Big Buck Tales

Troy Henderson Buck

Troy Henderson Buck

By Troy Henderson

I’d intended to spend opening day of Kansas’ 2009 firearms season babysitting the south end of a heavily wooded draw where I’d been seeing a very nice, tall and wide 14-pointer. The buck with the striking white rack usually left the area in the early morning and returned an hour or so before sunset. The temperature plummeted the n... READ MORE

Mikell Fries Buck

Mikell Fries Buck

By Mike Handley

Mature bucks’ antlers might grow a half-inch or more a day during the spring and summer months, but that doesn’t mean they’ll double in size from one year to the next. After all, unless they’re on the downswing, whitetails have to regrow what was shed (or something similar) before adding mass, length or extra points.That was... READ MORE

Charles Falkenheiner Buck

Charles Falkenheiner Buck

By Charles Falkenheiner

My buddies and I first became aware of this deer in August 2012, but nobody saw it during daylight hours until the hunting season was almost at an end. On that day, the bowhunter who saw it said the buck’s rack looked pretty busted up, so we all decided to hold off in hopes it would survive another year. During the summer of 2013, one of sev... READ MORE

Gary Fears Buck

Gary Fears Buck

By Mike Handley

Because of a foreboding weather forecast, heightened by bad luck at the onset of his planned weeklong hunt, Gary Fears headed afield on Nov. 24 with the resignation of killing the first decent buck dumb enough to wander into his crosshairs. Not even a doe was safe. Four days earlier, Gary had a spring in his step when he walked into the little hole... READ MORE

Jay Pfankuch Buck

Jay Pfankuch Buck

By Buckmasters Online

Of the 42,400 deer Ohio hunters killed on the first day of the 1995 firearms season, possibly the most prized was tagged in Greenfield. Sardinia resident Jay Pfankuch checked the buck at Mitchell’s Sporting Goods. “I’ve been tagging deer for 20-some years, and it’s the biggest I’ve ever seen,” said Mitchell&rsq... READ MORE

Richard Pauli Buck

Richard Pauli Buck

By Klaus Lebrecht

Prior to the 1983 gun season, Richard Pauli of Peoria, Illinois, saw this huge-antlered buck twice while bowhunting and once at night when he drove into a pasture to attend to some cattle. His headlights illuminated the deer drinking from a pond. Richard headed out on opening morning with a particular stand in mind. En route, he crossed a fence and... READ MORE

Jason Woodbury Buck

Jason Woodbury Buck

By Jill J. Easton

Passing up a 9-pointer and ignoring a button buck last year enabled Jason Woodbury of Kouts, Ind., to put his tag on a buck few hunters could even imagine. Being a nice guy helped, too, because he’d never have been on that property had he not offered to take his little boy’s friend hunting. Jason’s dream season started when his 9... READ MORE

Blake Voltz Buck

Blake Voltz Buck

By Mike Handley

The only sound worse than the steel-on-brass click of a firing pin punching a dud primer is the raucous laughter of the deer gods, one of whom is surely named Murphy. Just ask Blake Voltz. That’s precisely what happened to the deer hunter from Columbus, Ga., back in 1997, when he was staring through crosshairs at the biggest buck he’d... READ MORE

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Copyright 2020 by Buckmasters, Ltd