October 14, 2014
By North American Whitetail Online Staff
Hunter: Danny Thompson
Location: Southeast Minnesota
Score: 170 B&C Gross
Turns out there is some merit to the old saying, "it pays to be patient."
Advertisement
As an avid bowhunter of 16 years, Danny Thompson's only bow-killed buck prior to this season was a small basket rack. However, since moving to southeast Minnesota — considered by some as the state's Mecca for monster whitetails — Thompson has passed on many quality bucks in hopes of tagging his dream buck. After four years of waiting he was finally rewarded just an hour and a half into this season.
Dubbed "The Wide Buck" because of its wide frame, Thompson hoped to take the buck last season but was unable to connect in the woods despite having daily trail camera photos. After last season and through the harsh winter Thompson continued to receive photos of the buck, but it wasn't until mid-August that he was able to see what the buck had turned into.
The first photo of the year was a pleasant surprise as Wide Buck had grown into a mainframe 10-pointer with a split brow tine and added a tremendous amount of mass. Photos continued to roll in all the way up until the start of the season, but being the father of two daughters left Thompson with little free time to hang a stand near the buck's feeding spot or run his scent blocking routine before the first hunt.
Advertisement
However, he did have a can of Nose Jammer and there was an old man-made stand nearby. After spraying his boots and tree, Thompson settled in for his first hunt of the season.
Just over an hour into the hunt a young eight-pointer walked to within 20 yards of the stand to browse. Fifteen minutes later, Wide Buck appeared roughly 25 yards away from the stand, looking in Thompson's direction. After what seemed like forever, the buck moved behind some brush, which gave Thompson the opportunity to stand up, grab his bow and prep for the 25-yard shot. But opportunity lasts only a fleeting moment, and Thompson nearly lost his arrow as it fell off the nock.
Luckily, the broadhead caught his hand allowing him to re-nock the arrow without losing the opportunity. By this time the buck had moved to a new spot that offered Thompson a hard quartering shot. He hit the buck and the arrow went through the opposite shoulder.
Thompson waited until the following morning before picking up the trail and found the buck a mere 40 yards away. All of Thompson's years of patience and hard work paid off in a big way when he was finally able to tag his 170-inch buck of a lifetime.
Kyle Heuerman
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. 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.
Read the full story.Joe Franz
We estimate he was 7 1/2 years old. That's based on photos from 2010, when he clearly wasn't over 3 1/2. When I got him he weighed over 300 pounds on the hoof, as suspected.
Official B&C measurer Glen Salow came up with a 'green ' gross score of 258 7/8 inches. After the 60-day drying period, he again taped the rack. This time he got a gross non-typical score of 261 3/8, with a net of 230 7/8. The gross score evidently makes this the highest-scoring wild whitetail ever harvested on professional video.
Read the full story.Jon Massie
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. 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.
With such success behind him, Jon felt all of his hunting dreams already had come true. At least, he did until a buck he'd never seen showed up on one of his trail cameras.
Read the full story.Tom Boyer
Knowing I couldn't even come to my knees without breaking the little concealment we had, I decided to lie on my left side, using my left elbow for as solid a rest as could be achieved within the slight incline of the old fencerow. But when I shouldered the rifle, the sight of the crosshairs oriented at a 10-4 o'clock angle was definitely a different look from the normal 12-6 position we all practice from. Even so, I didn't figure that would matter if I aimed at the right spot and squeezed off a clean shot.
I settled the crosshairs where I needed to place the bullet and steadied the rifle. Whispering 'fire in the hole ' while floating the crosshairs on the spot, I gently squeezed the trigger until the recoil removed the buck from my view.
Read the full story.Teddy's Buck
With a whopping 40 inches of non-typical growth, he has a gross Boone & Crockett score of 215 3/8. The rack's 21 6/8-inch inside spread certainly helps to show off its unique character. He was just a special deer, and very much a result of patience in both management and hunting.
Read the full story.Ryan Sullivan
Ryan Sullivan was only 19 when, during the 2013 season, he arrowed an Arkansas buck of gigantic proportions. Like many of his fellow Arkansans, Ryan is a deer and duck fanatic. For several years, however, he gave up most of his duck season to lock horns with the world-class buck.
Read the full story.
Junior Key
Junior's outstanding whitetail is the biggest ever recorded from Monroe County, and he ranks as one of the Bluegrass State's top bucks from the 2013-14 season. This great non-typical also is the latest member of Kentucky's all-time Top 30 list.
Read the full story.Mikell Fries
At 16 yards, Mikell took aim at the giant and released his arrow. In an instant, the shaft had passed through him. The deer instantly whirled and ran out of sight . . . but then, within seconds the archer heard him crash to the ground.
'I remained in the stand for several minutes to gather my thoughts and calm down, ' Mikell says. 'I'm sure the entire encounter only took a few minutes, but it seemed an eternity. '
Read the full story.Bill Robinson
Three double-digit tines of 10 2/8 to 13 5/8 inches, plus 7 1/8- and 9 3/8-inch brows and a 21 3/8-inch inside spread, add plenty to this regal crown. Put everything together and you have a gross 9-point frame score of 193 6/8. That's as big as it sounds.
Typical asymmetry and 11 6/8 inches of abnormal points total 25 1/8 inches of deductions, so as a typical, the deer nets 'only ' 168 5/8. But the 8×5 rack's total gross score of 205 4/8 is much more reflective of its stunning size. Regardless of score, the Robinson buck is clearly a marvel of nature.
Read the full story.Nick Drake
The action was fast and furious right from the get-go. At daybreak a doe busted through the cedar thicket with an eight-point suitor following close behind. The doe, however, wanted nothing to do with her pursuer and jumped into a nearby pond in an attempt to flee the buck.
This, however, wasn't the last of the action. Nick continued to watch several bucks harass does throughout the morning, but chose not to take a shot at them.
Read the full story.
