Scoring 192 6/8, Spindly is a giant Indiana buck. Photo courtesy of Jacob Noe
April 05, 2023
By Joe Martino
“Big Spindly” was a household name with the Noe family. They had numerous encounters, found several of the buck’s sheds and have many photos of the deer before Jacob finally tagged the Indiana buck on Nov. 25, 2022.
It all started in 2017, before Jacob and his wife had their two children. Ashley was the first to have a close encounter with the deer, nearly taking him when he was a solid 140-class deer.
“Big Spindly” lived on the property where Jacob Noe and his family hunt in Warrick County, Indiana. The area is reclaimed coal mining country, offering quality cover and grain-field food sources. Although the property is private, the area is still surrounded by high hunting pressure.
Jacob Noe scored on this incredible buck he and his family called “Spindly” in Indiana. Photo courtesy of Jacob Noe “We have hunters all around; in fact, it seems like there are more hunters than ever around the property,” says Jacob. “This made me especially nervous that Spindly would get picked off while chasing a doe along one of the property lines. I had snort-wheezed him in to just 15 yards, but he busted us when we clicked off the safety on Ashley’s crossbow. Knowing what we do now, we are so thankful this occurred.”
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The years that followed brought more encounters with him, but with no shots being offered. Sometimes the Noes saw him in the stand while out doe hunting; but that was only after their buck tags were filled for the season.
Jacob found several years’ worth of sheds from Spindly, which only added to the incredible story. Photo courtesy of Jacob Noe They believe the deer may have been 8.5-9.5 years old when he was harvested. “We are sending his teeth off to verify his age. I have nine of his sheds to verify his age starting with his 3.5- or 4.5-year-old left side shed,” Jacob adds.
“When I harvested him, I was hunting over a cut beanfield surrounded by sericea lespedeza grass, wild locust trees and bur oaks,” says Jacob. “The lespedeza is some of the best grass for bedding you could ask for.”
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After multiple encounters, Jacob tagged this deer while hunting over a cut beanfield. Photo courtesy of Jacob Noe Over the years, in addition to his wife’s encounter, Jacob personally had four encounters with Big Spindly and his dad had three. During the 2020 season, when they believed he was 6.5 years old, Jacob had the buck at 15 yards; but Big Spindly got away. Jacob found his sheds the following spring, and they were his second highest-scoring set, only behind his 2022 set, the year Jacob harvested him.
The buck scores 192 6/8.
