"This deer has shown me that all the time and dedication that I put into preparing for this hunt was beyond worth it in the end. Stan Potts heads to Montana with his rifle in search of a Big Sky buck. The 25-point deer may be impressive, however the way it was killed, is not. He remembers it as a bittersweet moment: Hed finally tagged the buck, but now the hunt was over. "I ventured away from deer hunting because of my passion for waterfowl hunting, but there's nothing like harvesting a buck with a bow. Access. In the video above, Leopold's Shawn Skipper highlights the features of the exciting new optics with Game & Fish Editorial Director Adam Heggenstaller at SHOT Show 2023 in Las Vegas. He decided it was worth checking out and that he still had plenty of time for a stalk. The 360 Buckhammer cartridge is designed for lever-action rifles and will be available in two Remington Core-Lokt loads. Hes so much bigger in person. June 28th, 2013 | Big Deer Stories, BigDeer | 2 Comments Dustin Finley tells me his dad, Larry, killed this deer in Pendleton Co, KY on 11-11-12; they measured him at 226 7/8. "My heart about beat out of my chest as I watched him make his way in my direction," Standard said. "I remember catching a glimpse of the top of his rack coming through the woods," Reed said. Here are there stories of those giant bucks. "I had never had a deer quite this size before on the farm.". The new 7mm Precision Rifle Cartridge from Hornady is available in three loads (160 gr. Kentucky Big Bucks. Id like to dedicate this deer to him and his memory. Personal defense in the hunting woods could involve taking down a charging bear. We hunted and ran cameras all fall and never saw him. His desk-mate was a mounted warthog. Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. Warren County, Mississippi Turns out the area around Vicksburg, Mississippi, is more than just an attraction for Civil War history buffs. This man pleaded guilty to hunting without permission and hunting by aid of bait, which are both class C misdemeanors. Roughly 223,000 Colorado hunters harvested 39,000 elk in 2017, a 17% success rate. During the summer of 2021, we had several pictures of Sasquatch, and he was still impressive. Lacefield slowly drew back. My dad, Luke, family friend Jason Divita and I covered miles almost every day, and we found one of his sheds in late January. Whitetail hunting strategies for the next generation. Read Next: How to Tag a Velvet Whitetail Buck (and the Best States to Make It Happen). Hope that's not the case cause I would like to see some better pics of it. He especially didnt expect it to happen during his first year on a new farm. Available in 180- and 200-grain sizes. In the video above, Matt Willson of Ruger highlights the features with Game & Fish's John Taranto. Jason Kline shows off the beast that he hunted for nearly a decade. The next morning Dad called me broken-hearted; he found the deer, but it wasnt Sasquatch. I immediately had my gun up and the safety off. The deer frequented a food plot theyd planted specifically for him, and his movements became very predictable. CX Outfitter, 180 gr. EDITORS NOTE: When the photos of this deer were first sent to us by the hunter, Derek Settle, our immediate gut check was: This is a high-fence deer. The morning started out peacefully, with a small buck feeding around. On September 15, Blake Keating killed a Kansas buck that would likely dethrone Luke Brewster's whitetail as the biggest in North American history. He left everything in the blind except for his crossbow, a brand-new Raven R26, and one arrow. Then, around 7 a.m., the big deer walked out, and Ed took the 25-yard shot. But nothing prepared Settle for the buck he started getting trail cam pictures of in July 2020 at one of his mineral plots. Deer hunting in Tennessee started strong during the summer and finished strong in January with the harvest almost 20% larger than the previous season. Updated: 8:51 PM EST November 17, 2021 DECATUR COUNTY, Ind. Afterward, Reed's father and brother-in-law helped him recover the buck and get it out of the field. He shot the deer on a Saturday morning as it moved from water to a bedding area, Whitt said. Conservation law enforcement officer Sgt. A food plot and lots of edge habitat stretched out in front of them. Both bucks walked to within 18 yards, and Taylor took the shot. At 200+ inches, Huffman's deer becomes the new Kentucky state record for typical bucks taken with a crossbow. He quickly recognized the big typical, and watched as it walked all the way to within 15 yards. This big buck had historically spent the early and late seasons on the Arkenaus property, and spent the rut elsewhere. "I stood up and watched him run about 150 yards, falling over just short of a ditch. 0:05. I had no shot whatsoever.. This page has. I was telling myself, Its OK. Nobody would blame you to give up right now and not try to shoot because of how crazy this deer is. Several oaks were already dropping acorns, and there was heavy deer sign. If the words Butcher Buck dont mean anything to you, its damn time they do. At SHOT Show 2023 in Las Vegas. It all happened within three minutes. Derek Settle solo hunted a monster buck thats sure to make the record books and is quite possibly the biggest buck ever taken in Kentuckya state that is known for its booners. The rack is still in the drying phase before it can be officially scored B&C. | Mike Clerkin heads to the legendary Buffalo County, Wisconsin, in search of early season whitetail action. You can scout and hunt hard and not see a deer for days. One of the things Kentucky deer hunters look forward to is hunting velvet bucks. His elusiveness led to us joking about him even being real, which is where he got the name Sasquatch. His sons took some good deer as well. (Settle has a medical exemption to use a crossbow during archery season because of a herniated disk in his neck. He continued to get trail camera photos in 2019 and 2020, and even had numerous in-person encounters that were foiled by farmers or trespassers. Its unclear when the buck escaped, but Keating started getting pictures of it on September 11. While in the hospital, he learned about the temporary crossbow permit for injured and disabled hunters. Joe Lacefield's velvet monster green-scored 179 inches. Were not opposed to that hunter shooting that deerwed actually encourage hunters to remove the buck in those situations. Settle, 41, grew up in the Bluegrass State and is a long-time local of Henderson County. Later that night, Lacefield recovered the deerhis biggest ever. I've seen some biggins in the middle of Frankfort. He shared the good news with them, and then met them at his house nearby. We found one side, and it was a mile and a half from the trail camera picture. I could tell that a lot of deer were running through here, he says, noting that the neighbors also allow him to hunt their adjoining land. After graduating from college, he worked as a freelance journalist for two years before returning to the F&S team full-time in 2021 as the brands News Editor. He even started hearing loud music. Around 5:30 p.m., he decided to call his friend, Kyle Moore, to see if he wanted to come sit the remainder of the evening with him. All rights reserved. - Big Deer Previous Next Kentucky Giant Buck, 226 Inches! He knew it was a big buck, but he wasnt certain that it was Sasquatch. However, when Keating found a small hole in the bucks left ear, the illusion of this being a free-range deer started to disappear. He took the shot. Published Sep 15, 2021 6:00 PM EDT. But the average age of deer, especially bucks, depends a lot on the choices hunters make. He suspected the deer was dead somewhere on the sanctuary property. We finally found the other side in mid-March. His window was narrow, too: Shortly after shedding its velvet, the buck always departed Lacefields hunting grounds. We finally got a picture of him, and he blew up that year into a 180-inch 15-point. Joe Lacefield accomplished both simultaneously. That includes the Missouri Monarch and the Hole in the Horn Buck. "As I walked to my stand, I used my rangefinder to range my tree at 50, 40, 30, and 20 yards. He climbed down to look for blood and his arrow but couldnt find any sign that the buck had been hit. In December of 2019, it happened while Kline was there. The property hunted wellreally well. Occasionally, the buck traveled through the 7-acre property. A couple friends helped Taylor recover the deer. Just $1 per month , A handful of killer Kentucky velvet bucks from this bowseason, By "I enjoy being in the great outdoors. Each photo should be accompanied by the county, date, and approximate time of kill. Utah Hunter Arrows Insane Opening Day Mule Deer. But once in the area, he found the buck within minutes. "I've got close to an hour and a half before dark," Kirkpatrick said to Moore. Give a Gift Obviously, he wouldnt be drawing a compound bow for a few months. It turned out the deer was on a steady evening routine.". The arrow struck true, and the deer ran for cover. As Herman got older, he turned into a bona fide giant. (Photo courtesy of Jacob Carnine). I'm gonna say that deer came in behind Kroger and sherwin williams. In October, the stud disappeared. Knowing that Kline had actively hunted this deer for years, the landowner was nice enough to let him keep the rack. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service. "It came out into the soybeans broadside at 20 yards right in front of me," Standard said. His treestand was positioned on the ridge, with bedding cover at the end of the point. Two of the biggest deer recorded in Walton County were killed over the last two years - a 178 non typical killed in 2014 and a 163 killed in 2013. Hornady's Seth Swerczek goes in depth about the new cartridge with Game & Fish Editorial Director Adam Heggenstaller at SHOT Show 2023 in Las Vegas. I kind of got out of it for a while because I went to college and lived in the city, but I made it back out into the country and got back into it. This man pleaded guilty to hunting without permission and hunting by aid of bait, which are both class C misdemeanors. "Don't move. He went to the point of impact and found bright red, bubbly blood. When the buck walked through an opening, and the younger Deckard shotand missed. Its a moment that will be very hard to top and a memory that will last a lifetime. He was looking over his back at me. Jacob, his brother and father pose proudly with Sasquatch. Then he started pulling those long legs out from under him to stand up. I worked nearly six years at Mossy Oak Productions filming hunts all over the country. But now that I actually have him at home, its crazy. Though Settle didnt post the buck on social media, he immediately sent the photos of his trophy to his stepdad. On opening afternoon, the buck walked in front of Deckards fathers hunting blind, but he wasnt there to kill it. | For Release: Friday, April 23, 2021. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service. If we dont hear about it from the public, then we dont know that theres a case to be made, Gray explained. "I still can't believe that I was blessed enough to harvest this mature buck," Reed continued. He saw only two deer that evening: A 3-year-old buck traveling with the big 4.5-year-old he was hoping to see. Sasquatch went down in his tracks! An intensive, four-year pursuit of an elusive buck dubbed "Sasquatch" at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area (LBL) ended in celebratory tears, hugs, and shared joy between father and son. Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. Haynes Shelton discusses what to look for when choosing the magnification range when it comes to the scope on your deer rifle. It was so bad that my dad would take his sheds off the mantle and hide them if we had company. Brian Tate Camplin's first deer Dec 11, 2021 Updated Dec 12, 2021. (Photo courtesy of Jacob Carnine) I looked up at Dad and with tears in our eyes we went crazy, and we said a prayer thanking God for this opportunity. Moore got there about 5:45 p.m. in knee-high boots, basketball shorts and a camo top. Closer to dark, more does entered the field, then the big 150-inch buck the giant was with the day before stepped out. We would share trail camera pictures with each other and talk about the deer, Kline says. All Game & Fish subscribers now have digital access to their magazine content. After several tense minutes, he finally offered a broadside, 30-yard shot opportunity. The hunt started off slowly, and Kirkpatrick didn't see a deer for the first several hours on stand. Words cannot describe the image of him coming in.". What is the biggest deer killed in Kentucky? Miss a Deer? Guner Womack, a teen out of Oklahoma, arrowed this incredible 88 buck last night while hunting over a wheat field. At SHOT Show 2023 in Las Vegas. Of the elk harvested, 21,000 were bulls. He would make a great first buck with my bow.". I owe a lot of this to him., Read Next: Utah Hunter Arrows Insane Opening Day Mule Deer. note the day it was shot, Nov. 11. This amazing story chronicles the life of a giant whitetail deer Don named "Mel" after Mel Johnson's world record typical whitetail deer. Published Jan 27, 2021 8:50 PM EST. 5 Common Deer Abnormalities Caught on Camera, Oklahoma Hunter Shoots Target Buck That's Locked Up with Another Giant, Potential Kentucky State Record Crossbow Typical Shot in Hemp Field, A Look Back at No. I rarely hunt with a firearm.". We also figured out if he saw or smelled your trail camera, he wouldnt use that area again. The deer started out as a main-frame 8-pointer, but sported a shiny sticker, too. He even had surgery on his wrist. I just couldnt get a good shot at him, and to be perfectly honest, he was standing right on the property line. We observed a 2% increase from the 2018-19 season (145,745) and the 2019-20 season is 11% above the 10 year average (133,524). You are using an out of date browser. Check out these 10 monster bucks that were taken throughout the country. Buckmasters Whitetail Trophy Records (BTR) scorer Hunter Schmittou measured the beast of a buck and gave Huffman the final tally. My stand was in the top of a tall cedar tree with a good view of the soybean field.". But to put something like that in our record books would skew the data.. We had kept Sasquatch a secret from almost everyone; even our closest friends had no idea we were hunting this buck. Giant bucks on opening day were taken by Kentucky bowhunters Jamison Standard and Casey Reed. The non-typical green scored 211 and was the largest buck by far taken by Maxwell in his 40-plus years of deer hunting. Location: Calhoun County, S.C. And there are several roads throughout the area, so many areas are easily accessible. I just kind of put him in the back of my mind. Josh Carter killed this massive non-typical buck in Logan County on Halloween 2021. Game & Fish Editorial Director Adam Heggenstaller gets more info from Hawke's Paige Shipe at SHOT Show 2023 in Las Vegas. On our way back to the truck one day, we came across a scrape at the bottom of a really steep drainage. What Causes Bucks to Have Weak Brow Tines or No Brows? All the while, a 162-inch deer showed up on a different farm. The deer jumped, and then walked back into cover. Kansas bowhunter Brian Butcher couldnt believe his eyes when a monster whitetail snuck into sight in the eastern part of the state on October 10, 2019. Logan Beach arrowed this 162-inch giant in Logan County, Kentucky. | Gentry Roof first deer ever. I figured he took off. Deer began moving and, later in the day, movement really began to pick up. Kline had years of trail camera photos, and a decent idea of how to kill the buck. I hadnt really realized what Id done because the hunt was so intense. Ruger's popular American bolt-action rifle has been a hit with hunters for years. Then, the big deer came back out, now concealed by a bunch of weeds. I would only move when it got windy. Here are a handful of the best velvet bucks to come out of Kentuckys 2021 bowseason. Oklahoma's bow hunters have killed some big bucks already this young archery season, but perhaps the most impressive so far has been Johnny Maxwell's 28-point whitetail from Stephens County. My dad has been hunting, fishing and camping there for over 30 years, and my brother and I have joined him all our lives. Thats the time Id [historically] get the most pictures of him.. About 300 yards away, in the corner of a soybean field south of me, the light shined on his rack right when I was looking that way. (Photos courtesy of Jamison Standard and Casey Reed). I waited until I found a small opening and squeezed the trigger. Reed took it and the arrow flew true. All Rights Reserved. He's killed his fair share of good ones, but there's only ever been one "Herman," which is the monster buck he focused on for the past five seasons. Hoping to hunt the buck on the opener, he decided to set his stand on the edge of some woods that sat high on a little knob. James Kroll and Haynes Shelton talk about being realistic when it comes to managing a smaller deer property in this edition of Dr. We continued looking for the other side but never found it. #1 - Wisconsin Wisconsin is the #1 ranked state with 1,822 total entries and six counties in the top 20 U.S. counties with the most records produced. Land Between the Lakes National Recreation area is about 20 minutes from our hometown of Benton, Kentucky. So, on opening weekend, he moved in and hunted along a promising ridge line. I was bringing him along for the ride. Were trying to get the full story. The fence is broken down right there, and I couldnt see it from where I was.. I thank God that I got to experience the hunt with my dad and to celebrate it with my wonderful family. To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow.com and learn how to access your digital magazine. Few people could really hunt him because of where he was unless he traveled around or went across the road, which he did.. I didnt even know how to act. I got a phone call that evening from Dad telling me he had just shot Sasquatch! It was a wise decision, because soon he noticed deer started moving. Soon after settling into the stand, deer began moving. Jason Kline has spent much of his life chasing whitetail deer. They watched it feed along as the sun began to dip lower behind the trees. But Settle says he felt his presence this September. The afternoon before the opener, he glassed a large soybean field and spotted the giant, plus a 150-inch buck and others, as they walked out into the open. That was also when we finally had a daylight picture of him, making us think this could be the year. That's crazy! Winchester's Nathan Robinson talks features with Game & Fish Editorial Director Adam Heggenstaller at SHOT Show 2023 in Las Vegas. The rifle has five caliber offerings, two barrel choices and three different riser stocks. Around 6:15 p.m., a small, 6-point buck walk through behind them. I have a video of it after it was hit and it looks to be moving good but there's other pics of it dead but the pics still are blurry. Subscriber Services. There were several other hunters there, and all were in disbelief at the sight and story of this deer. His story started several years ago, when a big 9-pointer graced his trail cameras. As of March 1, 289 deer and three elk had been killed from the . For any game and fish questions or reports call 1(800)272-GAME. But the left side boasted an Social media is abuzz this morning as deer hunters fawn over what might be the new world record whitetail. Kentucky produces some fine bucks year after year. We hunted the area every chance we could, trying not to bump him. Big, heavy, long-beamed bucks are the stuff of dreams, but Logan Beach experienced the real thing on opening day this year. Access the newest seasons of MeatEater, save content, and join in discussions with the Crew and others in the MeatEater community. Photo Gallery See all Photos Jamison Standard's Beanfield Behemoth | I came in on his left rear flank.. ), It took me a long time to get over to the deer, he says. Copyright 2019 WAFF. It worked out, though. Most of those acres are open hardwoods, with many hills, hollows and some crop fields scattered around. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets. From seeing him to when I shot him it was a three-minute thrill ride, Huff told MeatEater. 3,757 likes. Ed Arkenau, his son, and their friend Cole had hundreds of trail camera photos of a particular buck in 2019, 2020, and 2021. Game & Fish Editorial Director Adam Heggenstaller gets more info from Hawke's Paige Shipe at SHOT Show 2023 in Las Vegas. "I had never taken a buck with my bow before and was strongly considering taking this shot. "When walking to my stand, I crossed through the soybeans to avoid the edge of the woods where they may have been bedded or would cross my path coming out of the woods," Standard said. After finding the buck, a game warden arrived to check everything out.