Big Buck 411 Blog

Ohio Hunter Gains Fifth Record-book Listing

Ohio Hunter Gains Fifth Record-book Listing

By Mike Handley

Hunter Quinn first became acquainted with the buck he arrowed in 2019 three years earlier, when it wore seven fewer points. He would’ve taken it then, in 2017, 0r in 2018, given the chance.

When Hunter’s trail cameras weren’t yielding any photos of the whitetail beyond the spring of ’19, he worried it was dead or gone. He needn’t have fretted, however, because the animal – now an 8x8 – returned to the Ohio property in October.

He and his wife nicknamed the deer Groot.

They retrieved only nighttime images until Oct. 24, when the buck tripped the lens’ trigger at 6:45.

Three days later, Hunter didn’t go to his stand until 12:30, and he twiddled his thumbs for two and a half hours. At that point, someone opened the barn door, so to speak.

Between 5:15 and almost 7:00, he saw three groups of does. He was ready when the second eight deer came through, but he’d already set down his bow when the final group appeared.

When he was unable to grab his bow without being seen, Hunter heard heavy footsteps behind him.

“It sounded big, and by itself,” he said. “When I peeked to my right, I recognized Groot. Man, he sure looked bigger in person than he did in trail cam photos.”

The buck walked right past Hunter and stopped 10 yards in front of him.

“I still couldn’t grab my bow because of the does milling around,” he said.

Groot didn’t stay put long enough for him to risk it, but the deer came back and ultimately offered Hunter a 25-yard target.

The Morrow County 16-pointer has a BTR score of 195 1/8 inches. This is the fifth and largest deer Hunter has put in the record book.

— Read Recent Blog! When You Realize the Neighbors Know Their Stuff: Steve Plattner’s deer scored 187 2/8 inches on the BTR scale.

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