February 01, 2013
By Jason Herbert
Hunter: Andy Morse
Location: Oceana County, Mich.
Score: 183 4/8 inches net score (non-typical)
Gear Used: ScentLok clothing, Big Game ladder stand
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November 19 is a day Andy Morse won't soon forget.
That's the day Morse killed a giant buck he'd never even seen before. The massive buck was estimated to be six-and-a-half years old, has 16 scorable points, a beautiful drop tine and a net score of 183 4/8 inches.
The night before, Morse had been struggling to properly sight in his .30-30 and was going to use his .50 caliber muzzleloader for the evening hunt. At the last minute Morse's dad suggested that he call his grandfather to borrow his old .30-06. Morse's grandpa quickly obliged and drove over to deliver the gun.
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"He gave me a handful of what I would learn later was 25- to 30-year-old ammunition. Out the door I went to hunt that evening."
Later that night, with a few minutes of legal shooting light left, Morse put his grandpa's gun to the test. He lined up on a mature doe for what seemed like a "gimme" shot. When the gun didn't fire, Morse worked the action again but had the same result. As shooting light dwindled, he left frustrated. When he got home, Morse learned that he was being a bit too gentle with the old gun, and wasn't seating the bullet properly in the chamber. With a new found hope, he set out the next night looking for redemption.
After a bit of debate, Morse elected to hunt his dad's favorite hot spot, where there was a Big Game ladder stand. After a short wait, a few button bucks appeared and ate for awhile in the rye plot Morse's dad planted in the summer. Shortly after the button bucks wandered off, Morse heard the familiar breaking of twigs and knew it wasn't a small deer or turkeys. When the beast showed himself, Morse was amazed.
"My first thought was, "This is a big bodied deer." He then took a couple more steps and revealed himself to me by picking up his head. I then saw the largest set of antlers I've ever seen."
The giant whitetail slowly made his way to the small rye plot. Morse mentally coached himself to wait and be patient, and then finally had his chance at an 120-yard shot. The gun fired as he squeezed the trigger, drilling the buck right behind its shoulder. After a series of trembling text exchanges, Morse's dad arrived and they tracked the buck together. An easy 75-yard blood trail led them to the biggest buck either hunter had ever seen.
"I'm 99 percent sure this deer is going to be a new record for Oceana County. It has won the Ludington Daily News Big Buck Contest and will now be mounted by Legends Taxidermy. This has truly been an incredible experience that has changed me for the rest of my life."
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.
