A Legendary Deer Gets Its Due
By Mark Melotik
For those of us who count chasing mature trophy whitetails as more a year-round lifestyle than simple hobby, a question often arises: Do the record books hold all the best heads ever taken? The easy answer is “not possible” — especially considering how long whitetails have been hunted across their remarkably wide and diverse range. Not to mention that record books are a fairly recent thing, and taxidermists were scarce (and a prohibitively expensive luxury) back in the day.
What’s more, relatively few hunters were stricken by the whitetail fever so common today — a popularity explosion fueled in part by the Internet, cell phones and social media. It’s a near-certainty there are jaw-dropping racks collecting dust in barns and attics that could stun those of us who comprise the modern whitetail world.
Which brings us to 2024 and the stunning, recent re-unveiling of a giant Illinois buck taken back in 1991 (32 years ago!) by state resident Sam Aiuppa. The buck and its impossibly long and symmetrical brow tines is now the new No. 1 Typical in the BTR’s shotgun category — a new world record!
The rack’s dimensions are almost beyond belief. Last fall, BTR measurer Don Sanocki found the right antler totals 101 7/8 inches, while the left tallies 106 7/8. A 20 4/8-inch inside spread gives it a BTR score of 229 2/8, with only two irregular points. The rack’s 208 6/8 inches of bone make it the new No. 1 Typical in the BTR’s shotgun category. Among all Typicals across 11 weapons categories, the Aiuppa Buck is No. 4.
According to a March 2, 2024 Facebook post by Boone and Crockett measurer Cameron Coble at the 2024 Iowa Deer Classic — where the rack was scored for B&C — the Aiuppa rack has a B&C score of 207 7/8 net typical, with brow tines comprising 27 inches of the score.
Just one look at the Aiuppa Buck’s rack shows that it can hold its own with the best ever taken, yet it languished for decades in anonymity. However, to say the Aiuppa Buck remained unknown for 32 years isn’t entirely true.
According to the full story of this amazing buck set to appear in the next issue of Rack magazine, penned by longtime Rack editor Mike Handley, people knew the big deer existed; they just didn’t realize, until now, that someone had bagged it.
The same year Aiuppa shot the iconic whitetail, an area farmer found one of the deer’s previous right antlers and nailed it to his barn. A deliveryman saw the antler and persuaded the owner to sell it to him. The shed has since changed hands three more times. A score of 98 6/8 inches is the reason the antler became a hot commodity. It’s the largest 5-point castoff on record with the North American Shed Hunters Club, and we now know it must’ve been from the deer’s 1989 rack.
We also know the single antler is from 1989 because both sides of its 1990 rack were found the year after Sam ended the cycle in ’91. James Albring found the pair, and his name has always been associated with them. Replicas have appeared atop mounts that have toured the country.
For still more stunning details of the Aiuppa buck, including the amazing hour-by-hour timeline of the day it was bagged, check out the Spring issue of RACK, available free for your phone or computer HERE!