The New World-Record Deer

By Outdoor Life Online Editor

Published

The New World-Record Deer
Is the new world record walking around in your backyard? UmmÂ…probably not. But our experts have a good idea where he might be found. What It Will Take It will take one incredible animal to best the 213 5⁄8-inch monster that Milo Hanson shot near Biggar, Sask., in 1993. Our analysis of the top 200-inch typical racks in the Boone and Crockett book show that the new world record will have to possess 12 points or more, with the G-2, G-3 and G-4 tines on each antler in excess of 11 inches; an inside spread of 22 inches and likely more; and bases of 6 inches or more, with good mass throughout the 27-inch-plus main beams. The rack will have to be clean and amazingly symmetrical, with few abnormal points and less than 8 inches of deductions. The animal will probably be 5 to 7 years old. Many people believe some lucky soul will see and shoot him soon. Consider this: Of the 392 typical bucks of 170 inches or more that have been entered in the B&C; book since 2002, 12 scored more than 190, and two cracked 200. It would just take a few more inches of spread, mass and tine length to push a world-class rack like that over the top. But one of the country's top whitetail biologists doubts it will happen soon, and he has an intriguing theory why. "Most bucks have non-typical antlers in their genes," says Dr. Grant Woods. "As they age, especially on heavily managed private lands where there is so much nutritious feed, they start to put a lot of junk on their antlers. It's rare for a six-year-old buck to be a typical these days." Woods expects the record for the largest non-typical (currently a 307-incher taken in 2003) to be broken several times before the new No. 1 typical falls. Outdoor Life Online Editor
Top 10 Hot Spots
If you want to up your odds of being the lucky hunter to take the next world-record whitetail, set your sights on one of the following states or provinces. 1. Illinois
Led by the famed Pike County, the state boasts 107 bucks taken since 2000 that scored 170 or more, with 5 of them breaking the 190 mark. 2. Wisconsin
Superior genetics and abundant cropland have made Wisconsin home to 13 of the top 50 counties for B&C; typicals since 2000. 3. Iowa
With access protected by a strict draw system and relatively short seasons, Iowa is home to 7 of the top 50 counties for typicals. 4. Saskatchewan
Home of the current world-record typical, many believe the vast land and abundant food make the province ripe for another. 5. Alberta
Though Alberta doesn't receive the fanfare Saskatchewan gets, its deer have the same strong genetics and terrain in which to grow. Outdoor Life Online Editor
Top 10 Hot Spots
6. Kansas
Look to the eastern or south-central regions of Kansas as a serious contender, thanks to the habitat and strong genetics found there. 7. Kentucky
The western part of the Bluegrass State is where hunters have shot 18 typicals scoring 175 or better in the last three seasons. 8. missouri
One of two new hot zones garnering increased attention is found in north-central Missouri, where rolling farmland feeds big deer. 9. Ohio
South-central Ohio is another new hot spot, where 6 of the top 15 typicals in 2004 were taken, including the biggest of the year at 201 1⁄8 inches. 10. Manitoba
along with eastern british columbia, manitoba is a long shot, but remote land and huge deer make it a contender. Outdoor Life Online Editor
What are Your Odds?
From 2000 to 2003, in the top B&C; county of Buffalo, Wis., 33,580 whitetails were harvested. just 15 typicals scoring 170 or better made the record book, putting the odds for entry at 0.045 percent. Now imagine the astronomical odds of killing a buck with 44 more inches of antler. Still, some lucky hunter will shoot the new no. 1 sooner or later. It could be you. Outdoor Life Online Editor
What are the Odds-Asteroid
Odds of a city-sized asteroid smacking into earth in next century:
1 in 5,000
_source: usa today Outdoor Life Online Editor
What are the Odds-Dating a Model
Odds of dating a supermodel:
1 in 88,000
source: life: the odds, by gregory baer Outdoor Life Online Editor
What are the Odds-Shark Attack
Odds of being attacked by a shark:
1 in 10 million
source: international shark attack file Outdoor Life Online Editor
Top 10 Hot Spots
If you want to up your odds of being the lucky hunter to take the next world-record whitetail, set your sights on one of the following states or provinces. 1. Illinois
Led by the famed Pike County, the state boasts 107 bucks taken since 2000 that scored 170 or more, with 5 of them breaking the 190 mark. 2. Wisconsin
Superior genetics and abundant cropland have made Wisconsin home to 13 of the top 50 counties for B&C; typicals since 2000. 3. Iowa
With access protected by a strict draw system and relatively short seasons, Iowa is home to 7 of the top 50 counties for typicals. 4. Saskatchewan
Home of the current world-record typical, many believe the vast land and abundant food make the province ripe for another. 5. Alberta
Though Alberta doesn't receive the fanfare Saskatchewan gets, its deer have the same strong genetics and terrain in which to grow. Outdoor Life Online Editor
What the Experts Predict
According to some of the top people in the deer hunting business, here's where the next world-record typical buck might be found. Outdoor Life Online Editor
Expert Opinion: Eric Pawlak
Eric Pawlak, Hunting Consultant, Cabela's Outdoor Adventures
The record could come from Saskatchewan again, but my new secret spot is eastern British Columbia, on the Alberta border. Last year one of our outfitters there took 12 hunters out. Ten of them killed bucks, four of which made the B&C; book; another one missed it by 2 inches. Outdoor Life Online Editor
Expert Opinion: Keith Balfourd
Keith Balfourd, Director of Marketing, Boone and Crockett Club
I like Kansas, a state with strong typical genetics and so many private croplands, bottoms and woodlots. Low access means a lot of bucks grow old. Iowa and Illinois are still tops, but there are more non-typical genetics there. Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan are all powerhouses. Outdoor Life Online Editor
Expert Opinion: Brian Murphy
Brian Murphy, Executive Director, Quality Deer Management Association
It would be hard to bet against any of the midwestern states, from Kansas to southern Minnesota and Wisconsin down into Iowa and Illinois and over into Ohio. all of those states have the genetics, food sources and tremendous soil to produce the next record. Outdoor Life Online Editor
Expert Opinion: Terry Drury
Terry Drury, Whitetail Expert and TV/Video Producer with M.A.D. Calls
If I had to pick one state, it would certainly be Illinois. It could happen there literally any day. There are a lot of big bottomlands across the state with fertile soils and thick cover. The deer have great genetics as well. I'd bet the monster would come out of one of those habitats. Outdoor Life Online Editor
Expert Opinion: Gene Wensel
Gene Wensel, Iowa Whitetail Hunter, Guide and Author
In Canada, I'd pick Saskatchewan, Alberta or western Manitoba, in that order. In the lower 48, I'd say Iowa, Illinois or Kansas. There's a chance a 214-inch buck could be raised inside an enclosure. If someone kept it mum and passed it off as a wild deer, it could make a big splash. Outdoor Life Online Editor
The Knife-Handle Buck
How an Iowa man might have whittled away a fortune Hanging among the many trophy mounts at Cabela's in Hamburg, Penn., is a reproduction of an amazing buck that, had both sides of its rack remained intact, might have grossed more than 242 inches and, after deductions, scored a whopping 230 6⁄8 inches, easily making it the modern world-record typical whitetail. The story begins in Iowa in the 1970s, when a man stopped to ask a farmer permission to trap turtles in his ponds. While talking, he noticed that the farmer had a large pile of sheds that he had picked up from his property and asked what he planned to do with them. The farmer said the turtle trapper could have all of them""except one that was half of a matched set of 8 by 8 antlers. Seems the farmer had a relative who made knives and wanted a deer antler to use for the handles. The man compared the two beams and noted that except for a forked brow tine on the right side, they were nearly identical. Years later, Tom Sexton, a taxidermist and sculptor, saw the half rack and heard the turtle trapper's tale. He decided to re-create the entire rack so hunters could see how one monster Iowa whitetail might have become a world record. Outdoor Life Online Editor
The Knife-Handle Buck
How an Iowa man might have whittled away a fortune Hanging among the many trophy mounts at Cabela's in Hamburg, Penn., is a reproduction of an amazing buck that, had both sides of its rack remained intact, might have grossed more than 242 inches and, after deductions, scored a whopping 230 6⁄8 inches, easily making it the modern world-record typical whitetail. The story begins in Iowa in the 1970s, when a man stopped to ask a farmer permission to trap turtles in his ponds. While talking, he noticed that the farmer had a large pile of sheds that he had picked up from his property and asked what he planned to do with them. The farmer said the turtle trapper could have all of them""except one that was half of a matched set of 8 by 8 antlers. Seems the farmer had a relative who made knives and wanted a deer antler to use for the handles. The man compared the two beams and noted that except for a forked brow tine on the right side, they were nearly identical. Years later, Tom Sexton, a taxidermist and sculptor, saw the half rack and heard the turtle trapper's tale. He decided to re-create the entire rack so hunters could see how one monster Iowa whitetail might have become a world record. Outdoor Life Online Editor

Is the new world record walking around in your backyard? Umm…probably not. But our experts have a good idea where he might be found.