When you think of world class whitetails, states like Iowa, Illinois, Kansas and even places in Canada will probably come to mind before Minnesota. These states consistently produce trophy whitetail bucks in terms of antler scores. Minnesota produces some respectable antlers, but it's most impressive measure of whitetail bucks is probably weight.
Two Minnesota bucks are tied for the world record weight of a whitetailed deer. One of the bucks was shot in 1926 by Carl Lenander Jr., and the other was harvested by George Himango in 1981. Lenander killed his buck near Tofte, Minnesota while hunting with his dad. Himango shot his buck while hunting the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation with his brother and cousin. Both deer fielddressed at 402 lbs. with an estimated live weight of 511 lbs.
You may ask yourself, "Why did these deer get so big, and why don't we see deer this big today?" To answer these questions, let's look at the history of whitetalled deer in Minnesota.
To understand why Minnesota generally produces bigger deer than the rest of the country, let's look at Bergmann's Rule. Bergmann's Rule is an ecogeographic principle that states larger individuals of the same species
Maine’s Record Buck: The Whole Story
Maine Deer Hunter’s Logbook
By Richard Bernier
For unexplainable reasons even to Horace, he never moved or made a sound. Something within (a gut feeling most successful hunters have learned to trust) told him there was more action to come. No sooner had that thought passed when the buck of any hunter’s dream was sneaking directly towards Horace.
By the time your eyes light upon November’s column, this buck hunter will have already buried himself deep into the wilderness of Maine. Hopefully, an oversized set of tracks will be laid out before me yearning to be followed.
My expectation is to be hunting the giant buck that eluded us last fall. He undoubtedly will rival the state record in regards to weight. The Berniers’ goal is to catch up to this behemoth and end his career by the only fitting way we know – a projectile fired from a Bernier-held rifle.
Each fall, the annual gathering of the red coats brings on a renewed enthusiasm and expectation. As groups of hunters find their way to their traditional hunting camps, talk of big deer abounds. The anticipation of meeting up with the buck of your dreams
Who doesn’t love big bucks, especially big typical whitetail bucks that break records?
The Johnny King Buck
The Big Buck Club announced today that the Johnny King Buck from Wisconsin is the recent World Record Typical Whitetail (gross scoring) buck of all hour. On April 13, the bucks final scoring came in at a gross 221-6/8 beating the Milo Hanson buck from Saskatchewan.
A panel of one Boone and Crockett scorers, one member of the North East Big Buck Club, and the official scorer who first scored the tape in question scored the buck together. The Northeast Club mainly consists of entries from the east to mid-east but it also includes deer throughout North America. They celebrate all deer no matter where they approach from. Another buck of interest is the Ronnie Stevens buck.
Our goal is not to quarrel Boone and Crockett. Our objective is to be consistent with the rules of a gross-scoring club, in which there is no over-emphasis on symmetry. Symmetry is purely related to net scores.
Scoring varies between both clubs as they each have their own scoring system, but they are very close in criteria.
UPDATE ON THE JOHNNY KING BUCK
It’s official. Based on the Boone & Crocket
There was a day not so long ago when deer hunters across North America were absolutely fascinated with big bucks.
No, not big racks — big bucks. Huge, giant, monstrous creatures. Or, as the old-timers called them, “real slobberknockers.”
Antlers were adored, but they were almost secondary when it came to describing a buck’s status. “What did he weigh?” was often the first question asked of a successful hunter. This infatuation hasn’t died completely. A buck’s hog-dressed weight is still a badge of honor for hunters in the Northeast, Upper Great Lakes and Canada.
#1 Heaviest Buck Ever Shot: The Annett Buck, 1977
From what we can gather, the heaviest whitetail ever shot was killed by a bow-hunter, John Annett of Ontario, in 1977. The deer field dressed 431 pounds on government-certified scales. That would have given it an estimated live weight of more than 540 pounds. However, reports indicate the buck was butchered before Canadian authorities could inspect it.
#2 Heaviest Buck Ever Shot: The Lenander Buck, 1926
Second place seemingly belongs to a 402-pound Minnesota buck killed by Carl Lenander Jr. in 1926. Conservation officials estimated the live weight at 5
Ever wonder what it takes to kill a big buck? I mean, like an all-time top-five whitetail deer? First, live in the Midwest. Second, be in the right place at the right time. Here are the stories and photos behind the top five biggest free-range deer ever to make it in the record book. All of these big buck deer photos are courtesy of the Boone and Crockett Club.
#1Missouri: World Record Whitetail Deer
Score: 333-7/8 Year: 1981
Plenty of deer give hunters heartburn, and the deer you’re about to read about became a real pain after it died.
In early November 1981, David Beckman met game warden Michael Helland along a road in northern St. Louis County, Missouri. Beckman asked Holland to check the deer he killed, saving him a drive to an official check station. Helland checked the deer, and Beckman drove away. On the drive home, Beckman spotted a dead buck lying inside a fence along the road. Most folks aren’t going to stop for any old deer, but Beckman saw this was anything but an ordinary deer.
Beckman received permission from the landowner to retrieve the deer, but the state of Missouri took the deer, whose rack weighed more than 11 pounds. Curiously, it had few tee
