Dustin Procario lost his head in 2018, but he got better.
Eventually.
The hunter from Louisville, Ohio, was over the moon prior to that year’s deer opener. He’d been keeping tabs on a tremendous buck, and he’d practically picked the spot on his wall for it.
Before the opening bell, however, a grisly discovery filled his head with rage. Convinced the headless carcass lying beside a gravel road was the buck at the top of his list, he called the authorities.
“My heart sank like an anvil dropped into the ocean,” Dustin told John Phillips, who’s writing the story for Rack magazine. “I immediately called the 1-800-POACHER number. Some officials came out and looked at the buck, but, to my knowledge, they never caught anybody.”
Hoping he was wrong, Dustin continued checking the trail cams on the 112 acres, hoping for photos of his buck. None came.
In December, after he’d already filled his 2018 tag, Dustin retrieved the photos he’d so desperately hoped to get. The 16-pointer was alive and well, and he got a steady supply of images until about a month prior to the 2019 season.
The deer came back the Thursday before opening day.
Dustin left work early on Monday – day three – to hunt the deer. His stand was situated in a copse of trees in the middle of a cornfield.
“Just after I pulled up my rope, I heard something crashing inside the cornfield. I immediately looked up and saw the big 16-pointer running about 30 yards from me, through the corn and out of my life.”
It came back later, though.
As the animal approached, walking along the edge of the field, one side of its rack kept brushing against the corn stalks. Waiting for it to stroll within range wasn’t easy.
When it finally did, Dustin loosed his arrow. The fatally hit deer bounded even closer, to 15 yards, before collapsing.
The Stark County whitetail has a BTR score of 190 6/8 inches.
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