Now is the perfect time to be in the woods scouting for next season, and while you're at it, maybe you'll come across another kind of treasure.
Last month, U.S. Army Sergeant Jacob Massey found a 100-inch irregular left-side shed antler while on his lunch break on Fort Riley's military installation in Geary County, Kansas.
To kill time and be productive between deer and turkey seasons, Jacob and his buddies regularly pack lunches and look for sheds at the army base's outdoor recreation areas.
"I hunt mostly on the installation," Jacob told Buckmasters. "It's a hidden gem outdoors-wise. I saw [the shed] from 25 yards away and could see the base in the air. I thought it was two antlers sitting on top of each other. When I picked it up it, I was thinking, what in the world did I just find? All the points and tine length - I knew I needed to have it scored."
Buckmasters scorer Kenneth Forbus measured the shed at 100 3/8 inches, making it the 10th largest irregular shed in Buckmasters Trophy Records for the state of Kansas.
Jacob has found smaller matching sets and two different 70-inch right beams on Fort Riley since the state's deer season ended. He's walked 15 miles looking for this deer's right beam, to no avail.
"I've picked the area apart - picked up a lot of sheds, too, looking for the other side," Jacob said. "Just wish I knew what his other beam looked like. If it's any bit as goofy as its left side, he's a 200-inch deer, no doubt."
Actually, if the right side matches the left, we're probably talking about a 220-inch buck, give or take.
Jacob is a signal support specialist from Russell County, Alabama, and deployed twice with the 1st Infantry Division to eastern Europe. He's lived in Kansas for more than four years and says he'll be happy as long as Uncle Sam keeps him in the Sunflower State where the big deer grow.
— Read Recent Blog! 202 Reasons to Smile! Kim Hall's Ohio buck scored 202 2/8 for Buckmasters Trophy Records in the irregular category for crossbows and is the only 200-plus-inch deer taken by a female during the 2022-23 season (so far).