May 01, 2015
By Bowhunter Online Staff
With upcoming whitetail bow seasons in the not too far off future — but still an unbearably long ways away — we thought it'd be nice to round up some of the biggest monster bucks from last season to tide you over.
Whether your pleasure is staring at massive non-typicals and velvet-covered racks, or the symmetrical perfection of the typical whitetail, there's a buck in here that's sure to have you dreaming of big racks heading in to your summer scouting .
So go ahead and indulge yourself in some of the past season's best bucks.
Mark Ledford The peak of the 2012 Ohio rut gave Mark Ledford a wicked case of giant buck fever as he a photo of a giant on his land had him passing on doeswith hopes that he would get the one he wanted. Choosing not to compromise, Ledford focused on the glassing and scouting the big buck's habits for over a year before being afforded the opportunity to take the 216-inch buck of a lifetime.
Read the full story. Mark Alexander Growing up in Louisiana and dreaming of big bucks fueled Mark Alexander's trips to the giant-producing Kansas. Having previously passed on a 180-class buck, Alexander was on the hunt for a true giant. That's exactly what this patient hunter found when he took the massive 193-inch typical in western Kansas.
Read the full story. Curt Wells Utilizing a two decoy setup, Curt Wells arrowed killed his best whitetail buck, for the second time in as many years. The buck dubbed Mr. Ten was rougly 10 inches larger than the 10-pointer he shot in Iowa the previous season. He was over 21 inches wide, and gross-scored around 162.
Read the full story.
Curt Wells Curt was a busy man in 2014. When he wasn't double decoying giant Kansas bucks he was in Saskatchewan testing out Mathews' new NO CAM HTR by putting an arrow through a great Canadian buck. Hunting in 10 below zero temperatures, this big buck stood 15 yards from his ground blind, staring at him. He drew the smooth and quiet NO CAM HTR back without drawing the attention of the buck. The arrow flew true, and the new bow saved him from five more days of subzero hunting conditions.
Read the full story here.
Ben Cockell Ben Cockell had one chance to recover from an accident and reclaim his life, and he had one chance to make the shot on the buck of a lifetime. He made good on both counts.
Read the full story here.
Dan Aquino A two-year quest ended with success for Dan Aquino when he tagged a 20 point, 210-inch non-typical Ohio giant. The rumors of the buck's existence became reality at the end of October 2014 while Aquino was out with his wife to watch for activity. A bad storm that day kept Aquino fromt he stand, and it just so happened that it was the same day the local legend entered his hunting area. Aquino hunted the massive 20-pointer hard the next day, resulting in his taking the tremendous buck.
Read the full story.
Cody Detwiler Whether it was beginner's luck or a budding bowhunter's intuition, Cody Detwiler's first ever bow kill was also his largest buck ever. He fought through a slow season, persisting for well over a month of constant hunting without any luck, Detwiler sealed the deal with a tough but accurate shot that required focus and skill. Not bad for a 16-year-old.
Read the full story. Andy Hall For three years Andy Hall watched this buck on trail cameras, but much like many giants in the whitetail woods, this buck remained hidden. That lasted until the second day of firearms season in Garfield County, Oklahoma.
Sneaking into his stand with bow in hand on November 23, Hall setup on a creek bank where he believed the buck would be about an hour before sunrise. It was a near perfect setup with the shape of the creek cutting into the landscape, which gave Hall an advantage with the prevailing winds.
Read the full story here.
Adam Hupf The 2014 hunting season was a busy one for Wisconsin bowhunter Adam Hupf. He hunted elk in Colorado, black bear in Wisconsin and put an arrow through a Wisconsin typical archery state record whitetail.
Read the full story here.
Jon Massie No stranger to massive free-ranging whitetails as a guide in the Midwest, Jon Massie thought his whitetail dreams had come true, having put a non-typical scoring over 200 and a public land typical in the Boone & Crockett books. At least, he did until a buck he'd never seen showed up on one of his trail cameras.
Read the full story here. Ryan Sullivan A duck and deer fanatic, Arkansas hunter Ryan Sullivan gave up most of his time in the duck marshes during deer season for several years in order to focus on a truly world-class buck. He was only 19 when he crossed paths with the 212-inch bruiser, but this young man kept his composure as he put an arrow through the bruiser.
Read the full story here.
Brian Wiese Taking his chances on hunting an 'odd-ball ' spot where he had only received pictures of deer twice during the previous six weeks, Brian Wiese finished what was largely an unsuccessful season by tagging a brute.
In his 31 previous hunts this season, Wiese wasn't even afforded an opportunity on a mature buck. Maybe it was arriving late without a solid idea of what was around, or a hunter's intuition, but choosing this stand turned out to be to right choice when he arrowed the brute at just ten yards.
Read the full story. Nick Brown Nick Brown's impressive 13-pointer full-velvet rack is a combination of tremendous height, width and mass. The exceptional main beams exceed 29 inches, and the outside spread is 24 1/8. Tine length is also outstanding, with G-2s that tape 10 2/8 and 9 2/8 inches, followed by 13-inch G-3s. The circumferences average nearly 5 inches.
Read the full story here.
Rick Halverson Three years is a long time to wait for the opportunity at a dream buck. But as any whitetail hunter will tell you, it's all worth it when there's success at the end.
Avid Iowa bowhunter Rick Halverson finally connected on a giant 205-inch Iowa buck he named 'Droppy ' last season after years of passing buck after buck, holding out for this particular droptine giant since first seeing it in 2010.
Read the full story. Scott Hove Scott Hove's 7 1/2-year-old monster buck's rack is definitely unique. It ended up with a great net score of 212 5/8 non-typical, thanks to 40 inches of mass, 27 6/8-inch main beams, split brow tines and that 12 6/8-inch 'unicorn ' point.
Read the full story here.
Corey Klein You never know what may happen any given day. That's how Corey Klein approaches his whitetail hunting, and it certainly paid off for him with the tremendous 228-inch Iowa non-typical giant. Keeping his nerves calm and remaining composed, Klein put an arrow through the giant within 40 seconds of first spotting.
Read the full story here.
Dean Partridge Even an old dog gets lucky sometimes. For Dean Partridge, host of Canadian Whitetail TV, it wasn't just luck that allowed him to tag out on opening day for the first time since he was 12 years old, going 27 years between first day harvests.
Read the full story here. Bill Robinson With eye-popping measurements, Bill Robinson's "Moose" buck is a marvel of nature. Three double-digit tines and a nearly two-foot inside spread, the massive buck is much bigger than the score reflects.
Read the full story here.
Danny Thompson As an avid bowhunter of 16 years, Danny Thompson's only bow-killed buck prior to last season was a small basket rack. However, since moving to southeast Minnesota — considered to be the state's Mecca for monster whitetails — Thompson has passed on many quality bucks in hopes of tagging his dream buck. After four years of waiting he was finally rewarded just an hour and a half into the season.
Read the full story here. Wayne Waldo Five hundred yards from his tree stand was a buck — and even by the lofty standards of Illinois' Fulton County, he was a giant. But nothing else about the situation was favorable, from the hunter's point of view. Although the scenario was hardly a recipe for big-buck success, Waldo prevailed to get it done.
Read the full story here.
