For the Love of Venison: 200-Inch Rack is a Bonus!

• Name: Bob McCabe
• Buck Score: 199 1/8 inches
• Date of Harvest: September 7, 2024
• State of Harvest: Kentucky
• Weapon of Harvest: Bow

Few hunters see a 200-inch whitetail, but last season, Bob McCabe did. Incredibly, he also harvested it. McCabe arrowed the velvet buck right out of the early season gate. McCabe started getting photos of the deer that summer, and being familiar with the area, he patterned the buck rather quickly.

Of course, he primarily hunts because his family consumes mostly venison as its red meat.

“It's the only food (meat) me and all my family eat,” McCabe said. “We eat deer meat. They love deer meat. That's the biggest reason I hunt.”

On September 7, 2024, he was ready. The temps were cool thanks to a recent weather front and temperature drop. Easing into the property, the rolling hills overlooked a large lake in the distance.

“I enjoy being in the outdoors,” McCabe said. “I'm a pastor, so I enjoy getting away from everything, getting in the woods, and just being in nature. It's just a type of relaxation.”

Once in the tree stand, he settled in 25-feet high and waited for action. A house was behind him, a road passed to the right with neighborhood traffic, and towering timber was all around. Now, all he needed was the big deer to walk into view.

“I saw him on camera all week,” McCabe said. “I patterned him, and he was coming through there every day at 3:30 p.m.

“The wind was right,” McCabe continued. “That's why I went hunting, because the wind kept changing during the week. I was going to not even hunt that weekend. I didn't want to bust the deer. I was going to wait, but the wind changed, and everything was like a perfect storm for me to go.”

The afternoon hunt started slow. The 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. offered no rush hour lunch traffic by the deer herd. Right after lunch five does pushed through. Around 1:30 p.m., a spike followed suit.

More than an hour passed, and another doe walked into view. It stopped in an open area and surveyed the scene for about 10 minutes, not flinching or moving a muscle. Eventually, it turned and walked away.

The wind was blowing quite a bit, and McCabe reckons the doe caught a swirling wind, which is why it acted so squirrely.

With plenty of daylight remaining, McCabe was confident the big deer would still show up. Like clockwork, the buck eased down the trail. It used the same one the doe did, only this time, the wind didn’t shift toward the incoming whitetail.

Within a minute or so, the massive deer was in range and offering a shot opportunity. McCabe turned on his phone to record the shot, draw back his bow, and launched the arrow. The 15-yard, slightly quartering-away shot hit its mark and deflated the buck’s vitals. It ran toward McCabe, turned, and fell within a short distance. The recovery wasn’t too difficult.

The deer scored 199 1/8 inches. The buck was aged at 3 ½ years old.

“It's crazy how big he is for how young he was,” McCabe said. “He doesn't have a typical look like most bucks.”

---