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Buckmasters Magazine

Vintage Year
After nearly five decades, Oregon has a new king of the hill. The previous state-record, non-typical mule deer (in velvet) was arrowed back in 1960, the year Charlton Heston collected an Oscar for his performance in "Ben-Hur." That buck tallied 2212⁄8 inches, enough to rule the roost until last September, when an Oregon elk hunter took a break from chasing bulls to reminisce about a deer he'd missed a couple of weeks earlier. The 2007 bow season was Chris Dunlap's best of seven. In between an abysmally unlucky start and shooting his first-ever bull, he got a rare and totally unexpected second shot at an awesome muley buck. It wasn't a simple reversal of fortune. Chris shed a lot of sweat and tears before spilling any blood. For starters, in preparation for the '07 season, Chris lost weight following a stringent exercise routine, which included running five miles, five days a week. When the archery season finally opened, Chris and partners Nate Richardson, also of Oregon, and Dave Isenberger from Georgia spent several days in the steep, rough and dry terrain. Although they saw numerous muley bucks, the difficulties associated with archery hunting stuck to them l...

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The Second Moment of Truth
Tanner Wolff was at full draw in a ground blind with the monster buck he'd seen in trail camera photos just 10 yards away. There was just one problem. His arrow was in his lap. "I must not have had it clicked all the way onto the string, or maybe I did, a...
 

2007's Biggest Buck
Nov. 29, 2007, the day I shot the 35-pointer that set tongues wagging across all of North America, wasn't the first time I saw the buck. The previous year on the very same field, my wife, Gail, and I both shot at and missed it. I can't speak for my wife, b...
 

Mr. Untouchable
It had been two years since their last encounter, and, suddenly, only 20 feet separated Greg Holthaus, up a tree in a climbing stand, and the Illinois slammer that had haunted his dreams after back-to-back misses in 2004. "Here it came, walking right for m...
 

Four Bangs for Your Buckmasters
First of all, to answer a couple of questions: Yes, my doctor has confirmed that I did indeed have two heart attacks and a stroke during my 2007 hunt. And yes, this buck is for sale, if you want to put my son through college. Oh, and by the way, if you wan...
 

His Name is His Passion
Eighteen-year-old Steve Hunt of Sterling, Ohio, spends a lot of time hunting with his grandfather, Skip Johnson. On Dec. 27, 2006, opening day of the late muzzleloader season, the two were accompanied by a couple of Steve's friends. Since Steve had shot a ...
 
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Mike Handley / RACK Editor / BTR Chairman

Mike Handley

Veteran journalist Mike Handley has been the editor of Rack since its 1999 launch as a subscription-only magazine. The 48-year-old Alabama native also is executive director of Buckmasters Whitetail Trophy Records and painter of wildlife. Mike has pursued big game in 15 states, two Canadian provinces, Finland and South Africa. He’s living proof that man can survive repeated bustings by long-faced does, a diet formerly laden with pork fat, encounters with black mambas and presidents of the 21st century. He also snores.

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