamis exceptional., Lee Dixons Tennessee TankScore: UnknownDate of Kill: 2021Location: TennesseeWeapon: .25-06 Remington. After taking the buck, Travis learned a neighbor had been watching the buck and seeing it on his trail cameras for two years. The buck dropped close by, but as Watson climbed down the tree to make a follow-up shot, the strap on one of his climbing sticks broke and he fell roughly 17 feet to the ground. The big buck walked in front of Lees father while he was hunting, but unfortunately, the deer broke off its entire right side. I killed him in the mock scrape I created., The deer ran 30 yards and tipped over. Non-Typical: 312 inches. Soon after daylight, a spike and small 8-point walked out. 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Although the arrow hit a little high, striking the spine but went through both lungs. When it walked into the open, she touched off the 75-yard shot. The rack's 21 6/8-inch inside spread certainly helps to show off its unique character. . South Texas' ranches are known to grow some giants; still, this state just barely made the top 10 list for typical bucks. They talked a lot, and hunting was a common topic. He was hunting near a pond and a small field. The wind was just right for the spot he wanted to hunt. He would have been the first person I told. Contributor Brad Fenson takes to the grill, to cook up some delicious venison burgers. Trust me: I thanked the good Lord numerous times for this buck and for letting me miss that first buck, he said. Watts shot the buck at about 50 yards with a rifle chambered in 6.5mm Creedmoor. The buck I missed was the sixth one to run through there that morning, said Hooper, a former Jackson resident now living in Benton, Ark. "He stopped at 40 yards, standing behind some trees. I had no idea this county could even produce anything like that. As he left his tree stand to get a better shot at the buck, the strap on one of his climbing sticks broke, and he fell some 17 feet to the ground. This is the heaviest whitetail deer ever killed. They hoped itd survive another season or two. X-Vision Optics long-range ImpactThermal Scope (TS300) boasts a 640 x 480 thermal sensor that can detect big game well past 3,000 yards. Taken in Pushmataha County, this deer is nearly 2 inches bigger than the previous record. The buck dropped close by, but as Watson climbed down the tree to make a follow-up shot, the strap on one of his climbing sticks broke and he fell roughly 17 feet to the ground. As I entered the road where hed been, I started looking in the direction he ran and immediately saw him lying there, he said. It was another doe, and the big buck was right behind her. In hindsight, Ryan is glad no one killed the big buck in 2011. Lefty was gone., Then, our family received news that rocked me to my core, Lee said. From there it was probably a five-minute ordeal, and he worked every scrape that young 8-pointer had worked, Watson said. Heres a detailed look at each step of the process. The action was fast and furious right from the get-go. He passed the deer in hopes of it returning the following season. "About 50 yards behind the doe, there he was. I was shooting my younger brothers gun, a .308 Howa bolt action. The one on the right was 4 inches. He still has a deep bone bruise on his left heel and a fractured fibula in his right leg. Wilson was staring down at a 25-point buck that would be unofficially green scored at 189 2/8 inches Boone & Crockett and 198 5/8 Safari Club. Follow along as the unbelievable story of Arkansas's New Longbow State Record unfolds!Watch as some of the most rare occurrences ever recorded on film during. He was truly the deer of a lifetime.. Unbeknownst to Ryan, the buck would live three more years and make huge jumps each year. Men are terrible with sharing their emotions. It worked. Everything sank in, and it spurred a conversation a long time coming, Lee said. Your rifle is your most important hunting tool, and knowing how to properly clean and store it when hunting season comes to a close is critical in keeping it in tip-top shape. Then, much to his surprise, and with only a few minutes of shooting light left, the big deer reemerged in front of him. It took a while, but they started to figure things out. Instead, they hunted elsewhere in hopes of allowing the deer to live another year. He logged many days on stand from dark to dark until mid-November. Field Dressed Weight: 431-Lbs. "At this point I started trying to kill him," Ryan notes. "There was no way he could get any bigger. Stephen Tucker's non-typical record once the largest hunter-killed non-typical in the country was taken in Sumner County in 2016 and is the fourth largest non-typical of all time. Jason Lucas didnt have any history with this buck from prior seasons, but he knew this was a surefire target when he first saw it in 2021. The colossal deer has a 25 2/8-inch inside spread, two tines over 13 inches and superb mass. He was about 50 yards and I was going to have to shoot left-handed, which I didnt want to do.. I shot the exact hair on the deer that I was aiming for, says Moreland. But luck was on the side of Kyle Heuerman and his girlfriend Jennifer Weaver when they put an arrow through this 196-inch Illinois brute. The region is unique to Arkansas in that it doesn't have a traditional rifle season. (Photo courtesy of Tres Jackson) Hunter: Tres . It ran 177 yardsan incredible distance for a deer with a 190-grain broadhead inside of him. I leaned Dads .25-06 against the tree and tried to collect myself, he said. It broke the 50-year record held by the #2 Spot! . I unhooked from the rope attaching me to the safety harness, and I made it two steps down. What Hooper found was a 205-pound buck with long, thick main beams. I had a shooting lane through the pine trees. Ryan Sullivan was only 19 when, during the 2013 season, he arrowed an Arkansas buck of gigantic proportions. I never knew this buck existed, not until my brother and I found him dead, piled up in the top of an old fallen tree in that cutover, Wilson said. I started getting pictures of him on my cameras. Three does milled around as the sun dipped toward the horizon. In the end, Josh walked right up on the buck. Put everything together and you have a gross 9-point frame score of 193 6/8. The 2021 pre-season kicked off, and the 7-year-old Lefty was nowhere to be found. Wilson sat back down in his tripod stand, realizing how he stuck out in the huge cutover. The W.A. 3 Men Cited for Poaching 34-Point Buck. After a while, he looked for the deer and recovered his buck. Ryan estimated the deer now was 7 1/2 years old. A friend killed a big buck that he entered in the Big Buck Classic, and Watts said the bigger buck was running with it. West Virginia hunters killed a total of 118,606 deer . The story of Loyd's Arkansas buck shows why effective deer management in many states is creating the potential for record-book . "I waited until about 2 p.m. to trail the buck with my cousin and some good friends," Ryan says. The buck was as massive as hed looked on camera, and the biggest Moreland had ever killed. So I went ahead and let the bow down to the ground, climbed over and onto the climbing sticks, he says. I had no idea the journey our family was about to embark on with this deer, Lee said. Later, Watson began hunting him two days after the archery season began. On Dec. 8, 2021, though, he did. This buck is known as the Missouri Monarch. Unfortunately, the spike spotted Latimer move, and started to ease off. Jon's no stranger to free-ranging whitetails across the central plains, having guided a number of clients to trophies and harvesting many big ones himself. He had high hopes for the afternoon hunt. I saw him on camera in 2013, and he had grown a tremendous amount. Mississippi County is in the far-northeast corner and borders both Tennessee and Missouri. "I was standing there holding my Mathews Helium bow, and my knees were knocking," Ryan remembers. I would hunt this deer in the afternoon and the wind would be blowing 1-2 miles per hour and swirl, Latimer said. This time he got a gross non-typical score of 261 3/8, with a net of 230 7/8. Chase Watson shot the biggest buck he's ever killed two weeks ago while hunting from a treestand on his family's farm in Arkansas. The first year was challenging, as they had to learn how deer used the property. There will be more about this deer in a coming issue. It later taped out at 186 3/8 inches. It was about 100 yards . The brother came to join Luke for the search, and the two found the buck dead in that last treetop. He came to 40 yards and stood by a brush pile. He fractured a bone in his right . It was a 5 X 7 main-frame 12, with one one-inch drop tine and several sticker points off the brow tines and other tines.. Heres how to avoid the poseurs and choose the right one. By the fall of 2013, Ryan was enrolled at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. Ive been putting food plots in, hunting hard and so much more for years, and it finally came together. When they found the arrow, coated with chunks of meat and hair and little blood, they knew the buck was not dead, and backed out. It made for a wonderful holiday trip to his old home. Skis are easily the most efficient way to cover snowy ground on foot in winter. He hit hard, fracturing a bone in his right leg and . I only saw him one time on stand while bowhunting in 2011, and he skirted around me at about 60 yards.". He was hunting an area mixed with crops, hardwoods and thick cover. He grew up around hunting and intuitively knew how to put the pieces together on this home-turf trophy. This time everything came pouring out.. Bowhunting is the primary management tool in this region. To our surprise, nothing. My dad started taking me when I was three years old. Hunters in Texas have killed 200 bucks since 2010 that made book. In another huge jump, the buck had grown from a 160-inch 9-pointer to a monster 15-pointer with matching split G-2 tines. The giant non-typical sported a typical 1211 frame, but was scored as a non-typical because of an abundance of small kicker points. . His travel patterns were extremely tight. Over the next couple weeks, Watson followed him, moving from spot to spot, but he only caught glimpses on trail cameras. But when I shouldered the rifle, the sight of the crosshairs oriented at a 10-4 o'clock angle was definitely a different look from the normal 12-6 position we all practice from. Deer: Balancing Expectations for Small Properties, Get to Know Your Neighbors for Better Deer Herd Management, Big Buck Profile: Reid Crawford Kansas Buck, Choosing Correct Magnification for Rifle Scope, Big Buck Profile: Troy Metzger's East Illinois Giant. ", His first knowledge of this deer came in 2010, when Ryan was just 15 and the buck is believed to have been 3 1/2. He was running away from me, and it was a snap shot. A hunter who told authorities he killed and skinned what he thought were two coyotes, but later discovered they were a Connecticut family's pet German shepherds, has been criminally charged. Kamps was hunting along some thick bedding cover with steep bluffs around him. In regions without great habitat, many deer seem to plateau out after age 4 1/2 and don't make the huge leaps in antler development. This 8 1/2-year-old buck killed by Mississippi hunter Justin Develle on Oct. 22, was ear-tagged in 2018 by the Mississippi State University Deer Lab as part of a buck-movement study. Biggest buck ever killed in fl? Read other stories about big bucks killed this season by clickinghere. That anxiety would have been a lot worse had he known the full extent of the bucks antlers. After a wait that seemed like an eternity, the doe finally started walking . No more high anxiety walks up to a world-class deers bedroom. Besides how big he was, I couldnt keep my eyes off the double drop tines.. By 3 p.m., he was harnessed to the tree and ready to go. After the day Id hunt him, he would always show up the next afternoon. This deer is one of the biggest that I have ever seen and one that could hold the record for a very long time! However, some just keep growing. Bobby Cleveland has covered sports in Mississippi for over 40 years. Gordon Whittington talks with 13-year-old Troy Metzger about the 2016 hunt that landed the young man a monster non-typical buck on this edition of Big Buck Profile. The firearms seasons are only five days collectively. It walked down a trail, turned broadside and offered a 20-yard, slightly-quartering-to shot opportunity. Photo by: Markus Semmler. If he had any chance of killing the deer with his 50-pound Toelke Whip longbow, Johnathan was going to have to get the buck in close again. I sprayed some Tinks Doe in Heat Urine, more to check the wind direction that anything else, he said. Although he doesnt remember the fall, he does remember picking himself up, walking over to the buck, and putting another arrow in him. Franz finally killed the deer on an Oct . Deer. Bottles & 12-oz. They didnt have any encounters with the deer until after the rut. He was hunting in a large clearcut paralleled by a steep ridge line. One day, while Lee was with him at his house, his father confirmed his fears. In addition to the single short drop tine, the deer had two split brow tines one with three splits. On Nov. 4, 2021, that became reality. . We couldnt believe what we were looking at. This is also the part that can be frustrating. Lucky hat brings nurse Jefferson County monster, 159-inch buck killed by 15-year-old East Rankin Academy student, With hunting season in the books, its time to make plans to bring your bucks to the Louisiana Sportsman Big Buck Contest. And 11 years later, he is still shooting a trad bow. Arnold, an environmental engineer for Tyson Foods, is an expert bowhunter who hunts in some of America's most . I settled the crosshairs where I needed to place the bullet and steadied the rifle. He decided to leave work early, hiked into the woods, and climbed the same tree he had done so many times before. A few minutes later, his friend, David, who was also in the tree, said he heard something in the bottom. And wouldn't you know it not long after the cousins had sat down, the 9-pointer appeared, walking directly behind a good 7-pointer. As he left his tree stand to get a better shot at the buck, the strap on one of his climbing sticks broke, and he fell some 17 feet to the ground. Morelands brother, Josh, had been headed to hunt himself when he heard Johnathan hollering in celebration, and went to investigate. and the buck followed. At 16 yards, Mikell took aim at the giant and released his arrow. I was sick as he pranced off with his nose in the air. The shot was 25 yards and I rattled him" into range, he said . Instead, he recruited another friend to help him grid-search the woods. Fortunately, the boy was able to take him, resulting in a great first whitetail and sparing the big one's life. Arkansas resident named Stan Whitt, . Here are all of the results: 1. He stood broadside, eight paces away. "I had class on Tuesday and Thursday, so I hunted Friday through Monday. All told, Moreland would see the buck a total of six times before the deer slipped up. Hooper waited 15 minutes before starting the recovery. He was 19 inches wide.. I noticed on my iPad that it was 1:50 p.m., so I figured Id better keep my eyes peeled in case something came by.. That's the beauty of hunting. In 2011 the buck blossomed into a true shooter. How to Create an Invisible Fence' Around Your Property to Hold More Bucks, Understanding Non-Verbal Whitetail Communication, Michigan Hunter Shoots 200-class Non-typical After Oversleeping That Morning, How to Find Big Buck Sanctuaries in the Spring, Illinois Hunter Sprints to Close the Distance On 21-point Bedded Buck, How to Develop the Best Fall Food Program for Your Deer, A Whitetail Hunter's Guide to Ballistic Reticles, Iowa Bowhunter Goes Stealth Mode with a Tree Saddle to Bag 194-inch Non-typical, Nebraska Shed Hunter's Wife and Dog Find 6x9 Set One Year After Learning About the Buck, Dr. Weve been hunting that lease for about four years and the best weve done is a few 100-inch 8 points and maybe 110 or 120. Then, the buck disappeared again for more than a week.. I sat there for a couple of hours, going through trail camera cards, Hall says. Its hard to justify shooting a spike or forkhorn when you know there is a Boone and Crockett buck in the area. This deer means so much, Reed said. The bucks probably started thinking about the looming rut just ahead. The doe he was following came right beneath my platform.. His father passed away in October. Of course, a multi-year quest for any buck is emotionally taxing. Part of the beauty (and difficulty) of hunting with traditional equipment, is that you have to hunt close. 6/8 inches wide and sported sky scraping G-2s over 12 inches long. The hunt kicked off with slightly warmer weather, but the rut was just starting, and he hoped for a positive outcome. Around 2:30, Hall heard some deer and spotted two does walking through the water. That errant shot allowed him to stay in the stand, wait another hour or so and shoot and kill a 183-inch 16-point non-typical with double drop tines. His spot put him facing eastward out into the field. Both bases were right at 5 inches, and the main beams were 23 inches, Wilson said. Everything seemed to be right until the buck slammed on the brakes. The eastern boundary of the county is the Mississippi River. The mammoth rack was 17. The 34,000-acre lease is owned by a timber company, and is broken into smaller, huntable pieces. Much to his surprise, he turned, and there stood Lefty about 70 yards away. Thats when the strap on the stick broke.. At this point hes probably 30 yards, and this one doe starts stomping, so he turns and starts walking toward them.. Stacy Fowler -- 212 6/8 non-typical muzzleloader kill -- Scott County 2. . Just $1 per month , After a month of dogging the elusive deer, bowhunter Jonathan Moreland arrows a Natural State giant, By All I had been doing for the last four years was hunt this deer, and there he was, lying dead. He was hunting hill country in a 65-acre hay meadow, which was part of the larger 160-acre cattle operation. A hunter in St. Louis County, Missouri, found the B&C world record in 1981. During the offseason, he used HuntStand to find and mark numerous stand locations to target this deer. What do you think Jimmy would do? Lance asked. It was an overwhelming feeling. Dad came alive. My brother said, Dude, you just got a B&C buck! Wilson said. Then I raised his head to see the right side and almost passed out. The 15 Largest Lakes in the World . Score: 155 inches. Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. I never saw him on the three cameras we had out, but Id seen him when I couldnt shootearly mornings going to work, or at night past shooting hours, Hill said. When the Washington Blade caught up with Gisele Barreto . My thermals would be rising. I knew about this buck in 2018, he says. He went ahead and came in to stay with his doe, and I got the shot off quickly.. At least I think there were six. Ryan was shooting a 2-blade Rage broadhead. Many mallards were saved during his absence from the flooded timber. He stopped in a small group of persimmon trees to catch his breath. On Nov. 23, they decided to move in. Like many of his fellow Arkansans, Ryan is a deer and duck fanatic. Ryan went back to school for the next week of class heartbroken over the buck having busted him. He bolted and was jumping over treetops in the clear cut and finally after 80 yards he jumped into one last fallen treetop and stopped, he said. The excited hunter reached for his cell phone. 2023 Outdoor Sportsman Group. For several years, however, he gave up most of his duck season to lock horns with the world-class buck. The deer closed within range, and Jared took the 27-yard, quartering-away shot. He was about to come into the main scrape at 17 yards, but right behind him came five does. Blocker Outdoors Finisher gloves, headcovers and other accessories are available in Mossy Oak Bottomland and Mossy Oak Obsession NWTF camouflage patterns to match various turkey hunting terrain. The state archery record is a 188 5/8 buck from Pawnee County which was killed by Gunner Womack of Morrison two years ago. [], This is an easy two pot meal, one for the venison stroganoff and one for the starch that can be prepared at home or at the camp. Around 6:55 p.m., this giant buck stepped out of the cover and walked toward him. I shot him, and he bucked up like a bucking bronco, spun and turned back into the woods.. He went right to where the doe had been, then turned to follow her.. Hunting public land, he killed a buck in the Natural State that would make a Midwesterner swoon. The second time, I actually drew back, Hall says. "I got down after 15 minutes and went to the truck and went and brushed in the duck pit," the bowhunter recalls. It followed the large doe group and chased one of them into a nearby cattle working pen. Does it get any better than that? In this edition of "From The Stand," Pat Hogan explains the importance of being aware of proper clearance when using your bow or crossbow out in the field. Around 5 p.m., an 8-pointer walked by, then, five minutes later, Watson caught a glimpse of Scoob. Hunting with her CVA Cascade chambered in .308 Win., the buck was well within range. With a net non-typical score of 212 6/8 it is also our largest whitetail ever taken with a muzzleloader. The biggest buck entered so far was a 195-2/8" behemoth shot in Drew County, Arkansas. After several tense seconds, the deer offered a quartering-away shot opportunity, and Hill took it. People couldnt believe he had drop tines coming off his main beams., Jeremy Martinsons New Hampshire GiantScore: 166 inchesDate of Kill: Nov. 1, 2021Location: Merrimack County, N.H.Weapon: .50-caliber CVA muzzleloader. Pennsylvania: 34 deer per square mile. Now 25, hes taken three whitetails, all over 140-inches in the last 15 years. At the 2009 Arkansas Big Buck Classic, the huge typical mainframe 5x5 rack officially gross-scored 182 7/8 inches and netted 174 2/8. Typically, in regions influenced by the flood stages of the Mississippi River, the rut is later than the traditional Midwestern rut of mid-November. All I could tell was that he was a big-bodied deer and had dark horns. Justin, his brothers, and his father targeted this deer in hopes of arrowing it. Then, the big one stepped out. "The buck I missed was the sixth one to run through there that morning," said Hooper, a former Jackson resident now living in Benton, Ark. Texas. On Dec. 3, 2018, William Lloyd of Wynne killed a 14-point buck in Lee County that netted a Boone and Crockett . Currently, Watson is recovering from his injuries at home. It netted 209 0/8 Boone and Crockett, but grossed 216 2/8 B&C before the mandatory, 60-day drying period. I was trying not to pass out. It was followed by 10 more does, and behind them was a huge whitetail buck that Murdaugh had never seen. Minutes ticked by, the sun started its visible ascent and Latimers thoughts turned back to the big target buck. Arkansas doesn't jump to top of mind as a big-buck destination, but that didn't stop bowhunter Preston Hall. They didn't want me to leave. We purchased more cellular trail cameras. "Apparently, the buck had put on roughly 50 or so inches from last year," Travis said. They were very happy for me to take this buck. He was a good-looking, 150-class 10 . When the buck stopped in an opening about 35 yards away, Watson drew his pin and let go. Yet, the state Game Commission charged him with poaching, killing out of season what was described as the largest bear ever seen in the county.