June 05, 2024
By Haynes Shelton
June kicks off another month of Whitetail Time Machine , and we’re digging deeper into the archives and looking back on reader-submitted photos. Once a week for the remainder of 2024, the North American Whitetail edit staff will publish another round of photos from fans of the magazine. These are photos that were mailed to our staff throughout the 1980s and 90s, all of which we found stowed away in a huge box that’d been tucked in a corner of our office in Kennesaw, Georgia, prior to its closing.
These photos came to us from hunters across the continent. And trust us when we say they’re “old school” cool. You’ll see everything from vintage camo patterns, classic pickup trucks, retro hairstyles, hunting bows and guns from yesteryear... and of course, big whitetail bucks!
Some of the photos within our “mystery box” of big buck pics made their way into magazine. Most of the published photos were used in the magazine’s iconic “Hall of Fame” department. Such is the case with this weeks’ Time Machine, which includes four fan photos from NAW’s October 1992 issue. All these bucks are bruisers, especially Michael Jones’ 198 2/8 non-typical, which was the highest-scoring whitetail taken in West Virginia in 1990. Check ‘em out!
Opening Morning in Illinois (Photo courtesy of Darrel Palmer) A B&C score of 198 1/8 non-typical points tells you this southern Illinois buck is as big as he looks. Darrel Palmer of Harrisburg hunted this Saline Co. bruiser for three years before getting his big chance at 8 a.m. on opening morning of slug season.
Ohio Crab Claw (Photo courtesy of Mike Drayer) Mike Drayer of Akron, Ohio, hunted this beauty for four seasons before getting him during shotgun season. The 12-pointer nets 146 4/8 Boone & Crockett points.
1985 Indiana Pope & Young (Photo courtesy of Mike Ruddick) Mike Ruddick of Seymour, Indiana, has shot several trophy bucks, including this fine 12-pointer that seems a sure contender for Pope & Young’s records if entered. This big bow kill was made in ’85.
West Virginia’s Best of 1990 (Photo courtesy of Michael Jones) The Mountain State has produced some great bucks over the years, but few can match this wide-framed monster. Michael Jones of Lizemores got the deer on Nov. 20, hunting in Clay Co. with a .30-06. The deer officially scores 198 2/8 non-typical points and has every feature a serious trophy deer hunter could want in a buck.
Send Us Your Photo! Have a vintage whitetail picture you’d like to see featured in Whitetail Time Machine? Email us a clear scan of the image and information about the deer, at: whitetail@outdoorsg.com
