Nobody knows better than Jason McKenzie that when a man's tectonic plates shift, only a giant whitetail can stop the quake.
The hunter from Shongaloo, La., hunted Kansas for the first time in 2012. He crawled into his pop-up blind before sunup on Dec. 1, his third day there, and cursed his lack of clothing. But before long, he was itching to get out of the clothes he was wearing.
Nature was calling; pleading, at first; and then screaming.
When Jason could stand no more, he made sure the coast was clear, and then he slid out of the blind and began searching for a bush to provide a modicum of cover.
He can thank his lucky stars that he didn't leave his rifle and shooting sticks back inside the pop-up.
As he topped a rise by the field, three does jumped up at 275 yards, followed by a buck that stole both his breath and the urge to go. Comparing that buck to any other would be like comparing Medusa to Sinead O'Connor.
When the buck began sprinting, Jason dropped and settled his rifle on the sticks. When he squeezed the trigger, the colossal whitetail hit the dirt, only to get back up and rocket into a nearby field of CRP.
"The gun was vibrating against the shooting sticks, I was shaking so badly," Jason told Jill Easton, who is writing his story for Rack magazine. "There wasn't a chance for a second shot."
Fortunately for him, a follow-up bang wasn't necessary. He and his brother, James, found the deer just inside the CRP.
When Jason got his first close look at the antlers, the number of points astounded him. At least five points had been broken off in a fight, but the ones that remained pushed its BTR composite score to 216 inches.
After that, a pit stop was the last thing on his mind.
Braggin’ Board
Send your 2014 big buck photos to mhandley@buckmasters.com. Please include hunter’s name, where the animal was hunted, and its score (if known). Remember: The BTR has no drying period.