These bucks are so big, the local records may never be re-written!
We all know records are made to be broken, but sometimes the bar is raised so high that defeating it seems nearly impossible. The same can be said for many hunting and fishing records, but especially for whitetail deer.
For today’s #WhitetailWednesday we’re highlighting six state and provincial record deer that may never fall.
We’re not saying it impossible for these records to fall, but it is going to take one heck of an animal to do it!
Saskatchewan Typical Record
This is of course, Milo Hanson’s Boone and Crockett world record typical whitetail. Hanson’s awesome buck tapes out to a staggering 213 5/8 inches and come this November, the record will officially be 25 years old. Time flies right?
We fully expect Hanson’s record to be broken at some point. There is a chance (albeit, small) that it may even come from the same Canadian Province. But we also think there is just as good a chance that never happens because of how rare a 200-inch typical is.
Even if a new record buck topping Hanson’s is taken in a different state or province, odds are Hanson will be number one in the Saskatchewan record books long after you or I am gone from this world.
Ohio Non-Typical (Hunter killed or found dead)
The Buckeye state is home to some monster bucks, but we feel on the non-typical side of things, they have probably topped out due to the two biggest non-typicals in the record books there. For a hunter-killed whitetail, you have Michael Beatty’s monster 304 6/8 inch bow kill from 2000, a deer that was formerly the world record for a hunter-killed animal.
Only a handful of wild whitetails ever taken by a hunter have ever exceeded the 300 inch mark, leaving the odds of a second from the Buckeye State extremely low. The buck right behind Beatty’s is close at 295 3/8 inches. But only three non-typicals taken by hunters have exceeded the 280 inch mark in Ohio, making Beatty’s harvest a likely once-in-a-generation type of thing.
But let’s not just look at animals taken by hunters. Also consider the iconic Hole-in-the-Horn buck was found dead in Ohio. It has been 78 years and counting since the Hole-in-the-Horn’s discovery and there is only one other wild whitetail ever recorded that is bigger than this iconic Ohio big buck.
So it really doesn’t matter if you’re looking at bucks found dead or taken by a hunter, these two whitetails might as well be etched on stone tablets. Odds are, they’re likely not moving from the top spots any time soon!
Tennessee State Record Non-typical
Steven Tucker’s 2016 hunting season produced a Tennessee whitetailed-deer that gets a lot of attention because the 312-inch buck is the Boone and Crockett world record for a hunter-killed animal.
But lost in the all the buzz of a world record is the stunning fact that Tucker’s buck shattered the state record for a non-typical Tennessee buck by almost 70 inches! Forget breaking the record, Tucker obliterated it! Talk about a genetic freak of a buck.
The next biggest non-typical taken in Tennessee tapes out to 244 inches. A monster buck to be sure, but it is worlds away from the Tucker buck. Someone may very well shoot a buck bigger than Tucker’s one day, but you could probably put good money Tucker’s name being the state record in the volunteer state for several lifetimes.
Illinois Typical Archery Record
It is hard enough to kill a big buck with a rifle or muzzleloader. It is even harder to do so with archery gear. That is probably why Illinois’ state record typical archery deer has stood for 53 years and counting.
Mel Johnson’s 204 4/8 inch typical buck isn’t just the biggest buck taken with a bow in the Land of Lincoln. It also holds the top spot in Pope and Young’s record books.
A 200-inch typical buck is one of the smartest animals in the woods and it is rare enough with a firearm. The odds of another Illinois resident shooting a monster buck over 200 inches with a bow have to be astronomically low.
Iowa State Record Non-typical
No one in Albia, Iowa can keep a secret apparently. That is because this huge buck went from local rumor to the best-known big game animal in North America between 2002 and 2003. Things were taken to a manic, fever pitch when photos of the live animal were published in a 2002 issue of North American Whitetail magazine.
It was quickly dubbed the “Walking world record,” and hunters flocked to Albia hoping for a chance at the beast.
The huge buck finally fell in the 2003 hunting season to 15-year-old Tony Lovstuen during Iowa’s youth hunt. and shortly after was crowned as the biggest non-typical ever harvested by a hunter by Boone and Crockett Club. Lovstuen’s buck has since lost that noble distinction, but this buck will likely be the Iowa state record non-typical for decades to come, if not forever mostly thanks to the buck’s stunning final net score of 307 5/8 inches.
Missouri Non-typical State Record
This is another buck that was found dead, but it is also a mark that will never be topped. St. Louis County Missouri produced this 333 7/8 inch monster non-typical in 1981. Unfortunately the buck didn’t fall to a hunter but was found dead. The buck was quickly dubbed “The Missouri Monarch,” and took over the all-time top spot in Boone and Crockett club’s record books as the biggest buck ever.
The only whitetail buck that comes close to this is Ohio’s Hole-in-the-Horn buck. This buck is so far ahead of any hunter-killed whitetail that has ever been killed that we believe the Show-Me-State will never produce another that is anything like it. Sorry, Missouri deer hunters.
NEXT: #WHITETAILWEDNESDAY: 9 OF THE BIGGEST WILD BUCKS EVER CAUGHT ON TRAIL CAMERA
WATCH
The post #WhitetailWednesday: 7 State or Provincial Record Bucks That Will Never Fall appeared first on Wide Open Spaces.
