September 11, 2023
By Clifford Neames
“It’s better to be lucky than good,” says Taylor Beale.
He had been hunting the entire 2022 deer season on family property in Kansas with little to show for his effort. “We have killed some nice bucks off the place over the years,” Taylor explains. “So, I was willing to hold off for a good one.”
Unfortunately, that plan was not working out. All through bow season, he watched does and bucks pass through the property as he sat leaned up against a tree. That’s right, he hunts on the ground! “I don’t use trail cameras either,” he adds. “I like to get in there and see what will come by.”
With a third beam and drop tines, the buck’s rack is eye-catching, to say the least! Photo courtesy of Taylor Beale The wear and tear of hunting without tagging anything was getting to him as November passed. “I kept saying I would just shoot a doe,” Taylor recalls. “But everyone said, ‘Hold off, something good will happen.’ So, I did!”
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On Dec. 9, Taylor woke up to a foggy morning. After a late start, he arrived at the gate at 7:15 a.m. And just off to the side, he spotted a giant-racked buck standing only a short distance away.
“I couldn’t believe he was right there,” Taylor exclaims. “I had to try to slip out of my truck and make the shot before he ran off!”
At 7 1/2 years old, Taylor’s buck scores 189 4/8. Photo courtesy of Taylor Beale Taylor slipped from his truck and got ready to make the shot. The big buck made things a little easier when he moved and turned broadside. Taylor seized the moment and pulled the trigger of his 7mm-08. “That’s when it got a little crazy,” Taylor says. “A whole pile of deer jumped up and ran in every direction. And I was wondering if I had missed him!”
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When he walked over to check for blood, Taylor saw the massive buck had dropped in its tracks! “All I saw was rack,” Taylor says. “Then I noticed an arrow wound in his brisket.”
After going all season without an opportunity at a nice buck, Taylor Beale shot this non-typical on Dec. 9, 2022, in Kansas. Photo courtesy of Taylor Beale A hunter on the adjacent property had wounded the deer earlier in the season. The buck was already healing when Taylor fired the fatal shot. The Kansas giant measures 189 4/8 inches and was 7 1/2 years old. The non-typical rack features a third beam coming off the left base, two drops off the left beam, and multiple stickers on the right side. He is definitely a buck worth waiting for!
