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Exclusive Video: Is This the Walking Record Whitetail?
Now with sharper, cleaner video ...
Can this Buffalo County, Wisconsin, behemoth challenge Milo Hansen’s world record typical buck that scored 213-5/8”? Several whitetail experts think it’s possible. Last week Scott Kirkpatrick, owner of Buffalo County Outfitters (715-533-0943) asked me and a small group of whitetail fanatics to view footage of a giant deer he’d filmed while driving between several of his hunting properties. After picking our collective jaws off the floor, we all agreed this tremendous, free-ranging whitetail certainly has a shot at toppling a record that has stood since 1993.
Among the viewers was Ted Marum, a former outfitter and whitetail fanatic. “Scott had told me the buck was ‘closer to 220” than it is 200,’ before I saw it,” Marum said. “But after I saw the video, 220 inches is selling him short. He’s way bigger than that.” Iowan Steve Snow, who has shot two bucks grossing over 200”, says the buck “will gross over 230” in its sleep.” After adding up the estimated tine-lengths, beam measurements and spread, we’ve arrived at a gross-score for this amazing buck around 240”. Interestingly, this buck was likely filmed by one of Scott’s former guides two summers ago, just across the road from this property. At that time, Kirkpatrick felt the buck would gross-score around 200” and was at least 4-1/2 years old.
Assuming someone actually kills the deer, will a buck that grosses around 240” be large enough to reign over the B&C book? Naturally, it will come down to deductions. Kirkpatrick filmed the buck at a distance of over 400 yards on the evening of August 16th at 8:00 p.m., near a property he leases. Even with a window-mount to steady his Canon camera, Kirkpatrick’s footage is just distant and grainy enough to make a detailed estimate difficult. But if our little group of deer freaks is even close with our guess, the buck is a contender. And regardless of net score, he’s certainly among the largest free-ranging bucks ever caught on tape.
For a more detailed discussion of this buck’s story, check out my deer column in the upcoming November issue of Field & Stream magazine.
Editor's Note: Please keep your comments clean, and on topic. Thanks.
Dear GOD! That is a beast. I think it'd be the Hansen buck in a walk. Tremendous buck!
Posted by: frank fox | September 04, 2008 at 12:18 PM
What a Buck! Tremendous to get him on film! As a BnC and PnY measurer from Illinois, and one whom has held some of the largest racks on earth, it is my personal opinion you are looking at a huge Non-Typical- It appears to me the deer has at least one abnormal on the right, if not more. The left has either a forked G3, or a large abnormal between G3 and G4-And may or may not be common based typical points. Might be smaller abnormals in the mix also. Many times, when bucks grow these abnormals because of older age, those points may then throw off the typical symetry of the rack, hurting it's typical score. It will be interesting to see, should the buck be harvested, what the outcome will be. The 240" will be close- to a Non-Typical score I believe. What a awesome animal!
Posted by: tim walmsley | September 04, 2008 at 01:07 PM
I'm no pro. But scoring giant whitetails has been my hobby/obsession for years. It's true, this could go as a nontypical, but to my eye, it could easily go the other way, too. Just not enough detail in the video to say one way or another. But if it were to score as a typical, I would say it has a tremendous shot and breaking the world record. What an animal! Absolutely incredible!
Posted by: Kenny | September 04, 2008 at 01:24 PM
I bow hunted there 2 years ago, Scott is a really nice guy, and the number of deer there is INSANE. The earn a buck in effect at the time tho - which is tentative each year - made it a little more challenging than my group cared for, especially with how skittish the does were, but that's the way the ball bounces.
He and the guides spoke about this deer a few times, everyone and their grandparents were out to get it, but no takers so far!
Posted by: Scrap5000 | September 04, 2008 at 01:35 PM
Was that Bigfoot in the background?
Posted by: moniteaukid | September 04, 2008 at 01:49 PM
HUGE buck. if he was hunting why didn't he shoot? not great quality video but just to get that buck on video...
Posted by: cjv | September 04, 2008 at 02:34 PM
You guys are forgetting one thing, all those points and possible score is out the window. Someone has to kill him first!!!
Posted by: Tucker63 | September 04, 2008 at 02:58 PM
well said Tucker! and the fact that he's now 7 1/2 years old, proves that may be hard to do!
I'd like to ad something to my statement above- The largest gross typical frame on a North American whitetail deer, ever, is that of Brian Damery's IL state record gun kill at 231"-plus a few 8ths! That deer has set the bar at what the biggest tyical in the world may grow to, if it were "clean". . But even with that impressive head gear, Brians bucks NETS 200 2/8" typical! Just a couple abnormals, along with side to side deductions, brings him down that much. "Killed the same year as the Hansen buck" by the way- TW
Posted by: tim walmsley | September 04, 2008 at 03:26 PM
I love it when one of them says to the cameraman "Stop shaking if you can." Right. Stop shaking if you can.
Posted by: Huskersrule | September 04, 2008 at 03:48 PM
Reminds me of a whitetail I saw in Redfield S.D. while pheasant hunting with my weinmaraner "Emma".
What a blessing to get to see such a great animal. I hope he makes alot of youngun's.
Posted by: Bob | September 04, 2008 at 04:34 PM
I think TW has it right. Looks like some common bases on that bruiser's rack. I think we can all agree that none of us could pass him up, let alone stop shaking to get an arrow or slug off. My only fear would be that some yahoo like Potts or Miller would take him with a gut shot and only half a rack!!!
Posted by: 2HNTBUX | September 04, 2008 at 04:54 PM
I don't know if I could take him and have an animal of this magnificence become someone's dinner and a trophy on the wall.
Oh... by the way, he didn't shoot him because there are no deer seasons in Minnesota or Wisconsin until October. Once he senses a change in peoples' movements and behaviors, he's gone!
Posted by: charliekarp | September 04, 2008 at 06:10 PM
He'll never be taken with a bow. Maybe a gun, but being that big he must be smart. Good luck.
Posted by: bob | September 04, 2008 at 07:31 PM
the only problem i have with thing like this is that if it is a new world record it will go to the highest bidder. they know where it is and what it looks like and for the rest of the season every body who goes to that outfitter will be hunting that buck i doubt any others will be shot unless the hunter is on his last night of the last day. not to say i understand what the guide is gettin at i mean whats better advertizing than haveing a possible world record buck on your property. but i dont think that that buck has a chance of surviving the season. i will also guarentee that there will be hundreds of trespassers on un fenced property tis year and if the buck is tacken by one of them on that property what do they say ya i was trespassin gand then the actual world record deer gets a bad name and the rack mostlikly confiscated. personally i think that he should not have told any body where he filmed it but tell that he does exist. just my opinion
Posted by: campbell | September 04, 2008 at 08:30 PM
I too have been in the care of Buffalo County Outfitters, they are a top notch outfit.
I went for two years and seen some monsters, lots of bucks, lots of deer period!
I think this one is the great ghost.
Good luck getting this one.
But if anyone can get someone on this monster buck, Scott and his crew can do it. nice job Scott. P.S. Miss those Ginger snaps
Posted by: Dave | September 04, 2008 at 08:34 PM
sorry guys but look at 3:47 seconds i n the video and you can notice a nontypical point on the right beam
Posted by: campbell | September 04, 2008 at 08:35 PM
Maybe. But it's not perfectly clear to me. To my eye, this buck has a realistic shot at being scored as a typical. Of coure, we will never know unless someone puts a tag on him. As others have said, it may go as a nontypical, but it may also legitmately be a walking world record. Pretty heady stuff, and amazing that someone got him on video. . . No matter how he scores.
Posted by: Rick | September 04, 2008 at 08:56 PM
Holy $%#@!!!!!
I don't know how it will score and I don't care. That is one amazing buck! Just an awesome animal any way you slice it.
By the way, I would slice him thin with horshraddish and sour cream, put his head on the wall without any fanfare, and let the trophy fanatics and B&C inch counters be darned!
Posted by: JohnT | September 04, 2008 at 09:01 PM
I can guarrantee this deer is every bit as big as he looks and then some. It's a shame that Field and Stream's web site department did such a pathetic job dubbing the footage over to the site because you can count every pt. on his head in the original video. Hopefully this will be corrected in the next few days. I hope you all enjoy watching the footage as much as I have. It is truly a blessing to see a deer of this caliber let alone get a chance to hunt him. I wish him lots of luck ! Being that he's 6 - 7 years old he's made fool's of a lot of guys already and personally I hope he continues !!!
Posted by: Ted Marum | September 05, 2008 at 12:21 AM
TED, is that you? It's me Nunz and my cousin and the rest of the NY gang...remember the decoy we strapped to your hood when we left??
How the hell are you?!
Posted by: Scrap5000 | September 05, 2008 at 12:30 AM
Nunzio...you strapped it to Tim's truck...not Teds.
Hope all is well.
Posted by: SK | September 05, 2008 at 09:28 AM
Wow! What a giant. It's true, the video is pretty bad, but it still isn't too hard to see what an incredible buck this is.
Posted by: Joel | September 05, 2008 at 10:12 AM
What's amazing to me is that with so many people, especially in Buffalo County and other Midwester hotspots, using trail cams and videoing all through the summer months, that no one else seems to have pictures or footage of this beast. Just goes to show how wary a mature whitetail like this can be. There are going to be a lot of guys gunning for this giant this fall, and it wouldn't surprise me a bit if no one takes him.
Posted by: Johnny | September 05, 2008 at 10:32 AM
What's amazing to me is that with so many people, especially in Buffalo County and other Midwester hotspots, using trail cams and videoing all through the summer months, that no one else seems to have pictures or footage of this beast. Just goes to show how wary a mature whitetail like this can be. There are going to be a lot of guys gunning for this giant this fall, and it wouldn't surprise me a bit if no one takes him.
Posted by: Johnny | September 05, 2008 at 10:42 AM
You cracked me up with that one HNTBUX!!!!!!!!
Posted by: tim walmsley | September 05, 2008 at 11:18 AM