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December 26, 2008 by
Any animal that is cornered or threatened can be extremely dangerous and deer are no exception. Under the right circumstances, Bambi can easily transform into a fire-breathing widow maker with a deadly medieval weapon mounted on its head.
Just ask Randy Goodman of Missouri how fast a rut-crazed buck with a massive rack on its noggin can change your whole outlook on life. During the Missouri gun season, Goodman made what he thought was a lethal shot at a heavy-racked bruiser that was chasing two does. The loud roar of the .270 sent the buck into a summersault, but amazingly the animal was able to get back up. The hunter steadied his aim for a quick follow up shot which dropped the buck in its tracks. The hunter cautiously approached his downed trophy and noticed the buck’s tongue was hanging out and blood was already beginning to seep out of its nose. A quick field dressing job was just about all that was left to do on this phenomenal hunt.
 Consequently, Goodman was in for the shock of his life when he reached down and grabbed one side of the massive rack. Without warning, the buck sprang into motion and violently pushed the hunter down to his knees. Desperately, he tried to control the long tines of the antlers as the buck forcefully shook its head in a consistent right to left motion. Eventually, the buck managed to break free from the hunter’s death grip and ran its rack directly into Goodman’s scalp. With blood pouring down his face and still addled from the heavy blow, he grabbed his rifle and quickly put two more rounds into the enraged buck. Finally, the 15 seconds of utter hell was over and a trip to the emergency room would end this Missouri hunter’s worse nightmare. This was definitely a bad to the bone 140-class, 9-pointer that Randy will never forget. He still has the scars from all of his stitches and staples to remind him that Bambi can be pretty bad when he wants to be!—Travis Faulkner
[ Read Full Post ] December 24, 2008 by
It's Christmas time again and holiday cheer is in the air. It also seems like some people, including Santa, have too much time on their hands. In this case the time was well spent to put a smile on everyone’s face in Wisconsin and across the nation. Although Santa seems to have ample horsepower with his ATV, I’m sure Rudolph and the other reindeer don’t mind the extra boost in sleigh power. This is especially true since they seem to missing the most important part of their motion gear, their bodies. But Santa has to move ahead with the times and the ATV along with sunglasses fit the modern era. Merry Christmas and may this sleigh visit your house this Christmas season!—Mark Kayser
[ Read Full Post ] December 19, 2008 by Our inbox runneth over with deer photos of every kind—especially during deer season. They range from pics of ridiculously huge bucks to the absurd. Here are a few of wildest from just the past few days.
Chris Wood of Des Moines, Iowa took this giant of a non-typical a couple of weeks ago. The 33-pointer scores in the mid-250s
You know how sometimes bucks hold so very tight in cover that they'll let you walk right past them? Sadly, this buck must have been thinking that the same tactic would work with this combine. Ouch!
One of the prettiest bucks we've seen is this big palomino-colored 8-pointer. Can you say, "full body mount?"
In an attempt to learn more about this buck, we circulated this photo around the office and beyond but have thus far come up empty. Most everyone identified it as "that Amish buck"--no doubt due to the buggy in the backround. Well, it's not THAT Amish buck. Crazed rack.
BBZ'er John Mueller sent us this pretty cool trail camera photo of this gnarly-horned buck that he's been seeing near his stand on a regular basis. He's just waiting for the second bow season to open so that he can nail him.
One of our favorite Big Buck Zones is northern Missouri, but this bruiser went down near Springfield and carried some 26 points.—Gerry Bethge
[ Read Full Post ]December 18, 2008 by 
We often get incredible photos sent to us—some credible while others are not. Here are a couple we received last week that are just amazing. What do you guys think?
[ Read Full Post ]December 15, 2008 by
Sometimes things that are unbelievable happen in the woods when you least expect it. Ben Lause had deer hunted hard for 20 years in his home state of Missouri and had taken a few nice bucks in the 130 range. A trip to Adams County in the fabled big buck state of Illinois would leave him with a monster whitetail and a story of a lifetime. On November 8th, the rut kicked into full swing and the big boys were definitely on the move when Lause settled into his tree stand. Without warning, a thick-racked bruiser appeared out of nowhere and began quickly closing the distance. Immediately, he grabbed his bow and tried to calm his nerves as the buck eased through the dense underbrush of the wooded area.
At first glance, it appeared as if Lause was going to be unable to pull of a shot through the thick entanglement of sapling trees and overhanging limbs. Finally, he found a narrow opening and let an arrow fly at the biggest buck he had ever encountered. Unfortunately, the massive bodied buck displayed no reaction to the shot and Lause experienced the dreaded feeling that only a true bowhunter could understand. By 10 a.m., he decided to hook up with the rest of his hunting party for some breakfast and much needed consoling. Upon retrieving his arrow, a large pool of brightly colored blood kicked his adrenaline into overdrive once more. After a short tracking job, Lause and his crew decided to back out to give the buck more time.Returning a few hours later, they found the trail and Lause’s younger brother accidentally bumped the buck off its bed.
 The long-tined giant frantically sprang into action and ran down the steep-sided ridge toward the creek bottom and off a cliff. Miraculously, the buck’s hind legs became lodged into a thick mass of roots and tree branches just below the edge of the cliff-line. Lause was able to ease along the steep and put a killing shot on the top-heavy buck that was dangling helplessly from the cliff’s rocky ledge. It took well over four hours and some acrobatic work from Lause’s brother to untangle the buck from the cliffy. The crew was able to use a 4-wheeler winch, log chain, and handsaw to lower the biggest buck Lause had ever taken to the ground. On a side note, the cliff-hanger buck has 20 scorable points with all of the kickers and trash. Congratulations Ben on an outstanding buck and a hunting memory that your grandkids will still be telling years from now.—Travis Faulkner
[ Read Full Post ] December 11, 2008 by Stop the presses! I just received this image from some of my good
friends from Kansas and although this buck isn't a new world record, it
definitely is a whopper. Here's the word from some of my contacts in Kansas.
They tell me that the hunter who shot the buck is a high school football
coach and not a big hunter. The buck was shot adjacent to some land my
buddies hunt near Lawrence and one of the early rumors is that it scores
nearly 250 points.
I can't verify that right now, but I'm working on it. All I can verify is
that it truly is a monster buck with three long drop tines and a right side
that resembles the whale tail on a huge bull elk at the end of the buck's
main beam. That left drop tine is a jaw dropper as well.
If you have any information on this buck, its score or the real scoop, let me know. For now this is one of those bucks that has it all and then some.—Mark Kayser
[ Read Full Post ]December 10, 2008 by 
Longtime friend Mike Pearce's outdoor page for the Wichita Eagle (www.kansas.com/outdoors) is always on my reading list—especially during deer season. Mike does a great job of staying on top of the Kansas big-buck scene, but recently reported on a 27-pointer that just might be the biggest-racked doe that anyone has ever seen.
Mike Smith of Clay Center, Kansas shot the gnarly horned deer on opening day of the Kansas firearms season last week and got the surprise of his life when he went to load the deer into his truck—it was missing a couple of parts. Like most antlered does, this deer's rack is covered in velvet and, well, a bit ugly. The doe grosses 179 and will likely net somewhere near 164. Although there is no official record-keeping system for does, the only other notable doe rack grossed about 155.
[ Read Full Post ]December 8, 2008 by  In the outdoors, sometimes lady luck can knock you to the ground until you find yourself faced with a decision. It’s really easy to throw in the towel and say tomorrow will be a better day when things don’t go your way. However, if you face adversity head on and have the grit to stick with it, your luck can change in the blink of an eye. Kyle Trambaugh of Indiana ran into a patch of bad luck this past November smack dab in the middle of the rut. The hunt started out with a doe feeding within 10 yards of his stand and Trambaugh decided to put some meat in his freezer. Besides it was a cake shot that he could make in his sleep and that doe tag was burning a hole in his pocket.
At full draw, he settled his first pin on the doe’s sweet spot and let an arrow fly. The slick-headed doe immediately jumped into the air as the arrow went screaming into the dirt just below her belly. Trambaugh knew something was wrong and took aim at a brightly colored leaf below his stand. To his amazement the second shot was off by more than a foot. After inspecting the bow, he quickly realized his cable guard was completely loose. At this point, there was no way he was going to leave his stand, especially during the peak of the rut. Trambaugh pushed the rod back into place and shot a third arrow into the same leaf he had just missed. The problem was now corrected and he was back in business.
Around 12:20, two bruiser bucks swelled up and squared off not 40 yards from his stand. A heavy-racked 10-point buck bristled up and completely intimidated the other long-tined 8-pointer who decided it was time to fold his cards and leave. Trambaugh’s dream buck caught the scent of the doe he had missed earlier that morning and followed the hot trail right past his stand. It was a tough quartering-away angle, but Trambaugh took his time and connected with the lovesick buck. On impact, the top-heavy giant kicked and frantically ran about 40 yards into the thick underbrush. Refusing to call it quits and patiently staying in the stand paid off with a phenomenal buck. Way to hang in there Kyle and congratulations on laying a monster from the Hoosier State on the ground!—Travis Faulkner
[ Read Full Post ]December 5, 2008 by 
Here’s a quick update from the road. I’ve been getting reports of big bucks from all corners of the country, but especially from my own backyard in the Great Plains and mountain states. The best update is my own.
After 30 years of hunting I finally came face to face with a giant buck, but it happened so fast I didn’t even know it. On Nov. 22 we were filming in South Dakota for TruckVault Xtreme Hunts. Just minutes into shooting light several vehicles accessed land to our east and a few seconds later I saw a deer running our way. I put my Nikon binocular up to my face and saw a large-framed buck with kicker points. At that moment I told my cameraman to get on that deer and be ready because I was going to shoot the second he stopped. The buck ran past us and up a steep hill with deep coulees on its face. Any second he was going to dive into a coulee and disappear for good so I took aim and shot instantly as he paused to assess his escape.
I saw the buck drop through the reticle from my TC .300 Win. Magnum. Not wasting any time I rushed over to the buck and was instantly in shock. I knew the buck was going to be big, but not that big. Lifting him up I started to count points and came up with 12 scoreable points per side. He’s a mainframe 5x5 with forked G2s and stickers. He should gross score around 205 with some change to spare.
I immediately called my family and shared the good news with them. I’d been on the road for nearly 40 days at that point and even though they couldn’t be with me to share it in person, we shared the moment via good cell service.
2008 will be a year to remember for Mark. Good Hunting!—Mark Kayser
[ Read Full Post ]December 1, 2008 by 
Recently, we covered a phenomenal buck on the BBZ from New York that was taken by bowhunter Kevin Harris. A few days ago, Harris sent me an email about how his deer has stirred up some controversy with a local Big Buck Club near his home. The club is arguing on whether or not to judge his buck for possible entry in their record buck due to recovery issues.
Initially, Harris was unable to find his giant 15-point buck immediately following the shot. The next day he called upon NY State DEC Licensed Trackers who volunteer their time by using dogs to help find wounded big game animals to assist in the recovery. All involved followed the letter of the law in recovering the deer and no violations occurred.
However, this situation has raised many ethical questions from members inside and outside the hunting community. Harris strongly believes that he made the most ethical move in this situation.
“I do not feel that anything unethical occurred and a lot of other hunters would have probably done the same thing," Harris says. "I have always hunted for the meat, not for a trophy. As a hunter, we owe it to the game we hunt to recover any animal that is shot in the field and I have no regrets. However, I respect the hunters of the BBZ and would like to know what they think about this matter.” On that note, is using dogs to recover a downed deer when the blood trail has gone cold ethical or not? Let us know what you think. – Travis Faulkner
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