I asked how the hunting went this weekend--great for this guy! Got this email: Oh my! The first 200-incher of the year! Don't know much about this buck, supposedly southwest Iowa, killed October 4, score unoffical at 200 7/8.
Dang, what a deer, split G-2s are cool...super-long G-3s...if anybody knows more, tell us...would love to hear from the hunter, great job man...T-shirt is spot on.
BTW, new BIG DEER coming this PM, stay tuned...
Last week: I posted about this enormous and legendary buck (12x14, 240" maybe, walking new state record maybe) living in the city limits (no hunting) of Sioux Falls, SD. Click here to watch the video of him again.
This week: Is the monster still alive? Depends who you talk to:
On 9/30 Lynne posted here: SAD NEWS. This buck was poached by an archer this afternoon. The good news is that the GF&P has made an arrest! More comments on the YouTube page listed above. . .
Minutes ago on 10/3 John Doe blogged: This deer (wasn’t) poached, Game, Fish and Parks has confirmed that it is still alive so good luck trying to confirm that it has been killed!!!
I smell fish, anybody know more?
Mike: McKenzie did it again!! Not as big as last year's, but a great buck for her. This one even has a drop, lol! She is turning into a great hunter and doesn't have a bad track record--2 shots and 2 bucks! She has her sights set on a doe now. She told me she wants to fill the freezer, mom needs the meat. The bucks will have to wait till late season. She has a late muzzleloader buck tag left, and she can gun for a big boy then. Tim from Iowa
Come winter one of those corn-fed bruisers had better watch out, this girl can hunt man, awesome!
Remember Greg B.'s gnarly 07 KS giant (218") I posted last week? Well, Greg got back from KS at 5 this morning and, in his words, "had an excellent trip. I guided my dad to his best buck ever!" Story and photos:
My dad is pretty pumped. The buck's not a giant but had a really nice 73" right antler. Too bad he didn't match on the other side! Anyway here is the short story.
I went up to Kansas last Friday (9-19) to do a little scouting before I got out there and chased bucks around. I hunted in the same area where I got the big one last year, but I hunted walk-in public land this time because I didn't want to step on my friend's toes, as he is running an outfitting business this year. I hadn't seen any bucks over 140" until Sunday night when I found a bachelor group with a GIANT 170" plus buck running with them (see grainy photo below taken at 400 yards); there was also another nice buck with 6 tines on his left side. Well, I decided to hunt this field where they were (go figure).
I hunted hard and kept seeing the smaller of the bucks and had a really close encounter with the giant, but I couldn't close the deal. My dad came down Friday and could only hunt the weekend due to his busy work schedule. 
On the last night of the hunt, I decided to take him to this field and let him shoot this buck because he had done this for me so many times growing up. I figured I owe him a good deer or two! I had this deer's pattern down so I told Dad where to point the gun and what time the deer would show up. Sure enough like clockwork the buck came by and my dad dropped him on the spot! The buck went 260 lbs. live weight and has 12 score-able points. Thanks, Greg B.
Another cool story and more inspiration when you get out there in the coming weeks, thanks Greg!
Shot this great buck two hours ago...thirty yard shot...PSE Dream Season Bow...two-blade Rage, awesome broadhead...buck went three yards and died (yes, three yards, no typo)...John got great footage for the new Versus Show...Luke and I are very happy:) Home Monday, talk then; big party in Glasgow tonight, lol.
From Greg: Last year I met a guy who had a bunch of land up in Kansas (I live in Oklahoma) and got the invite to come hunt his place. He sold me a transferable landowner tag for blackpowder so I went up in September to try my luck. I saw a ton of nice bucks, one probably pushing 150" as a 10-point, but I decided not to shoot anything. He extended the invitation for me to come back up and hunt during rifle season, which I gladly accepted.
About the 15th of November I got a call from him saying he had seen a giant non-typical near the stand where I spent most of my time earlier. He figured it may gross in the high 180s or even low 190s. He was nice enough to let me hunt the stand where they saw the big deer, so I wasn't going to settle for anything less than this buck, at least for the first few days.
Morning one 1 saw 7 bucks and a few does, including one giant in the distance that looked to be pushing Boone, but hard to tell. After lunch I hurried out to the stand again; the bucks still seemed to be chasing pretty hard so I figured I would see at least some deer movement earlier than normal. About 3:45 a 140-inch 9-point came out of a tree line 100 yards away and headed up into the CRP to bed down. As I was watched him out the corner of my eye, a doe came from the same tree line and turned her head back. I thought, "Oh boy, this is it!" I glassed and saw a young buck with one antler coming toward the doe. As I scanned back with my binos, I came across an ENORMOUS rack sticking up in the grass and about fell out of the stand!
I started to get excited, I knew this was the deer I was after, but quickly calmed myself. If I thought about it too hard, I could screw this thing up. Well, he started toward the doe, but when he got about 150 yards from me he stopped and just looked around real slow, almost like he knew something wasn't right. He never did look at me, but whether he sensed something wasn't right or not he turned back toward the trees and I knew it was now or never.
I had practiced out to 200 yards so I was pretty confident at 150 with my muzzleloader. At the shot he tiptoed into the trees. I knew he was hit but I did not see him fall. The excitement started to overcome me; I got out of the tripod and sat underneath it for 30 minutes to regain my composure. When I walked to where I had shot him, I found no blood. I started to get a little worried, but looked up and there he was, not 20 yards away inside the treeline! I dont know if I will ever top this deer but I know the moment was enough to stay with me for many seasons. Attached is a photo of the buck where he lay, and one of him mounted (the mount is almost finished). Thanks, Greg B.
Wow, 3 comments:
A couple of hours ago--Luke Strommen killed this awesome Milk River 10-pointer on camera for a new show I'm filming for VERSUS. After many recurve kills, this was Luke's second longbow buck in as many years. We found Luke's buck about two hundred yards from the location where I killed one of my first bucks years ago on the Milk.
It's drizzly and cold out now, we're planning where I will hunt this afternoon. I want to shoot one too!!
I'll blog back at you when I can.
Hey Mike: Hope this gets you as jacked up to hunt as it does me! I thought this deer was an urban legend. I had heard about him living in Sioux Falls, SD, and had met a couple of people who said they had seen him. I asked them to show me a picture and nobody could ... until now. Click here to watch the video.
The deer lives in a big-buck paradise on private property within the city limits of Sioux Falls. He can't be legally hunted and is free-ranging. He is said to be a 12x14 and would gross well over 240 inches. Some say 260 inches. I am a little skeptical of that score from the video. What do you think?
This deer has drawn quite a crowd. A friend of mine went 5 nights in a row to where the buck is being spotted regularly; he is usually one of 10 or more trucks parked on the road trying to get a glimpse of the giant.
I realize this deer is not as big as the rumored "New World Record" from Wisconsin that you posted on a few weeks ago, but I think it could be a new state record. Hopefully he will not suffer the same fate as some of the other huge deer in Sioux Falls over the years. Almost every year there are stories of giants getting hit by cars. He lives within half a mile of a very busy interstate. It would be a shame for a deer of this caliber to lose his life that way.
Poaching has also been an issue in that part of town, along with trespassers looking for sheds. My hope is that with so many people seeing this video on You Tube, he might have a chance to die of old age. Who knows though. What do you think? Good luck this season, I am excited for the new blog site, keep up the great work. Chris M. from SD
Thanks buddy, wow! 260, no...240, not far from it I bet. New state record? Yes, gotta be close.
Since this monster is in a no-hunting zone and so regularly seen and likely videoed/photographed (unlike the WI buck), that lessens the chances of him getting poached IMO. He is so instantly recognizable. Only an idiot would poach that buck, but then most criminals are idiots. You bet, the sight of him fires me up!
BTW, we will have more video capability on the new site, so ya'll shoot and send clips for me to post.
Got this from Robert awhile back. Still got buck stories to post before the 08 deer start to roll in, I'll get to as many as I can.
Hey Mike: We’re getting ready for the 2008 season, but 07 was the best we ever had, for the girls at least. My wife, Dawn, killed her buck during the regular firearms season. It was by far bigger than anything we’ve ever shot. The 9-point grossed 164" and netted 158"; 11" and 12" G2s and G3s.
My 13-year-old daughter, Savannah, killed her buck during the youth season. Nine-point grossed 141" and netted 138". She has been harvesting deer since she was 8, but nothing this size.
I finally killed my buck during the regular firearms season, an 8-point that might gross 120”. I always stress to the girls to let them walk and grow and here I shot the young one (one of those split-second shoot or don't shoot deals)! Needless to say I've gotten A LOT of ribbing from them on how the girls ruled at our house. I tell you what though, that's some ribbing I'll never get tired of because I could not be prouder of them.
All the bucks were killed on the 170-acre farm where we live in NW Missouri. To top things off the girls both killed their bucks with the same old Marlin .30-30 lever action. Take care, Robert C.
Robert, proud of you and your girls, awesome man! You’d better watch out, I suspect they will continue to pile it on you this fall brother, LOL. And isn’t it amazing how the old .30-30 still rules too?
Just got this message from Dave, he sent it by cell using the picture messaging service from Verizon Wireless: My buddy shot this awesome buck yesterday around 7:30 pm in Maryland. Just over 140 gross. He said the only thing missing were friends to be there to celebrate with him. His largest buck.
Cool story, cool deer, love the split brow. Good shot, high lungs, typical of where most of us hit em. Check out the hole in that deer, a wide-cut mechanical, 2" Rage maybe? BTW, I love posting a hunter's biggest buck ever, that's a big accomplishment, a defining moment in life.
