Wisconsin -- Typical Antlers -- Firearm

Mark Falkner, West Bend (Net Score: 175-6/8)

 

November 26, 2010, the Friday after Thanksgiving, Mark was in a stand on his cousin's farm in the Town of Trenton in Washington County.  Nearing noon, Mark looked behind him and had difficulty believing what he was seeing.  The beautiful, massive buck had come out of an adjacent woods into the woods where he stood.

"I just slowly stood up, and when I had a good shot, about 75 yards, I squeezed the trigger. The buck folded on the spot," Mark said.  "I knew he was a good-sized deer, but when I got up to him I was amazed at the size of his antlers.  It was quite a celebration that night with family and fellow hunters.  Although this deer will definitely be hard to match in size, I still will be out there trying.  I just love to watch deer and wildlife and wait for an opportunity for another buck like this one."

The buck was officially scored January 27, 2011, 60 days from when it was shot and now eligible to be officially scored.  David Bathke, an official Boone and Crockett measurer, came up with a gross score of 198-1/8 and net score of 175-6/8.  The buck's inside spread was 23 7/8; right and left main beam measurements were 28-7/8 and 28-6/8 respectively.  G-2 and G-3 point lengths were 12 inches.  According to Wisconsin Buck & Bear Club records, this is the largest typical whitetail buck ever shot in Washington County; the previous record was 171 3/8.

How secretive are big bucks?  Friends and cousins are avid deer hunters with gun and bow.  No one had seen this buck hunting or on any of their trail cameras.

 

 

Wisconsin -- Typical Antlers -- Archery

Klint Reinhardt, Durand (Net Score: 180-6/8)

 

Rattling and blood trailing persistence paid off for Klint Reinhardt, Durand, helping him recover this Buffalo County 11-pointer on November 5, 2010, that grossed 188-0/8 and netted 180 6/8.

Klint and his buddy Brian Hoyt arrived at their tree stand late that morning -- 7:15 a.m. Daylight got there before they did. Brian was along to film Reinhardt. The stand was situated in an area heavily scraped and rubbed.

They were both bored by 8:30 from lack of deer activity, so Brian asked Klint to to try to call one in. After making five or six grunts with a Primos call, Reinhardt put a rattle bag into action. Minutes later, the 11-pointer came right to them.

Klint came to full draw with his 70-pound Parker Extreme Hunter Mag when the buck reached the 30 yard mark, but the deer was still coming so he decided to wait for a closer shot. As the whitetail closed the distance, Reinhardt had to shift positions and bumped the stand with his bow, making a metallic click. The buck looked up but didn't see the hunters.

When the deer was 10 yards away, Klint released a Gold Tip Arrow and Rage Broadhead, hitting the buck high in the shoulder. After finding blood, the pair backed off to avoid spooking the deer and to get help. They recruited Klint's uncle Neil and friend Bucky.

They started after the buck more than an hour after the shot, jumping it several times without being able to get a shot before finally anchoring it.

Reinhardt's first shot had hit only one lung. Typical of older bucks, it was tenacious. The deer was estimated to be five or six years old. It had a dressed weight of 204 pounds.

Richard P. Smith

 

Wisconsin – Non-Typical Antlers – Archery

Tom Taylor, Windsor (Net Score: 226-4/8)

 

The 21-pointer that Tom Taylor, Windsor, arrowed in Columbia County on the morning of November 2, 2010, had massive antlers with a drop tine on each beam. The rack netted 226-4/8, putting it in fifth place in the state among non-typical bow kills. That rack shows what a Wisconsin buck is capable of growing if it lives to 8 ½ years old, this buck's estimated age.

Taylor had trail camera photos of the buck during both 2009 and 2010 and concentrated on hunting that deer. It's a good thing he didn't let the loss of the contact lens interfere with his hunt. The lens dropped from his left eye while he was on the way to his stand before daylight. He considered going home to replace the contact after a branch knocked it out, but decided to continue to his stand. The stand overlooked a funnel near a bedding area and was 24 feet from the ground in a hackberry tree.

Since that day was election day and his vision was blurry due to the missing contact, he decided to hunt only until 8:00
or 9:00 a.m.

The monster buck walked into his shooting lane at 7:45 and Tom put a Muzzy- tipped carbon arrow through it at 15 yards. He was shooting a 63-pound Mathews Mission bow.

Taylor is meticulous about scent reduction. He gets dressed with Scent-Lok garments out of four different scent free bags before hitting the woods. He even has a watch that he wears only when hunting.

The book buck had a dressed weight of 195 pounds and had a serious overbite. Taylor said the buck didn't have any teeth in the front of the lower jaw like most whitetails do. Its back teeth were also badly worn due to its age.

Tom thinks of his brother, Jeff, every time he looks at the mount of the exceptional buck. Jeff died days after Tom got the deer, but Tom got the chance to share photos of the buck with his brother before he passed away.

Richard P. Smith

 

Wisconsin -- Non-Typical Antlers -- Firearms

Kyle Slama, Packwaukee (Net Score: 229-3/8)

 

Kyle Slama, Packwaukee, was pleased that his 10-year-old son, Logan, was with him in his deer blind on Thanksgiving evening 2010 when he bagged this huge non-typical 26-pointer in Marquette County. Being able to share that moment with his son made it even more special. The giant whitetail's rack had three drop tines and a net score of 229-3/8.

Slama's brothers, father and other relatives are also deer hunters, so it's understandable that a trail camera photo of the big non-typical taken during September on their property generated excitement. But no one saw the monster during bow season or the first days of gun season.

After Thanksgiving dinner, Kyle and Logan spent the last hours of the day in a deer stand, hoping to get a buck. A nice eight-pointer that Kyle had missed while bowhunting the previous week eventually entered the field with some does, and Kyle and Logan both got excited about the prospects of getting that one. But the does blocked a clear shot at the buck, and it disappeared before a shot was possible.

Twenty minutes later, another buck, this one much larger, entered the field with its nose to the ground as if trailing a hot doe. Eager to get a shot at that deer while the opportunity presented itself, Kyle didn't waste much time taking the 150-yard shot with his Savage .30-06. He knew the buck was acceptable as soon as he saw it, so he didn't spend time looking at its antlers.

A 180-grain Remington Core-Lokt bullet dropped the buck in its tracks. Kyle and Logan didn't realize this was the buck that had been captured on the tail camera until they got close enough for a detailed look at that giant rack.

Richard P. Smith

 

 

	SPONSOR OF TROPHY CONTEST
	Photo by Richard P Smith
* "Best of Show" winners (selected on antler-score only) in the Budweiser trophy deer and bear contest at the 2011 Wisconsin Deer & Turkey Expo in Madison were, left to right: Tom Taylor, Waunakee, Non-Typical Antlers-Archery, with a buck scoring 226-4/8 on the Boone & Crockett Club / Pope & Young Club scoring system, taken in Columbia County in 2010; Klint Reinhardt, Durand, Typical Antlers-Archery, with a buck scoring 180-6/8 taken in Buffalo County in 2010; Mark Falkner, West Bend, Typical Antlers-Firearms, with a buck scoring 175-6/8 taken in Washington County in 2010, and Kyle Slama, Montello, Non-Typical Antlers-Firearms, with a buck scoring 229-3/8 taken in Marquette County in 2010.