Skip to main content

Randy Simonitch's Missouri Non-Typical Buck

Randy Simonitch's Missouri Non-Typical Buck

It’s hard to think of a buck ranking No. 3 in the Pope & Young record book as being “underrated.” But in the case of a great buck taken by bow on Oct. 3, 2000, the descriptor “overlooked” clearly applies.

The beast Randy Simonitch shot that day in northeastern Missouri’s Pike County should have received more fanfare than he did. After all, at the time Randy shot him — after a morning stalk in a standing bean field behind a neighbor’s house — only the Del Austin buck from Nebraska was a bigger bow kill. This new Missouri buck was set to become the all-time No. 2 whitetail by an archer.

But something funny happened on the way to the record book. As Randy’s buck was a little over halfway to the end of the end of the 60-day drying period for official P&Y entry, along came another bowhunter. His name was Mike Beatty, and the buck he shot on Nov. 8, 2000, in Ohio’s Greene County instantly sucked all the air out of the room. Overnight, the Beatty buck usurped the Simonitch buck as the hottest story in deer hunting.

None of that reduced the Missouri monster’s size by even a fraction of an inch. He still went into the P&Y record book at 269 7/8, which is an incredible score. It’s just that he was the new No. 2 for only about a month, between the time he was officially scored and when the Beatty buck was. And so, Randy’s trophy ended up receiving far less notice than he should have.

Despite this deer and the B&C world-record Missouri Monarch from the St. Louis area, that corner of the Show Me State never has really received the trophy acclaim of some other parts of the Midwest — including western Illinois, which lies just across the Mississippi River. But the genetics are obviously there. And so, no serious antler addict will be shocked when the next giant comes from that corner of the whitetail universe.




GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing.

Recommended Articles

Recent Videos

Blake Garlock explains what it takes to fill your tag during a late season morning hunt.
Whitetail

198-inch Iowa Deadhead Found in September!

Blake Garlock explains what it takes to fill your tag during a late season morning hunt.
Learn

How to Use Satellite Images for Deer Scouting

Blake Garlock explains what it takes to fill your tag during a late season morning hunt.
Whitetail

196-inch Iowa Buck Taken by Bow

Blake Garlock explains what it takes to fill your tag during a late season morning hunt.
Whitetail

The BIGGEST Typical Whitetail Taken in 2023!

Blake Garlock explains what it takes to fill your tag during a late season morning hunt.
Gear

Reviewing Sig Sauer's Stabilizing Binoculars

Blake Garlock explains what it takes to fill your tag during a late season morning hunt.
Whitetail

Sam Collora's 213-inch Iowa Archery Giant

Blake Garlock explains what it takes to fill your tag during a late season morning hunt.
Gear

How to Pick Optics for Low-Light Scenarios

Blake Garlock explains what it takes to fill your tag during a late season morning hunt.
Gear

Field Tested: Ozonics' HR 500

Blake Garlock explains what it takes to fill your tag during a late season morning hunt.
Gear

Burris Expands Legendary Fullfield Line of Scopes

Blake Garlock explains what it takes to fill your tag during a late season morning hunt.
Whitetail

Michigan's State Record Typical Buck!

Blake Garlock explains what it takes to fill your tag during a late season morning hunt.
Learn

How to Rattle in a Big Buck

Blake Garlock explains what it takes to fill your tag during a late season morning hunt.
Learn

How to Kill a Big Buck During a Post-Rut Morning Hunt

North American Whitetail Magazine Covers Print and Tablet Versions

GET THE MAGAZINE Subscribe & Save

Digital Now Included!

SUBSCRIBE NOW

Give a Gift   |   Subscriber Services

PREVIEW THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

Buy Digital Single Issues

Magazine App Logo

Don't miss an issue.
Buy single digital issue for your phone or tablet.

Get the North American Whitetail App apple store google play store

Other Magazines

See All Other Magazines

Special Interest Magazines

See All Special Interest Magazines

GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing.

Get the top North American Whitetail stories delivered right to your inbox.

Phone Icon

Get Digital Access.

All North American Whitetail subscribers now have digital access to their magazine content. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets.

To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow.com and learn how to access your digital magazine.

Get Digital Access

Not a Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Enjoying What You're Reading?

Get a Full Year
of Guns & Ammo
& Digital Access.

Offer only for new subscribers.

Subscribe Now

Never Miss a Thing.

Get the Newsletter

Get the top North American Whitetail stories delivered right to your inbox.

By signing up, I acknowledge that my email address is valid, and have read and accept the Terms of Use