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What's Up With the Southern Rut?
By Patrick Dunning
Why does the South's rut occur later than in the Midwest and Northeast, where breeding periods tend to spike in early to mid-November? Truth is, the rut doesn't happen in a neat little package like we would like it to. The rut happens wherever there's a hot doe. And that can vary from county to county, or from one block of timber to another. That ... READ MORE
Scoring Matters
By Patrick Dunning
Of the nearly 20,000 entries Buckmasters Trophy Records has recorded since its inception 29 years ago, only 13 mainframe 3x3s have met our minimum requirements (140 inches for firearms taken bucks and 105 inches for bow deer) to earn a spot in the record book. All of the 3x3s were taken with archery gear. BTR doesn’t have a category specifica... READ MORE
Xen Moment
By Patrick Dunning
29-year-old Xen McAllister's Fayette County Freak was less than an inch shy of cracking Buckmasters Trophy Records' top-10 in the irregular, compound bow category for the state of Illinois. Buckmasters master scorer Bill Alexander measured this 22-pointer at 222 3/8 inches of antler with a 20 7/8 inch inside spread, totaling a BTR score of 243 2/8 ... READ MORE
Buck on the Run
By Patrick Dunning
Dani Thomas killed her biggest buck to date in the rain from a hay wagon in October 2022. This Licking County Giant posted over 11 inches of irregular points and scored 194 inches for Buckmasters Trophy Records. Dani now holds the world record in the female, crossbow, semi-irregular category after taking this 12-pointer, which is awesome since it w... READ MORE
Wall of Tines
By Patrick Dunning
There's nothing quite like getting access to a hunting property and finding out it has a big buck on it. Last August when John Totzke received permission to hunt a private chunk 40 miles south of Chicago in Will County, he had no idea he'd just awoken a sleeping giant. The landowner said his 70-acre property hadn't been hunted in years and was over... READ MORE