Purdue clinched the Big Ten regular-season title outright earlier in the day when Illinois beat I had no idea the journey our family was about to embark on with this deer, Lee said. Lefty fell right there. After the initial congratulations were over, the brothers walked to the spot where the buck had dropped. The one on the right was 4 inches. This deer means so much, Reed said. Taken in Pushmataha County, this deer is nearly 2 inches bigger than the previous record. With his head down, did I hit an antler? His father remembered some advice from Grandpa Hill (Jimmy) about hunting near water on rainy days. I turned in his direction and prepared to shoot. Lightning had struck him for the third time! 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. Just $1 per month , After a month of dogging the elusive deer, bowhunter Jonathan Moreland arrows a Natural State giant, By Lee, Im not going to be able to hunt with you this year, his father said. Even so, I didn't figure that would matter if I aimed at the right spot and squeezed off a clean shot. Lucas drew back, settled his pin, and took the 38-yard shot. "I hunted every weekend in 2013," Ryan recalls. Then, the big one stepped out. After a few days of class, he again left on Thursday night and headed home to hunt. The story of Loyd's Arkansas buck shows why effective deer management in many states is creating the potential for record-book . 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. It was another doe, and the big buck was right behind her. Im thankful for the knowledge he instilled in me in how to hunt big deer.. The following table contains some of the largest whitetail deer in Arkansas. Gordon Whittington talks with Steven Sprout about the trophy buck he took back in 1998 while bowhunting public land in Illinois. I was speechless. The buck was running with another good deer, but a cold front on Oct. 16 split them up. Many mallards were saved during his absence from the flooded timber. I cant wait to see you again and tell you about this one., Jacob Latimers Kentucky BuckScore: 170 inchesDate of Kill: Sept. 30, 2021Location: Montgomery County, Ky.Weapon: Compound bow. Trust me: I thanked the good Lord numerous times for this buck and for letting me miss that first buck, he said. What is the world record for the biggest deer shot? "I remember the exact time because I got a text from a friend saying that he had killed a buck." Morelands first encounter with the buck occurred on a hunt early in the season. The buck was as massive as hed looked on camera, and the biggest Moreland had ever killed. His late grandfather started JJ Ranch in 1961, but passed in 2009, and its been worked by the family ever since. A friend killed a big buck that he entered in the Big Buck Classic, and Watts said the bigger buck was running with it. I had no idea this county could even produce anything like that. Bowhunting is the primary management tool in this region. Nearly any hunter would be thrilled with a buck that size. I killed him in the mock scrape I created., The deer ran 30 yards and tipped over. It walked down a trail, turned broadside and offered a 20-yard, slightly-quartering-to shot opportunity. I could never get a consistent wind. No more long nights checking every single cellular picture coming through. The spread was 16 5/8 inches, and the longest tines were the two G2s at 8 1/8 and 7 7/8 inches. Stacy Fowler -- 212 6/8 non-typical muzzleloader kill -- Scott County 2. South Texas' ranches are known to grow some giants; still, this state just barely made the top 10 list for typical bucks. "He got to about 25 yards, and I drew when he went behind the tree," Ryan says. The way I see it, this deer was my deer the good Lord made sure of that.. The left main beam had palmation, and the last circumferences were as big as the bases. The 34,000-acre lease is owned by a timber company, and is broken into smaller, huntable pieces. 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.. They were very happy for me to take this buck. Stan Potts doubles down in Montana and Wyoming. Bucks this big dont get that way by being stupid. He went through the patch so fast I just knew he was good but never could really tell what kind of rack he had. The doe, however, wanted nothing to do with her pursuer and jumped into a nearby pond in an attempt to flee the buck. I was sick as he pranced off with his nose in the air. We purchased more cellular trail cameras. I do know it was not the deer I killed. It ran 177 yardsan incredible distance for a deer with a 190-grain broadhead inside of him. 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 was overcome with emotion when we recovered the big eight. And to get close enough to kill one, you need to be smarter than they are. Luke Wilson of McComb was stunned when he and his brother walked up on the big buck Luke had shot minutes earlier in a big cutover on his deer lease in Pike County. Its where I untangle my mind., Jason Lucas Illinois WhitetailScore: 168 inchesDate of Kill: Dec. 8, 2021Location: Central IllinoisWeapon: Mathews Triax compound bow. Around 6:55 p.m., this giant buck stepped out of the cover and walked toward him. We called the buck Spider Man because we had hundreds of velvet pictures of him with a spider web in front of the camera.. He lived in Mississippi until 2004, when he moved back to the Arkansas town of Benton just southwest of Little Rock. Several minutes later, the deer started moving again. 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. It wouldn't be until spring 2013 that the bowhunter would find the matching sheds and see how big the rack really was. Bobby Cleveland has covered sports in Mississippi for over 40 years. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets. I settled the crosshairs where I needed to place the bullet and steadied the rifle. She milled around the stand within 20 yards while the buck stood at 40 yards, antsy. After the excitement settled, he climbed down, called his friends and waited for them to arrive to assist with the recovery. "At least I think there were six. I couldn't get a shot.'. 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. Ryan's buck had the genetics and nutrition to continue to skyrocket. 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. Spencer Neuharth Mar 1, 2021. Nick continued to watch several bucks harass does throughout the morning, but chose not to take a shot at them. "I got down after 15 minutes and went to the truck and went and brushed in the duck pit," the bowhunter recalls. "I've always loved deer hunting," the young sportsman says. He was 19 inches wide.. The first year was challenging, as they had to learn how deer used the property. In retrospect, Watson believes the buck probably died after the first shot. We got permission on a new property in early July of 2021, and thats the first time we got him on camera, she said. After graduating from college, the West Memphis, Ark., native moved to Jackson in 1992 to begin his career. Fortunately, when Hooper reached the spot where the deer had been standing, he spotted the body in nearby brush. | It was so thick that he couldnt see what made the sound, though. The campus is only about an hour away from where he hunts. "Then I duck hunted about everyday after that.". I killed a lot of deer with a gun before I started bowhunting about six years ago. I still had no idea about the size of the rack, Hooper said. Both bases were right at 5 inches, and the main beams were 23 inches, Wilson said. 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. Subscriber Services. Soon after daylight, a spike and small 8-point walked out. Ryan hunted the buck all season but saw him just one time from the tree stand. Jonathan Moreland grew up hunting with a compound bow until, one day, he saw one of his fathers old recurves hanging on the wall. In fact, going into 2013 he'd shot two net Boone & Crocketts: one a non-typical scoring over 200, the other a typical from public land. They talked a lot, and hunting was a common topic. I couldnt see behind me so Im not sure where he came out from but he was walking up out of that drainage ditch. "When we recovered the deer, his head was leaned on a sapling, propped up. Countrywide, it isnt often you get to hunt in August, let alone with a rifle. So I guess Im back to hunting the 100-inch 8-points, but I know I will be more selective and start passing on the promising ones, he said. He was about to come into the main scrape at 17 yards, but right behind him came five does. Ryan estimated the deer now was 7 1/2 years old. [], 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. 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. I was trying not to pass out. 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. The larger buck snort-wheezed twice. I called my dad and said, 'It's over. This was a resident buck., Thinking the deer would remain on the property, they decided to not hunt the farm that year. Deer hunting is my peace. He wasnt hunting that day so I asked if I could borrow his.. 5 Purdue outlasted Wisconsin 63-61. But I promise yall this, I feel my dad more now than I ever have. Arkansas Biggest Bucks: Score: Typ? After showing friends and family the deer, I received lots of congratulatory messages, he said. When the buck stopped in an opening about 35 yards away, Watson drew his pin and let go. This season, Murdaugh had the opportunity to cash in some of that knowledge on a huge whitetail. Oddly enough, in a county where a 125-point buck is rare, nobody had ever reported seeing this monster. The latter was a perfect candidate for the first-time hunter, so Ryan directed his cousin to shoot the smaller deer. He was well outside his ears, and one of my brothers saw it, too, and he agreed that it was just a 6-point. On Nov. 23, they decided to move in. He was a good-looking, 150-class 10 . On a morning when the bucks in Scott County were in a serious mood for love, Jason Hooper got a lucky break when he pulled the trigger on the first shooter than ran past chasing a doe. It followed the large doe group and chased one of them into a nearby cattle working pen. After the day Id hunt him, he would always show up the next afternoon. With the buck on his right side, Watson spun himself around to get in position. Konschak was hunting deer in nearby property and said he killed what he thought were . "The buck chased in a doe at 7:05 a.m.," he says. Pennsylvania: 34 deer per square mile. But the bowhunter was wrong. "I knew he had potential." Jake Murdaugh is a rancher who spends much of his time living the agricultural lifestyle. Hall hunts some swampy ground, and some of it is navigable by water. I would hunt this deer in the afternoon and the wind would be blowing 1-2 miles per hour and swirl, Latimer said. "I knew about this buck in 2018," he says. When the buck is adding 20-30 inches of antler per year, the stakes just keep getting higher. Part of the beauty (and difficulty) of hunting with traditional equipment, is that you have to hunt close. In the meantime, the Moreland brothers continued their own search. However, when it happened, he was focused on finishing the job. The 2021-22 deer season is a wrap, and some big whitetails fell between the opening and closing bells. He had a little standoff with the 10-pointer, with them grunting at one another. 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. He came to 40 yards and stood by a brush pile. Unbeknownst to Ryan, the buck would live three more years and make huge jumps each year. 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. Then the monster buck appeared. Jurassic-era insect found near Arkansas Walmart . Bobby Cleveland has covered sports in Mississippi for over 40 years. This is also the part that can be frustrating. Im a pretty good rifle shot; for some reason it comes naturally to me, and I dont typically miss. . I had a shooting lane through the pine trees. and the buck followed. The buck had morphed into a world-class bruiser right on Ryan's home turf. He had cameras at the private hunting lease he hunts with his brother, Josh. The 200-yard shot hit its mark. I only saw him one time on stand while bowhunting in 2011, and he skirted around me at about 60 yards.". He was hunting near a pond and a small field. It was sunny and 40 degrees with a north-northwest wind. A coyote ran out of a nearby thicket and spooked the buck past his stand, but with no possibility for a shot. His spot put him facing eastward out into the field. She came in and started eating, but he caught our wind, Reed said. Hooper waited 15 minutes before starting the recovery. This photo isn't great so don't be confused by the extra antler on the bottom left; it's from an adjacent deer . Field Dressed Weight: 431-Lbs. Much to his surprise, he turned, and there stood Lefty about 70 yards away. Stan Potts heads to Montana with his rifle in search of a Big Sky buck. 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. Realtree is committed to providing an inclusive and accessible experience to everyone, including those with disabilities.2023 Jordan Outdoor Enterprises, Ltd. All rights reserved. "Apparently, the buck had put on roughly 50 or so inches from last year," Travis said. I was excited and sad. 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. He was directly downwind of me and lifted his head and sniffed," Ryan recalls. He was quartering to my right and I let him put another 100 yards between us so I could get turned. He hunted hard, but the deer evaded him. Hunting public land, he killed a buck in the Natural State that would make a Midwesterner swoon. County Sex Count; Arkansas: Antlered: 1699: Arkansas: Button Buck: 156: Arkansas: Doe: 1410: Ashley: Antlered: 1495: Ashley: Button Buck: 301: Ashley: Doe: 2418 . I saw him on camera in 2013, and he had grown a tremendous amount. Is This the Largest Buck of the 2019 Deer Season. "I had class on Tuesday and Thursday, so I hunted Friday through Monday. Bottles & 12-oz. He went ahead and came in to stay with his doe, and I got the shot off quickly.. Fortunately, the boy was able to take him, resulting in a great first whitetail and sparing the big one's life. Hes got a lot of stickers and stuff.. Non-Typical: 312 inches. Ryan Sullivan was only 19 when, during the 2013 season, he arrowed an Arkansas buck of gigantic proportions. After a cold front blew in around the middle of the month, Watson moved to a treestand. Again, Moreland tried to call his buddy with the tracking dog again, but couldnt reach him. About an hour into the afternoon hunt, a doe appeared about 100 yards away and walked down through the finger of trees. STACY FOWLER Danville, AR The big non-typical buck killed by Stacy Fowler of Danville is the largest deer taken in the Natural State last season. Dont forget to enter photos of your bucks in theBig Buck Photo Contestto be eligible for monthly giveaways. Thinking the hunt was over, Mullina started looking at his phone, trying to determine a game plan for the next day. 'I remained in the stand for several minutes to gather my thoughts and calm down, ' Mikell says. Any serious whitetail hunter knows that it's not often that we get a second chance on the buck of a lifetime, or even a first chance for that matter. The stage now was set for him to truly blossom into a world-class trophy. I glanced over and all I could see was antlers, he said. Ryan was shooting a 2-blade Rage broadhead. They dreamed of another season hunting this big deer. Lee settled the crosshairs and pulled the trigger. This buck is known as the Missouri Monarch. During the spring conservation order, you can hunt with outfitters from Arkansas to Saskatchewan. During the summer of 2019, the big buck appeared regularly in a few fields close to where Hall hunts. The doe came by, and I knew he was fixing to come right past me.". Did I hit him in the leg? I would sit and watch TV and read magazines just hoping for a chance at a buck like this. Franz finally killed the deer on an Oct . "I waited until about 2 p.m. to trail the buck with my cousin and some good friends," Ryan says. I absolutely worked my tail off to get an opportunity at this buck. I ran to the house and headed straight to Dads, he said. The agreement has not been finalized . 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.. Even though he was in the tall weeds and stuff, I could see his body and his vitals. Location: Calhoun County, S.C. In this edition of "Big Buck Profile," Gordon Whittington talks with young whitetail hunter Reid Crawford about his trophy buck taken in 2017. He settled in for the afternoon sit and waited for deer movement. About 206,00 hunters used a crossbow and harvested 93,000 deer. Jacob Latimer first learned of this buck during the 2020 deer season. I sprayed some Tinks Doe in Heat Urine, more to check the wind direction that anything else, he said. On Nov. 24, Hall launched his boat around 9:30 a.m. and reached his stand half an hour later. Not only that, but he also got the biggest buck killed in Arkansas during the 2008-09 deer season. Copyright 2023 National Rifle Association, Women On Target Instructional Shooting Clinics, Volunteer At The Great American Outdoor Show, Marion P. 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