Of the top 100 Typicals listed in Buckmasters Whitetail Trophy Records, only five came out of the Deep South. The majority are Midwestern or Canadian bucks.
Three of the five Southern whitetails – the largest – drew breath in Arkansas, while the others were shot in Kentucky.
Because BTR rankings are based solely on inches of antler (not inside spread), the 6 ½-year-old buck William Loyd shot in 2018 is the runner-up to the Arkansas record taken by Jacob Ayecock in 2015. But when the width between the beams is figured, the Loyd Buck is bigger.
In fact, it has no equal anywhere in the South.
William didn’t have a long history with the deer he harvested last season. He’d heard only rumors of its existence until a couple of weeks before he shot it.
That would never have happened if the 49-year-old homebuilder from Wynne, Arkansas, hadn’t sought out the landowner and asked permission to hunt an area adjacent to where the animal had reportedly been snuffling up soybeans.
A lot of Arkansas Delta beans were left standing last year because of unusually high rainfall. Otherwise, a lot of record-book whitetails might still be breathing.
William knew his best, if not only, chance to get a shot at the local legend – alleged legend – would be to watch the standing beans. He did not have permission to hunt the adjacent bedding area.
During his second afternoon sit there, the buck everyone had been talking about ventured out of the trees at the opposite end of the field. It remained in the wide open for 15 minutes, and then it went back the way it had come.
So enchanted by the deer, William told his wife that night, “You’re going to have to get used to me being gone a lot!”
According to Larry Jones, who’s writing the story for Rack magazine, William returned to his chair in the weeds for the next 16 days. The buck of his dreams finally showed on Dec. 3, again at the far end of the field.
Like the previous time, it soon melted back into the off-limits timber. Unlike the first time, however, it came back out, much closer.
William didn’t hesitate to take the 200-yard shot. He balanced his .300 Win Mag on shooting sticks, concentrated on his breathing, and then squeezed the trigger.
Fortunately for him, the deer didn’t flee when the bullet zipped past. It began looking around for the source of the boom.
“I hadn’t missed a deer in years,” he told Larry.
His second shot hit the mark.
The rack tallies 212 on the BTR scale.
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