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Old School
By Mike Handley
Guy Draper’s 2024 buck didn’t have a name. There are no known trail camera images of it, and he had no history with the giant whitetail that occupied the No. 2 spot on the leaderboard during most of the recent Illinois Deer Classic.
The lack of background, no trail camera photos and only a handful of harvest photos would usually keep... READ MORE
Cartridge Crisis is About to Get Real
By Mike Handley
For a week and a half in August 2024, Grainger Pollert swallowed more saliva than he could’ve spit during a lifetime of sitting in a dentist’s chair.
Collecting trail camera photographs of a massive whitetail EVERY SINGLE DAY will do that to a deer hunter, whether seasoned veteran or newbie. And the 21-year-old pipe welder from Seymo... READ MORE
His Rutcation Wasn’t All That
By Mike Handley
When Brian Fultz walked into Rick Busse’s taxidermy studio in Piqua, Ohio, on Dec. 11, he was unprepared for the man’s response.
“I can’t take it,” Busse waved him off. “I’m full, whatever it is.”
“I don’t know where else to go,” Brian replied. “Don’t you even want ... READ MORE
Doe City Yields County Record in North Carolina
By Mike Handley
Things didn't go as planned when Warren Cooper took a tenant to his father's property in Franklin County, Virginia, on Nov. 10. The itinerary was uncomplicated: The men would go to Warren's father's property, and Dakota Treadway would shoot a doe off a hay field.
As far as Warren was concerned, the parcel was Doe City.
"I'd seen only one buck on ... READ MORE
Louisiana's Top-10 List Gets a Shuffle
By Mike Handley
John Holladay was moments away from writing off his afternoon hunt when a doe ran into view, a giant buck in her wake. Before the 62-year-old from Kelly, Louisiana, could even raise his rifle, the two deer disappeared into a pine thicket.
If they'd kept going straight, the deer would've entered a hay field, but a doe being dogged by a buck acts ... READ MORE
In Praise of Buckspeak
By Mike Handley
Joe Blanton would almost rather discover he'd left his bullets at home than find out he'd gone afield without his trusty grunt call. He uses the contraption more than an asthmatic sucks on an inhaler.
The 55-year-old pastor from Clarkson, Kentucky, became hooked on the tactic the first time he tried it. He and a friend were hunting together when... READ MORE
Alabama's New No. 2 Xbow 'Semi'
By Mike Handley
While most Alabamians were crying foul over a 2022 video of a world-class whitetail crossing a paved road, at least one Huntsville man was a believer.
On Jan. 20 of that year, Hunter Terry was driving into the city to celebrate his birthday at a restaurant when he spotted an enormous buck and a doe next to the road. He had no doubt it was a 200-... READ MORE
Not-So-Well-Kept Secret
By Mike Handley
Long before Gavin Glance's trail camera sent him an image of an otherworldly whitetail on his recently purchased 12 1/2 acres, the deer had gained Most Wanted status with five or six other hunters.
Understandably, Gavin shared the news with only his father and a few close friends. He thought the buck was a well-kept secret until a cousin informe... READ MORE
When It's so Cold It Hurts
By Mike Handley
When Ben Smith retrieved a few trail camera images of a 10-pointer in 2022, he knew it had the potential to be something special, but his resolve to let it grow was never really tested. He never saw the animal in the flesh.
The whitetail was sufficiently big enough the following year to tempt even the most discriminating hunter, but it sto... READ MORE
Virginia's New No. 5 Typical by Blackpowder
By Mike Handley
Dustin Plummer used to beg his mother to take him to Walmart so he could have prints made of the images his old-school trail cameras collected.
Now, his cameras send the images to his phone.
The 31-year-old father of two from Sandy Hook, Virginia, runs a couple dozen cell cameras all year to keep track of what's roaming the lands he hunts. La... READ MORE
What to Do When You're After a Camera-shy Buck
By Mike Handley
Brandon Sheets grew up hunting arrowheads and fishing on his family's property in Pickaway County, Ohio, but he only started hunting deer there about four years ago. That's when he first glimpsed the deer he wound up shooting in 2024.
"It was nothing special then, but the buck grew substantially," the 31-year-old electrical designer remembers. "... READ MORE
Kentucky Gains New Xbow Record and Runner-up
By Mike Handley
Accustomed to calling his own shots, Tim Hannah stepped out of his comfort zone on Nov. 7 to put his faith in an older buddy who wanted badly to re-introduce him to the opportunities available to hunters at Kentucky's sprawling Fort Knox military base.
His friend, Tom, had already shot his 2024 buck, so he would be loaded for does.
It was rai... READ MORE
Kansas Bowdom Gets a New No. 6
By Mike Handley
Chad Chambers’ buck from 2024 reshuffled the Sunflower State’s compound bow records, seizing the No. 6 spot among Irregulars.
To crack that very high ceiling, a whitetail must score 232 inches (without benefit of the inside spread). When Brad Forbus began punching buttons after measuring Chad’s Webaunsee County bruiser, the tal... READ MORE
Ninety Inches in Two Seasons
By Mike Handley
Chad Campbell first became acquainted with the deer he shot in 2024 two years earlier, when it was a 20-inch-wide 8-pointer with a few flyers. He was in a vehicle with his buddy and a nephew.
The propane delivery driver from Walton, Indiana, was duly impressed, but he didn’t consider the deer as anything more than an up-and-comer.
The w... READ MORE
The Moral: Stay Out Until the Wind is Right
By Mike Handley
Tom Allen likes to nickname the whitetails on his Most Wanted list.
There was Hollywood, who liked to mug for trail cameras, and Girth Brooks, whose rack carried 42 inches of mass. In 2023 and 2024, he was chasing Zeus.
“This deer was like the god of the woods,” grinned the 34-year-old heavy equipment operator from Lore City, Ohio... READ MORE