Big Buck 411 Blog

259" in Ohio

259" in Ohio

By Patrick Dunning

18-year-old Carson Putnam has been on a roll the last couple of years, claiming Ohio's #1 spot in BTR's Centerfire Rifle category after harvesting this 33-pointer in November 2021 that's truly one of a kind, and a 184-inch mainframe 5x5 in 2022 that he's even more proud of. Carson's state record from Ross County has a compact frame with an 8 1/8 i... READ MORE

New No. 1 in KS

New No. 1 in KS

By Patrick Dunning

On top of being the state’s new #1 compound-felled buck in BTR’s perfect category, Joshua Trolinger’s public-land giant is the third-largest perfect harvested in Kansas by any weapon and the sixth-largest perfect worldwide by compound bow. Joshua discovered this world-class whitetail in November 2022 and had it within 40 yards fou... READ MORE

Massive Kansas Deadhead

Massive Kansas Deadhead

By Patrick Dunning

14-year-old Bryson Allen found a massive 238-inch Kansas deadhead on May 18 while fishing Clarks Creek with friends. Although the young man hasn’t harvested a buck with his bow yet, he’s happy to know big ones like this one exist in the area. Buckmasters scorer Brad Forbus measured the Morris County Monster at 238 5/8 inches for BTR. Th... READ MORE

198" in Tangipahoa Parish

198" in Tangipahoa Parish

By Patrick Dunning

A lieutenant at Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's office, Daniel Sharkey chased this whitetail through southeast Louisiana's piney woods for 5 years before catching up with it in December of 2021. With a Buckmasters score of 198 1/8 inches, the 17-pointer is the largest buck harvested in Tangipahoa Parish, and its runner-up isn't even close. "There isn't... READ MORE

223-Incher in The Sunflower State

223-Incher in The Sunflower State

By Patrick Dunning

On the final day of the 2021 Kansas deer season, 32-year-old Chase Wells located a big typical 10-pointer. The deer was making its way into a bean field when he saw it, and he immediately put it on his watch list for 2022-’23. On Chase’s cattle farm in Osage County, nicknamed the Jack’d Up Ranch, he rears 30 heifers and bales hay ... READ MORE

175" TN Typical with a Recurve!

175" TN Typical with a Recurve!

By Patrick Dunning

You can count on one hand the BTR entries for recurve-felled bucks in Tennessee, but DeWayne Spann still sits atop that short list, and his 175-inch buck is the seventh largest typical harvested by a recurve archer in North America. Dewayne has been building longbows and recurves since the ‘90s and has been a traditional bowhunter exclusively... READ MORE

New Volunteer State Record!

New Volunteer State Record!

By Patrick Dunning

Charles Strickland harvested three deer with two bolts on the opening morning of Tennessee’s 2022 archery season during a quota hunt in Davidson County. The 63-year-old’s biggest buck to date stretched the BTR tape to 202 6/8 inches and is the largest crossbow-felled whitetail in the Volunteer State. Tasked by the landowner to take two ... READ MORE

Chess, Not Checkers

Chess, Not Checkers

By Patrick Dunning

Forty-four year-old Jared Kenner hunts whitetails like he conducts business – diligently. He's killed three deer (all bucks) since he first started hunting at 26 years old, but not for lack of opportunity. He sets his mind on a particular deer and doesn't waver until it's in the bed of his pickup truck. Between owning and operating five compa... READ MORE

Shoot Happens!

Shoot Happens!

By Patrick Dunning

Twenty-year-old Brett Petitt had all but thrown in the towel on his 2022-23 deer season. In every encounter he had with a mature deer, it either wouldn't come within bow range or, if it did, he missed. In fact, in December, he loosed three arrows in a 90-second span, completely missing a confused 10-pointer. "I thought I hit him, but he jumped into... READ MORE

190-inch Pa. Public Land Buck

190-inch Pa. Public Land Buck

By Patrick Dunning

Ronald Bencinic's 190-inch 7x7 with double drop tines is the second-largest whitetail ever felled in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, according to Buckmasters Trophy Records. Ronald got it done during a downpour on public land in December 2022. "I knew there was a big buck in the area," Ronald told Buckmasters. "I noticed some huge rubs for three str... READ MORE

Every Inch Adds Up

Every Inch Adds Up

By Patrick Dunning

Kyle Woodruff's September 2022 buck is Benton County's new #1 and the fourth largest whitetail taken with a crossbow (any category) in Arkansas, according to Buckmasters Trophy Records. Kyle and his brother are self-proclaimed trophy hunters who target mature, 4 1/2-year-old deer and hunt properties, large and small, urban or rural, around the nort... READ MORE

Big Indy Buck Down

Big Indy Buck Down

By Patrick Dunning

Luck. Fate. Whatever you want to call it, Grant Seitz was in the right place at the right time, twice in two days. He saw this 20-point buck midday from the road in November 2021, grazing in a 60-acre field of unpicked corn on his uncle’s property in Martin County, Indiana. Grant had never seen the deer before, or anything close to its caliber in t... READ MORE

198" Felled in Arkansas

198" Felled in Arkansas

By Patrick Dunning

Stella Sims holds Arkansas' #7 spot in BTR's irregular category for compound bow after felling this 198 7/8-inch bruiser of a buck last November, and it's the largest white-tailed deer (all categories) taken with a compound bow by a woman, ever, in The Natural State. The 18-pointer sports a 21-inch inside spread, and its left antler's typical point... READ MORE

Gettin' Lucky in Kentucky

Gettin' Lucky in Kentucky

By Patrick Dunning

Twenty-two-year-old Dawson Mashburn was at the beach celebrating the 4th of July with family friends last year when he received a photo of this Kentucky whitetail in velvet and he noticed its right beam was beginning to split. "I got down there a little late, so I ended up on the couch,"Dawson said. "About 7 a.m. the following morning, July 3rd, I'... READ MORE

Retro Recurve Buck Is Ohio Runner-Up

Retro Recurve Buck Is Ohio Runner-Up

By Patrick Dunning

Twenty-six years ago, in a world before cell cameras or cell phones with cameras, then 38-year-old Tim Ritchie harvested Ohio’s second biggest perfect buck ever taken with a recurve bow (BTR). And he had no idea about the buck’s status until March 2023. He had his mount measured by an official B&C scorer at an expo in 1998, met the ... READ MORE

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