The Ice Float Buck

An unidentified photographer took these pictures of a nice buck stranded on a floating on a chunk near Miles City Montana where the Tongue River flows into the Yellowstone River. The buck made it to shore. The photographer saw him jump to safety when the ice jammed close to shore.

Huge Bucks

Big One

This buck is said to score 199 gross. The fourth circumference measurement is over 6 inches. 27-Inch Main beams. The circumference measurement 2 inches from end of beam is 5 still over inches. It has an 18-inch.

256 NT

This buck was found dead and is said to score 256" B&C

Incredible Locked Bucks Story …

This one has been out there for a while and by all accounts is a true story! .... while driving towards Canton, South Dakota a curious passerby saw a buck in the distance with his head down. It wasn't moving, and although the driver honked the car horn repeatedly, the buck wouldn't raise his head.

The driver grabbed binoculars and saw that the buck's horns were entangled with those of another buck, which appeared to be dead. So she called a couple friends and asked if they wanted an adventure; untangling the animals! The fiends were eager participants and took their camera to the scene. The bucks were tangled in an old fence line just east of a golf course, where some railroad tracks had been. The live buck was on the high side, and the dead buck, which had been dead for an estimated 2 or 3 days, was on the low side of the slope. The live buck had the bigger rack - a 5 x 6. The dead buck was bigger bodied and looked to be an older deer. It had more "stickers" on its rack.

One brave sole attempted to break a point off the dead buck's rack with his pliers, but couldn't. He then tried turning the dead buck's head but the other one just became more frightened and started backing up. The now scared buck eventually got out of the fence, and out in the open. The brave man pulled an old post out of the fence line and used it to try and pry the racks loose, but it didn't work. They finally decided to go to a friend's house in order to borrow his chainsaw, but then thought something quieter would be better, and so got a hacksaw instead. They sawed the main beam on the dead buck and the other one was instantly freed!

The buck didn't realize he was free for probably 30 seconds or so, but when he did, he started attacking the dead buck repeatedly. He finally raised his head a little, and then a little more. He stood there with his head held high looking at the folks who freed him and they wondered if he were going to attack them also! The buck finally turned and ran off rather wobbly. He went a short distance, lay down briefly, and then got up and took off in the direction of the Big Sioux River.

Submitted by: Dave Lee
Innovative Hunting Solutions Inc. - www.bigbuckballz.com

The buck below was captured on my trail cam on the 31st of December at 4:05 in the afternoon. The day before the season closed. I couldn't believe the picture! I have taken some nice deer on the same property over the years but nothing like this one. How about the double beams! I don't have a clue how to score this one I did get one picture of him on trail camera in November at a distance but had no idea he was so massive. What do you think he scores?

New Inbox Bucks

Pic one is submitted by Dave Lee who says: After 40 hours of sitting on stand in Coshocton county Ohio. I took this buck at 11:30 in the afternoon on the last day of my hunt. Not a monster but a well deserved buck. Surprisingly, he snuck up on me from down wind. The cover scent I used did its job. The second pic was submitted by an acquaintance of the hunter pictured. Congrats to both of the lucky hunters

Chris Wood Buck

If you kill a huge buck these days, you'd better hope you have thick skin! Why? ... Because every jealous hunter who shot the first 125" buck they saw this season will be crawling out of the woodwork with a cockamamie story about how the successful hunter violated some game law, tresspassed or poached the big deer. That is pretty much the present state of affairs on this Iowa giant reportedly killed by by Des Moines resident Chris Wood while he and friends were making a drive near Bedford, Iowa. The buck sports 33 scorable points, plus a drop tine. The buck was green-scored at 264-0/8". If this score holds, the buck would be the new #2 buck in the Iowa record books. For now, congratulations Mr. Wood on a fine buck. We'll wait for the real facts of the story to emerge, then we'll report them to you right here on WhitetailFanatic.com!

Real or PhotoShop?

We have not been able to independently verify the authenticity of this group of photos that show a great buck caught in the head of a combine but we found the photos rather captivating. Are they real or PhotoShop?

Holy Shit

This is the Joel Eggers buck from Randolph County Illinois...harvested Oct 2007.

The Carpenter Buck
BTR Score: 170 0/8
Composite: 188 2/8
Date of Harvest: Nov. 5, 2008
Location of Harvest: Tuscarawas County, Ohio
Weapon: Mathews Switchback LD Compound Bow
Deer Weight (Field Dressed): 195 lbs.
Number of points: 10 (Main frame 4x4 with (2) stickers)
Inside Spread: 18 2/8

In The Hunters Own Words …
The sad truth is that I was not even going to hunt Wednesday evening. I had been in Kansas on a 10-day bowhunt the previous week, and much work had accumulated at my job. However, the reason that I had went to Kansas when I did is because I knew that things were going to get real good, real quick at my place. I have said too many friends over the years, that the best hunt in all the land is my property the week of and after Halloween. Reason being, I have taken 4 out of my last 5 bucks on Halloween and missed many trick or treat nights with the family. In fact, I saw 12 bucks on Monday night between 4:45 and 5:30.

In Kansas, I got up close and personal with a 190 class typical 12 point but could not get a shot through the 12-foot "wild" marijuana plants that grew on the soybean field edges of where I was hunting. In Kansas, they call it "ditch weed". Watching a big buck at 30-35 yards for 20 minutes is a test on anyone's patience. However, I could not bring myself to take a bad shot at a great buck. Leave it to reefer to mess you up! However, I got to see what I thought would be my "deer of a life time" and had no regrets by not killing it.

On Wednesday, I had called my hunting partner at 3:00 p.m. to tell him that I was not going to go that evening. After much banter, I suggested that he go ahead and I would hunt in an area that allowed me to get in a stand that I could get in quick. As you guessed it, he would hear none of this and said he would pick me up at my house at 3:45 p.m. In reality, we left my house at 3:50 p.m. and just climbed onto my stand at 4:10 p.m. (I know this because of a text message I had just received on my Blackberry that I thought I had to read). I screwed my bowhanger into the tree, put my bow with quiver attached onto the hanger, secured my safety harness strap to the tree and put my "bow bat" around the tree that has pockets to hold my release (grunts, rattle bag, laser range finder, etc.). As soon as I cinched my "bow bat" to the tree, I saw massive antlers coming up a hill and crossing a power line right of way at 40 to 60 yards behind my tree (I was still facing opposite my seat). The key to the good fortune that happens next is that I never noticed his rack again; it was though they were "blacked out" to me. The buck continues to come until he is at 20 yards, still on line and behind my tree. As you might have guessed, I still had to get my release on and knock an arrow. Talk about getting caught off guard! I tucked my shoulders into and towards the tree so that he can't see me. The buck moves to my left, his right and walks beside my tree maintaining a 20-yard gap from me. I quickly put on my release, knock and arrow, pivot and spin clockwise on my right foot and drop my 20 yard pin at 18 inches back of his left shoulder (as he stood quartering away from me at 21 yards). Never before had I shot my bow with my quiver on, but there had to be a first time and this was it. I saw the arrow enter up to the fletching, quartering toward his front right shoulder. He ran 10 yards, walked another 60 yards until he was directly in front of me at 50 yards, and then dropped to the ground and gave his death growl. The official time of death was 4:15 p.m.

I stayed on stand (with binoculars glued to the deer) for 30 minutes. I wiped "sweat" from my eyes, started to shake with nerves and watched this beast grow massively (instead of ground shrinkage). When I tracked his path after the shot, he never bled a drop of blood because I had shot him squarely through the heart and his cavity filled with blood but had no exit passage. He has everything that you would want in a mature buck (length, mass and character). The staff of WhitetailFanatic would like to congratulate the lucky hunter on a truly great buck! Thanks for sharing your story with us!

Piebald Buck

The Resource Center on WhitetailFanatic.com says that piebald deer have patches of white hair but are otherwise normally colored.

Piebalds are thought to be more common than albinos, which do not have the gene for normal coloration and do not produce the enzyme responsible for skin, hair and tissue coloration.

Depending on what part of the country you are from piebald deer are sometimes referred to as pintos and come in various amounts of white and brown. Additionally, protecting piebald deer from hunting would have no biological impact and probably would not result in an increase of these traits.

More Inbox Bucks

Cameron Coble 2008 Bow Kill (L) trail cam pic sent in by notorious big buck Hunter Dave Duve, Mud Lake IA (R)

The "Field & Stream" Buck

Many reports speculate that the so-called Field & Stream buck would be the new world record typical whitetail. Now that this magnificent buck has been harvested, detailed views of the apparent "common bases" on both beams may keep the Milo Hanson buck on top!

Apples Anyone?

Kansas, Oh Kansas! - Tales From Our Inbox

Bowhunter Jamie Farr shot this big buck on Oct. 22. It carries 13 scorable points and an unofficial gross score of 208 inches.

It's expected to net around 188 typical inches when the 60-day drying period is over. It should rank in Kansas' Top 10, all time!

These two bucks were killed on 9-24-08 in South Central Kansas. The deer on the left was hunted last year by Mr. James North. He shot and wounded it but it did not die. Jimmy Johns hunted the deer this year and killed it. It scores 202 1/8 B&C.

The buck on the right was hunted last year by Jimmy Johns. He saw him 5 times, shot at him once and missed. He hunted him during the muzzleloader, bow and firearms seasons.

Jimmy put his good friend Scotty Finner on him this year. He saw him 3 times and finally got him within 5 minutes of me taking my deer. Scottys buck score 232 1/8 gross B&C. They call this the railroad buck as he spent lots of time on the tracks and the local RR crew often witnessed him bedded in the center of the tracks.

One of the biggest bodied deer I've ever seen in the wild....

I first saw this buck in 2003 as a yearling. I kept track of him through the years, and even have a shed off this buck. After passing straight downwind at seven yards, the six-year old warrior gave me a perfect 18 yard shot Monday evening and my Muzzy-tipped Easton Axis Nano did the job! I still can't believe I got to wrap my tag around this buck, this one really means a lot to me. One of the biggest bodied deer I've ever seen in the wild....

Jody Hadachek
Kansas

Inbox Bow Buck

Our inbox is overflowing with pictures of this tremendous buck was taken October 19 in Madison County, Iowa. With 25 scorable points, this monster has a green score around 220.

An awesome buck for sure and our congrat's to the successful hunter

Graphic Trail Cam Picture

This one has made the rounds in hunting circles but I thought I'd share it with our loyal fanatics. This high jumping, mule kicking buck was captured by a trail cam immediately after impact from a hunter's arrow.

Another super Inbox Buck

This 23-point 230 5/8 inch NT monster with a live weight of 310 lbs shot by Ben Spanjers of Hokah MN. Congrat's to the successful hunter!

This Just Hit My Inbox….

An email from a very reliable source told me that this pig was just tipped over in Iowa by a bowhunter! The initial estimated score is in the 250" range. An absolute hog by any measure! Congrat's to the successful hunter!

More details when we get them….

A Pair to Draw to!

I received an email saying that this lucky hunter arrowed this good looking, 155 inch 10 pointer in western KS - and - on the very same evening, his step-grandson shot this great 16 point non-typical. Now that is a pair to draw to!

Congrat's to both hunters!

More Big Bucks from the Inbox

The email we received said this nice 10 pointer was tagged Sunday, October 5th, 2008

Varsity football player Ben Walsvik of Wadena County Minnesota, killed this brute by hunting on opening weekend instead of sleeping in like most of his friends.

The email we received said this 9-point was killed 10-8-08 in Illinois and scored over 190 inches

Congratulations to the successful hunters, thanks for sharing and folks, keep the pictures coming!

A Few Great Bucks

Big bucks are falling to skillful hunters and our inbox is full of photos and stories. The pictures are pouring in from all parts of the midwest. Here are a few of the better bucks we seen in the hands of a smiling hunter so far this season.

Iowa, Shot on the evening of October 3

Illinois, Oct 3rd 2008. 23" inside around 190+" gross non-typ w/ a drop tine.

Ohio, 170+ Great Buck

This skillful hunter performed a stocking foot stalk to within 15 yards of this great buck

Trail Camera Photos

Many loyal Whitetail Fanatics are reporting that this is their best year ever for capturing trail camera photos of whitetails. Here are a couple of random photos that I recently revieved via email. If you have recent trail camera photos that you would like to share, please send them to editor@whitetailfanatic.com and we'll post them on this site.

Age This Buck

A long time friend of Whitetail Fanatic sent us this recent picture of a buck, taken with trail camera about 100 yards behind his house. This picture shows a fairly nice 8 point, apparently coming to a salt or mineral lick. As evident in the date code, the picture was taken in early August and the buck is in full velvet. The picture was taken in the Midwest.

How old do you think this buck is?
o 1 yr
o 2 yr
o 3 yr
o More than 3 yr

Email your guess to tfassbinder@whitetailfanatic.com

Hoof'n it through the Deer Woods
by Tom Fassbinder

Fingerprinting a buck will give you the knowledge and confidence you need to help get into shooting range of that big mature buck!

Most youngsters "learn" early in their hunting career how to differentiate buck tracks from doe tracks. Or do they? Unfortunately many hoof related wives tales exist. Throughout the years these tales have lead a countless number of hunters including myself astray. Studying deer tracks can make you a better hunter and advanced deer track reading capability is an important tool to have when you are in pursuit of a big mature buck. If you would like to add another effective tool to your trophy-hunting arsenal then the following paragraphs will help you get on the right "track". (Pun Intended).

Drag Marks and Dewclaw Prints in the Snow
25 years ago I read and article in a popular hunting magazine written by a popular outdoor writer that said only bucks leave hoof drag marks and dewclaw prints in the snow. The theory was that does "prance" meaning that they walk very daintily. Bucks on the other hand are lazy and expend as little effort as possible, which results in drag marks from their hooves. I believed it myself for a long time but several years ago I began to look closer at the tracks of deer that I had seen. Since then I've seen a countless number of doe's that have left hoof drag marks and dewclaw prints in the snow.

Big Tracks
Big deer have big hooves and leave big tracks. Right? This is generally true but don't take it to the bank just yet. I know several full-grown adult men that wear size 8 shoes. By the same token I know grade school kids that are wearing size 11's. The same is true with deer. It is also true that males generally have bigger feet than females and this statement is true with whitetail deer as well. As an example, in the Midwest, tracks that are longer than 3 ½ inches were probably made by a mature deer. If you find one 4" or longer it is a sure bet that it belongs to a real brute. Correct?

The Key to Success in Track Identification
To verify if the 4" track you found was made buy a monster buck check to see how deep the tracks are sunk into the ground compared to tracks in the same area that were made by other deer. If you find a 4" track that is sunk noticeable deeper into the earth than the surrounding tracks you may have found a big-bodied mature buck. Before you can be sure though, you will need to study the area closer.
Maybe the 4" track was left immediately after the last rain and the other tracks were left several days later after the ground dried and hardened?
Using a garden rake clear the area of debris and erase all old tracks. Then, making sure you use the same scent elimination routine as you would for hunting, revisit the site at regular intervals and take notes of what you find. If the 4" tracks are consistently deeper than the others you have uncovered your first clue to the whereabouts of a mature buck. This tactic can be used along game trails, field edges or anywhere that deer travel or congregate.

This deer hoof was 4 inches long. It belonged to very mature Iowa doe which field dressed at 175 lbs. The doe was harvested with a Ruger .44 mag handgun during a late season hunt.

Advanced Track Talk
An advanced hunting method that is gaining in popularity among serious trophy hunters is to "finger print" a specific bucks tracks. Deer hooves wear down, crack, chip and develop other distinctive characterizes. Each hoof eventually develops its very own "finger print". This is especially true of old weathered adult bucks. By carefully studying deer tracks you will begin to recognize certain features that exist only on the specific deer you are interested in hunting. Studying deer tracks and becoming intimately familiar with the size and shape of each hoof on the trophy buck in your hunting area you can help you gain insight to his daily rituals that can eventually put you in position for a close encounter.

Lets imagine that you have located two different sets of 4" long hoof prints in the area you hunt. You have taken the time to erase the prints from the soft earth and watch them reappear several times. Each time one of the 4" sets pushes deeper into the earth than all other surrounding sets of tracks.
You have also identified that this particular set leaves a small crease in the soft earth about ¾ of an inch from the tip. It is reasonable to believe that this is a mature buck worthy of your pursuit. It is now time to use your intimate knowledge of that individual set of deer "fingerprints" to backtrack the deer and see where he came from or maybe follow it forward and see where he is going.

Take a garden rake to the woods and erase deer tracks on trails where moist, soft dirt will help to capture very distinctive prints. The soft earth in this ravine is a perfect place to view deer tracks and "fingerprint" the areas bucks.

You can also look for his tracks on deer trails and creek crossings throughout your area to find other areas he frequents. Look at crossings along fences or property lines. Does this deer venture onto the neighbors land? Does he enter the food plot after dark from the east or west? Does this deer travel the main trail or is he using the faint trail along the ridge?

Fingerprinting a buck will give you the knowledge and confidence you need to help get into shooting range of that big mature buck! Deer tracks not only tell you where a bucks been, smart hunters will study them to help them determine where a buck is going to be!

What a Pig!

I've received several email pics of this hog. I don't know many details other than it was killed in the Midwest. Talk about a "character buck" , this one has it all! Congrat's to the lucky hunter and awesome job capturing the snowflakes in the picture.

If you're like me, you live for the day when you get the opportunity to take down a brute like this one!

Road Kill

Long time Whitetail Fanatic Cameron Coble sent these pictures of a 2007 road killed buck. The buck from White County Indiana grossed right at 180" typical.

The Closer I Got, The Bigger It Looked!
By Billy Boston

On the morning of November 13, 2007, the fourth day of Missouri's firearms deer season, I had a ground blind set up on a creek bluff overlooking a large pasture in Pike County, Louisiana Missouri. There were wooded draws on both sides of the pasture.

At 6:15 am, movement on my right at about 150 yards caught my attention. It was a large shooter buck! By the time I got on it, the buck had already moved into one of the wooded draws. Then I noticed two does making their up the pasture towards the top of the ridge. This was a good sign.

15 minutes later, I noticed a large buck on top of the ridge making his way down to intercept the trail where the two does had been earlier. The large buck stopped 380 yards away from my location. I took aim with my .308 Weatherby and fired. The bucks just stood there. I fired again and the buck moved closer to me. The buck dropped with my third shot!

I left my groundblind to go retrieve my buck and could not believe how big the deer looked. The closer I got the bigger he looked. When I finally got my hands on him, it was unbelievable. 16 points, 6 2/8 bases and plenty of mass! The mainframe 12 with 4 kickers grossed 175 typical.

The Jon Nicolaisen Droptine Buck

On October 20th my hunting partner and I decided to try some new stands that were set up specifically for the pre-rut. Seeing that we were sharing a ride but were hunting in different locations, my partner said that if I get a deer that "I may have to wait a while" for him to return. So, I responded kiddingly that I may have to shoot 2 to compensate for the time. I grabbed my bow and three arrows and we parted ways for the hunt. After getting in my stand and sitting for 20 minutes a doe walked by. I wasn't going to shoot but I thought about my 2 deer story and thought I might as well try. Sure enough the doe came within 20 yards and presented me with a good shot and I took it. The shot pierced her boiler room perfectly and she ran off only 40 yards before she folded up. Figuring I had to wait anyway I continued to sit...what the heck, I was in no hurry to go nowhere. About an hour later I heard some commotion in the dried autumn leaves and several deer came off a hillside some 100 yards away. They seem to scatter in different directions but I couldn't tell for sure how many and how big because they had made it to a small thicket to my left. I thought I could see that one good buck had come down the hill, but I wasn't sure. I pulled out the grunt call, honked on it a few times, but nothing came by from the flurry of deer that had slithered down the hill. I figured they ran out without me being able to see them. So I sat. Until an hour later I heard some rustling in the thicket to my left and out came this nice buck. He slowly made his way to within 25 yards of me. I stopped him and shot, he dropped right in his tracks. Unfortunately, he was down, but not out. Here is where math becomes important, 3 arrows minus 2 arrows leaves one! I had to make a decision, try to shoot him through the underbrush with my last arrow and risk deflection and have the deer run off if he was capable or climb down and get a closer shot. I knew that if I climbed down he may run without any opportunity to shoot before I got there. I decided by best chance was to climb down and finish him off with a high percentage shot. As a result I was able to arrow this nice double drop tine buck with a gross score of 172" and a doe in one sitting.

Whitetail Fanatic - Curt Headington

Whitetail Fanatic is certainly a term that describes Curt Headington. This lucky hunter found a shed antler from this great buck in the spring of '05. The hunter estimated the buck was a 3 year old at that time. In '05 Curt saw the buck during the early doe season but couldn't locate him later during archery or gun seasons. In early Nov '06, Curt caught a glimpse of the awesome buck about 100 yards from where he eventually killed the buck a few weeks later.

Curt shot the buck on Nov 26th, 2006... It was very foggy and wet that day. The woods were absolutely silent. Curt said he didn't see a single deer that day, that is until the huge buck came in around 4:00 PM. Curt executed a 42 yard shot on him as the buck stopped to freshen a scrape. Not wanting to risk loosing the buck, Curt decided to let the buck expire overnight. The exuberant hunter recovered the buck the following morning. The buck only traveled 150 yards after the shot. The 11 pointer has a gross typical score of 172 5/8th.

Deer Fishing?

I've been sitting on this one after receiving the email a few months ago. After a little checking it appears to be legit and so I thought now would be a good time to post it. Enjoy!

Last Saturday morning, my buddy Bo Warren and I were trolling for stripers in the Chesapeake Bay. We were 1½ miles offshore in about 80 feet of water contemplating why the fish weren't biting. We looked back to check our gear and saw something odd in the water. Was it a seal?? Can't be, we don't have seals around here. On closer look, it turned out to be a buck that was WAY off course. He was desperate and barely staying afloat.

I've seen deer swim a river or bayou before. When you see that, the first thing you notice is that they are powerful swimmers. Their head and shoulders are out of the water and they make surprisingly good headway. This deer was just barely keeping his nose out of the water and looked like he'd been swimming all night long. In fact, he was so worn out that he swam toward the boat probably thinking it looked enough like land to him. When he got closer though, he wasn't sure what to make of the two dudes on board, and backed off.

So, since the fish weren't biting, we thought we'd give this buck a hand. Turns out Bo grew up around cows and was really handy with a bowline. He lassoed the deer on the first try! Bo grabbed his neck, I grabbed the flank, and we barreled over backwards into the boat. Before I knew it, Bo was on top of him and had him tied up just like a calf.

We hit the throttle and shuttled him to the closest beach - Kent Point. I beached the boat and we carefully unloaded the deer onto the sand. The whole time we kept thinking he was going to kick the snot out of us. He never did though; he was totally spent. We untied him and jumped back. Too weak to stand, he just sat there quivering. We even picked him up again and put his feet underneath him, but he still couldn't walk. Don't know if he made it or not, but I think his chances were vastly improved. Hopefully he recovered after time. When you're out & about, ya' just never know...

Wasp in the Skull Buck

My buddy Andy who works at Cabela's sent me this interesting story. As the story goes, this deer was harvested with a bow on Dec. 30th by Jay Trudell of Delafield Wisconsin. On New Years Eve, Jay took the deer to a friend's house to be butchered. They skinned it for a shoulder mount, stopping right behind the ear.



The buck dressed out at 175 pounds and has a good layer of fat on its rump. Every indication was that this was a normal, healthy deer. After the taxidermist capped the skull, he cut the skull plate to remove the antlers. As he finished the cut, he hit metal. Jay got the skull and antlers back and cleaned them. The hide was completely healed and did not give any indication that there was an injury. The threaded portion of the broadhead had snapped off.

The deer had been shot in a prior season with a Wasp Hammer broadhead. It entered the brain but did not kill the deer. It also passed through the hinge of the jaw and had grown over with bone and prevented the jaw from opening all but the smallest amount. The brain was infected around the puncture wound.

Heree you see an aging jaws next to the skull to show how the jaw hinge should look.




Here you can see the opposite healthy side



The bone had grown over the broadhead and through the vent in the blade and bridged the gap.

The upper left arrow shows how much hinge movement was allowed in the jaw, The opening and closing of the mouth had worn a curved area away



There must be some less-than-lethal hunters where Jays hunts because 2 years prior to this, Jay's brother shot deer with a damaged hindquarter. Upon removing the meat, they discovered a portion of a broadhead embedded in femur (hindquarter) Pictured is the bone from the opposite (healthy) side of the same deer as a comparison. Both of these injuries were at least a year old. Whitetails are tough animals.

My Buck of a Lifetime

by Gered DeHoogh

It has been a life long dream of mine to harvest a giant whitetail. And on that cold December morning that dream was about to come true.

It all started when I was 9 years of age. My dad always loved to deer hunt and I remember him going on deer hunts out west, in Michigan, and in our own backyard at home in Iowa. I remember I always wanted to tag along, but I was too young. For some reason when I turned 9 years old my dad decided I was old enough to go on my 1st shotgun hunt with him in Iowa. I don't remember a lot about that day, but I do remember some of the details. My dad and I got out of bed early that morning, made breakfast and packed some lunch for the day. He then took out a pen and paper and made a rough sketch of a deer standing broadside and told me where I should aim if I had a shot at a deer. We both carried single shot shotguns. We drove out to the field in which we were going to hunt and we walked about a half-mile to where we were going to post for the morning. We were placed along the Floyd River right next to a creek that formed a T to the river. After a period of time I remember hearing a crunching noise and as I turned my head there was a little forked buck crossing the river and approaching the bank where I was seated. As the small buck climbed the bank and started trotting past me at about 30 yards, I took aim and fired. I thought I had missed. My Dad then came over to where I was and he went to look for blood. There in the snow was bright red blood and he spotted the deer lying down along a fencerow about a mile away where he expired. I said that day "this is the best day of my life."

Since that day we have had a lot of great hunts together. We created many memories that will last a lifetime, memories that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. All of these hunts and these memories, all that my dad taught me, and all that I had learned on my own by experience deer hunting was training for what I was about to encounter on December 8, 2007.

When I was 20 years old and right out of technical college I decided to go through a guide-training program in northwest Montana, put on by Jerry Malson outfitting in Trout Creek, Montana. After the 6-week course ended they decided to hire me as an elk guide. During my time as an elk guide I was fortunate to meet and get to know some really great people. One person I met, Steve Wright, was from southeast Iowa. Since I was originally from Northwest Iowa, and I also had a sister living in southeast Iowa at the time, we had some things in common. We got to talking and he said if I would get finished with the season here in Montana and wanted to come hunt on his property for whitetail, to give him a call when I returned home. I did just that and I went out and did an archery hunt that fall. I was not successful in tagging an animal that fall, but I got to know Steve pretty well and saw some beautiful country. Since that time I have been hunting on his property with archery tackle and black powder equipment. Over the past seven years I have taken 3 bucks in southeast Iowa, one with my bow and two with black powder.

The second shotgun season in Iowa was fast approaching. The whole week before I had been packing my bags, sighting in my TC Encore, and talking to my dad about big bucks. Of course before every trip we talk about big bucks. It was Friday, the day before the season opener. My dad and I decided to leave that morning at 5:00 am. It is only a 5 hour drive so that was plenty early but we were excited to get down there and scout around a little bit and decide where each of us would set up that morning.

That morning I popped out of bed and gave my loving wife a kiss goodbye, checked on both my children and headed out the door. I then went and picked up my dad and we were on our way well before daylight. We were fast approaching our destination so I called my friend Steve and told him we would be in town about 10:30 am. I then called the motel that we had a reservation with and told them we would be arriving soon. Its really more of and inn than a motel which is why I had to call ahead. There is no fulltime staff there. Nonetheless it has nice beds, TVs, and hot showers. All in all it is a great deer camp for two guys. We arrived at the motel and unpacked our gear. We then put on a heavy coat and some boots and headed toward our hunting grounds.

There were a couple of places that I wanted to check out. My dad had been along with me before and there was one spot in particular that he had sat in previous years so we wanted to check that spot out first. It is a deep wooded ravine right along the Des Moines River, with two old logging roads running through it. There are also a lot of big brush piles where deer like to bed. We decided that he would set up there again in the morning. Now all we had to do was find a spot for me. There were about 3 different areas I was thinking about. One area has 3 wooly draws that come together and create a funnel where they meet. Another spot has a pond on the edge of the timber that overlooks a big cornfield, which rolls down the hill into some more timber. There I could overlook the field and see into the timber. The other spot I had in mind was a wide area that ran all the way from the road down to a deep, nasty draw. In that area there are some small ditches running down to the big draw at the bottom, surrounded by a lot of low brushy, thorny trees and shrubbery. In the middle of all of this towards the big draw there is a big old tree with big branches stemming out. In that tree there is a permanent wooden tree stand. My dad and I hiked out there and I climbed up in the stand to see my view. I had a couple of good openings but I would have to pick my shot. There was also a fresh blanket of snow from the night before, so I had to brush off the seat and the stand. We decided this was the spot for me. We thought if the guns started going off in the morning and people were pushing deer that I might catch a big buck heading for thick, nasty cover in the bottom of the draw. Now I was really excited. We knew our plan and had seen where we were going to hunt. Now all we had left to do was wait until tomorrow. The only problem was that it was only 2:00 pm on Friday afternoon and we had a long wait. We headed back to our room and prepared for the morning, laying out all of our gear and getting our packs ready. That night we had an early supper and went to bed early. It was kind of a restless night for me, but finally the alarms rang and we were on our way to our stands.

I dropped my dad off first and drove down the dark road to where my stand was located. I finished putting on my outer layers of clothing, threw on my pack, grabbed my muzzleloader, and started walking to my tree. It was a beautiful morning in which I didn't even need a flashlight to navigate. I spotted my tree and found the hoist rope, tied my gun off, and climbed into the massive tree. I then hoisted my gun, put in a 209 primer and waited for daylight, not knowing what I was about to encounter.

At about 7:00 am it was light enough to see well. I had only sat for about 15 more minutes when I saw some movement coming from the thick draw below. A doe emerged along with a forked buck. It wasn't exactly what I was looking for but it was fun to see some movement. They headed up from the way I walked in, only about 80 yards east of my tree and disappeared into the low brushy trees. About a half hour later I saw some more movement, this time coming from where the doe and small buck had disappeared a little while earlier. This time they were headed for the thick draw below, again about 80 yards to the east of me. Even though they were still in the thick cover I thought I could see with my naked eyes some headgear on the last deer in the group. I then put up my gun and while looking through the scope I saw a massive set of antlers. The buck was following about 4 does and they were moving broadside to me. When I saw the buck in my scope all I could see was a row of long tines. I had never seen a deer of this size in the wild before. As soon as I realized it was a giant buck I shut his rack out of my mind and focused on what I had to do to close the deal. I had to wait about 5 to 10 seconds until the buck approached an opening about 80 yards to my east, which was only about 5 yards wide. Right before he entered the opening I let out a loud grunt and he slammed on the brakes, stopping right in my opening, and looked right at me broadside. The only shot I had, I had to make offhand and I had to do it fast. So I lowered the cross hairs on his shoulder and shot. When the smoke cleared he was laying right where he had stood. I could see his giant rack sticking off the ground, and then the shaking began for me. I couldn't believe I had just killed the biggest buck of my life. I reloaded my muzzleloader and raised my gun again, just to make sure he was down for good. When I was sure he was done, I lowered my gun and climbed down out of the tree. The shortest distance to my buck was down a steep, nasty draw and back up the other side. Of course that is the path I chose so I literally had to plow my way through the thorns and briars. Once I was through I was almost there. As I approached I could not believe my eyes. He was a true giant. Before I even grabbed the rack I called my dad on the cell phone and told him that I had just shot the buck of a lifetime. He couldn't believe his ears and told me he was coming out of his stand immediately. I said I would be right over to pick him up. This was a moment that I didn't want my dad to miss. Then I knelt down and picked up the giant 18-point rack. The feeling was amazing. I had always dreamed of it, but I didn't really ever expect it to happen to me. A buck of this caliber is more than I could have asked for. I looked up and thanked God for this undeserved blessing, and then went to get my dad. When I was driving up to my dad I could see him smile from ear to ear. I knew he was excited and proud. As we were walking back out to look at my buck we could see him lying there, and my dad couldn't believe the size of this buck. We shook hands and just stared at this world-class animal. We then shared a time of celebration and took photos, and relived the experience and the story.

This was truly my buck of a lifetime, as well as my hunt of a lifetime. He had an 18-point rack with lots of character. He had 13" G2s and 12" G3s and 8.5" brows and he was scored by my uncle, David Kidder, official Master scorer for SCI. My buck's official gross score is 200 3/8" and net score is 185 5/8". Not only did I take the largest whitetail I will probably ever harvest, but I also got to share it with my dad. My dad was with me when I shot my 1st deer, and he was there when I shot my biggest deer. I hope and pray that some day I will have the opportunity to be with my son when he gets his 1st deer and his biggest deer. What a blessing that would be. Thank you, Dad, for all you have taught me in life and about deer hunting, and for being there on the two best days of my deer hunting career.

My Paintball Bucks
By Jim Willmsen

It was a gloomy Friday on October 26th. I said to myself, "It would be a great day to go hunting". My work was done for the day so I took off and got my gear. I decided to hunt a new area.

Rubs and scrapes surrounded me as I found the perfect tree right next to a creek. I was about to go up in my stand when I heard a loud ruckus. I looked up and saw four kids splattering paint balls all over the woods. Hot pink, neon green, bright orange and it echoed for miles. I decided to approach them and advise they were trespassing and needed to leave. I am hunting and I have permission. They reluctantly agreed and I trekked all the way back to my stand. I was starting to sweat and began thinking my hunt was over for the day; most likely, the teenagers had scared off all of the deer, what's the point. However, I climbed back up in my stand anyway. As I watched the kids leave they unloaded paintballs like machine guns and my blood pressure started to boil. This went on for another 15-20 minutes so I decided to call the police. These kids need to learn a lesson, they're on private property and they are disrespecting nature. Now, knowing it will take time for the woods to quiet down and that my hunt was likely ruined, I decided to sit down and cool off. As I relaxed I heard a splashing noise, like a child jumping in a water puddle. Hearing the rushing of the creek water I talked myself into believing it was just ripples making the noise. Then the noise repeated every five minutes or so but I kept telling myself it's just the creek. But, after about twenty minutes came a loud splash and I said to myself; "what's going on - that's no ripple in the creek"! I looked around. All I saw were tall weeds and the skinny winding creek.

Then it happened - I peered through the weeds and we locked eyes. The monster buck instantly went crazy as if he were possessed, trying to get away. Jumping and thrashing every which way to get loose. Loose from what? Another buck? YES, he was antler-locked with another buck and the other buck was dead. My heart pounded, but I went into hunt mode. I grabbed my bow, drew back, focused on the shot and waited for him to give me one split second of not jumping and thrashing. I put the pin on the vitals and let it go. Awesome shot, it was a complete pass through!! I just kept thinking please go down!! Please go down!! My wish was granted, down he went. I rushed out of my stand and jumped into the creek overjoyed with anticipation. Then I grabbed these massive locked racks.

My discovery was unbelievable. One monster buck was palmated with eight inch massive main beams and an eleven inch drop tine!! The other buck's main beam was embedded inside the main beam of the other buck with incredible force. Unbelievable! I have never heard or seen anything like it!!
The two monsters were locked together no more than 25 yards from my stand the entire time. I walked by them when I picked my spot and two more times with the paint ball fiasco. Three times and I never even saw them. He was one smart buck!! He was quiet until we locked eyes and then he knew the battle was on!! The other buck had been dead for several days. They were definitely never coming apart. It was truly the hunt of a lifetime and goes to show unless you get out there, you'll never find your prize - ANYTHING can happen!

Great Piebald Buck - Justin Robinson

Justin Robinson with his 15 point piebald whitetail deer that he killed in Floyd County, Kentucky on Nov. 17, 2007.

Note:
Piebald deer have patches of white hair but are otherwise normally colored. Piebalds are thought to be more common than albinos. Depending on what part of the country you are from these deer are sometimes referred to as pintos and come in various amounts of white and brown. Protecting piebald deer from hunting would have no biological impact and probably would not result in an increase of these traits.

My Biggest Archery Buck

By Josh Tucker

Well finally after 5 years of bow hunting and passing 9 different bucks last year, here he is!!! I got out to the stand about 3:30 in afternoon and within 15 minutes, I had this Brute on the ground.

I got to my stand, nocked an arrow and looked across the creek and saw him cruising along the edge, on the opposite side from me, grunting the whole way. Awesome! I grunted back at him and he disappeared into heavier cover. I grunted a couple more times anda 125 inch 10 pointer appeared 50 yards into the food plot. He worked his way south and went into the timber, 5 min later the Big Boy from across the creek appears in the same food plot heading right towards my tree! I look over to my left and see a spike feeding at a distance of around 40 yards.The Big Boy saw the spike and started towards him all bristled up, what a sight!! The spike gets to about 20 yards from me and looks up and busts me, I thought here we go, he is going to blow and the big boy will be gone, the spike heads back towards the big buck and then crosses the creek, without alarming the bigger buck.

The Big Boy was at 40 yards behind some tress so I couldn't shoot. He just stayed put looking around and I think he figured he had run the spike off. So he started making a scrape and rubbing a tree on his hind legs, then he took a couple steps forward, I stood up drew my Mathews Legacy, ranged him to be around 30 yards, settled the 30 yard pin and let the Beman Black Max and Spitfire Broadhead go to work. I heard the THWACK, he took off across the creek, and fell over after 60 yards from a double lung hit. I want to thank my buddy Pat for teaching me to bowhunt and helping me with all aspects of hunting, he is not only a great friend but a brother. I would also like to thank my buddy Red who helped me with stand placement and allowed me to hunt his property.

Final Gross Score was 138 5/8!