Whitetail365: The Deer Hunting Blog From Field & Stream

Alex Edwards took a leave from his duties at his Air Force base in Arizona to return to his southeastern Minnesota home for his annual family deer hunt. The trip rewarded Alex with more than just some R&R, as the pics below prove.

“I was on stand for the morning of November 9, then got cold feet and decided to return to camp and warm up,” Alex told me. “As I walked back my dad, who was still on his stand, noticed that I kicked a couple deer up. He watched where they went, then came to camp and got me and my uncle. They decided to drive that hillside toward me and push the deer. Dad told me to watch a trail high on the hill and just inside the woods. But I went downhill a little further, to where it was thick. As soon as I got there, I wondered ‘How am I ever gonna shoot anything here?’”

Fortunately, Alex didn’t have time to adjust his position. Suddenly he could hear deer running toward him, and then spotted a buck—make that, “the buck”—bearing down on him. Alex dropped the monster with his first shot, then made a quick follow-up. This giant whitetail was something of a legend among area hunters. “He ran a big area,” Alex says. “Lots of people knew about him. I was just so lucky to be the one who got to finally tag him.” The buck gross-scored 224” and sported 18 points. Congrats, Alex!

About the time we posted the “Walking World Record?” video here, another monster whitetail was claiming video-star status. Click here to watch. This buck, a 14X12 (that’s 26-pointer, for us older guys) nontypical was filmed within the city limits of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I talked with Bill Corbett, an air traffic controller there, who has seen the buck several times and was interviewed for a local TV news spot about the deer.

As big bucks often do, this guy disappeared for a time. Rumors had it that the trophy whitetail was poached. Then, this week Corbett contacted me and sent the pics below. The buck is obviously alive, well, and gorgeous!

The buck resides in a non-hunting area, so Bill told me that while poaching is a legitimate concern, vehicle traffic may be an even larger problem for the buck. Local officials feel that media exposure will help prevent the former (a buck this big and famous would catch any taxidermist’s eye). As for the latter…drive carefully, Sioux Falls folk! With Bill’s help, we’ll try to keep tabs on this giant in the months to come!

Iowa is well-known as a destination for serious whitetail hunters, but this month the Hawkeye State coughed up an unusual trophy: A trophy buck still velvet-clad in November!

Georgia bowhunter Chris Rivers ventured north to hunt his 40-acre property the first week of November. His first afternoon on stand, he spotted several bucks feeding on a 2-acre food plot; among them the tremendous whitetail pictured below. Chris decided to focus his efforts on this deer, knowing he had two weeks of prime rut hunting ahead. Only two days later, the buck approached within easy bow range, and Chris made good on the 15-yard shot.

Then things got weird. As he tracked the deer, Chris spotted another buck standing in the timber. This deer, a 2-1/2 year old buck, saw Chris coming and stood his ground. Then the buck walked to within 10 yards and left only when Chris talked to it in a loud, clear voice. After the smaller buck left, Chris saw his deer lying not far from where he’d first spotted the aggressive buck. Puncture wounds to his buck’s ribcage proved that the younger buck had been goring Chris’ dead trophy!

Sometimes, bucks that don’t shed velvet are antlered does or hermaphrodites, but Chris said his buck had both testicles. “I did notice a really strong rotten smell when I field dressed him, and I didn’t gut shoot him,” he notes. “All I can think is that he had some injury awhile back that prevented him from shedding his velvet.”

Regardless of the cause, this velvet buck could rank extremely high in the Pope & Young record books.

The super 6X5 gross-scored 186-5/8” and may net in the mid-160’s when the 60-day drying period ends in January. According to my research, this would place this amazing buck among the top 7 or 8 typical velvet whitetails recognized by P&Y. Congrats to Chris!

Those of you who’ve read the November issue may remember Connecticut hunter Keith Manca. He was featured in our big buck profiles in the main rut package. Keith bow-killed a monster Kansas buck last fall that was the highest-scoring typical recognized by B&C for the 2007 season. I had the pleasure of talking to Keith about that great buck, and he was one of the most sincere, appreciative and humble guys I’ve interviewed.

Well Keith and his brother returned to Kansas this fall, and this time both brothers scored on great bucks! Keith sent me these photos this morning as a courtesy, and promised details later, after he’d caught up on work and home obligations. Obviously, these brothers have those Kansas monsters figured out pretty well! Great job, guys! 

If you’re the type who agonizes over the best camo pattern and wouldn’t consider hunting unless you’d first taken a shower in no-scent soap, you might not appreciate this story. I happen to love it!

Illinois farmer Chuck Hamstra had spent the day combining corn. With the clock ticking on prime time, he grabbed his bow and—dressed in blue jeans, a flannel shirt and a sweat-stained chore cap—headed to his stand. Ten minutes later this giant non-typ walked by and Mr. Hamstra (known as “Hamster” to his friends) made a perfect shot. This buck had been spotted on the Hamstra farm last winter, and last spring they found one of his shed antlers. The 18-point buck is estimated to gross score in the 200” neighborhood!

Most deer hunters are prone to fantasy, so here’s one to ponder as the rut heats up; two mature bucks are working their way toward your stand, slowly enough that you have time to size them up pretty well. One whitetail sports a rack that would clearly out-score the headgear worn by his buddy. But the sagging belly, sway-back, and tremendous bulk of the second buck indicate a much older deer.

Assuming you’ll get an equal opportunity to shoot either buck, which do you focus on? The breathtaking frame of the younger deer would catapault it higher up the record book, but fooling an old warrior—regardless of his B&C standing—just one time is a heady feat in itself. To fuel your imagination, I’ve included some contributed cam-pics of actual deer living on a friend’s farm this fall. The clean, typical-frame bucks are obvious and tempting….but that buck with the goofy side is doubtless the senior member of the clan. Which would you rather put a tag on? And why? Anxious to hear your responses!