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Ever see a 160" +?

Discussion in 'Bowhunting Talk' started by fatsbucknut, Mar 16, 2009.

  1. fatsbucknut

    fatsbucknut Die Hard Bowhunter

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    How many of you guys have ever laid eyes on a legitimate 160"+ buck, whether it be while hunting, driving or spotlighting? I'll never forget my one and only experience which happened last year, while hunting in Ohio. I had just dropped off my buddy and was within half a mile as the crow flies to where i would be hunting when i saw eyes in the middle of the road. As i got closer it materialized into a freakin monster with double drops (no i'm not kidding). No doubt this was at least a 160-170" stud. It just stood there not 20ft away as I frantically looked for a camera. After 10-15seconds it disappeared into the darkness. Man was that an exciting day in the stand knowing that a buck that large was in the area. I ended up seeing several small bucks that day but the big boy didnt show. Maybe next year.
     
  2. mobow

    mobow Die Hard Bowhunter

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    2 falls ago I saw a legitimate 170 class in a bean field directly behind my warehouse. Yeah, I nearly drove my truck right into the creek......Absolutely huge! :cool:
     
  3. OHbowhunter

    OHbowhunter Die Hard Bowhunter

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    The closest I came was a 150 class this past season. He was 10 yards from me. Needless to say, my cam hit my treestand when I released causing me to miss. :bash:

    Now I am in the market for a climber without a rail on it.
     
  4. Buck Magnet

    Buck Magnet Die Hard Bowhunter

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    I have saw a few, maybe 4 in my life that I am sure would have topped the 160" mark, one while hunting, two while spotting, and the other while fishing. I have seen my fair share in the 140"-150" range.
     
  5. buckeye

    buckeye Grizzled Veteran

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    I have saw a couple dozen bucks that would go 160+ while glassing. I do however spend 100's of hours per year glassing many areas outside my hunting grounds. I am a geek when it comes to big whitetail.

    I have trail cam photos of two and possibly a third that would breach 160 gross.

    My best buck scored 162 gross. He is the second biggest buck I have saw from stand.
     
  6. MN/Kyle

    MN/Kyle Die Hard Bowhunter

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    I guess it's matter of a slight guess but the biggest I've seen is a +/- 150" at ~15 yards broadside with a nice big bush covering the vitals.

    I still dream about that guy, on film to boot.
     
  7. jmbuckhunter

    jmbuckhunter Grizzled Veteran

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    I have killed 2 160" plus and have seen quite a few more. The biggest known bucks I have seen are a pair of 180 plus bucks that a neighbor killed.
     
  8. Schultzy

    Schultzy Grizzled Veteran

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    I've saw 2 that I know were In that 170" B&C range while hunting, there were both about 50 yards away the 1st week of the season In early September. I saw one other one while hunting that I'm guessing was In that 160" range give or take, he was about 30 yards away and man was that tough to watch him while he was broadside.:cry: It's been 10 years since I've saw a great buck while hunting, I'm due!!
     
  9. Dan

    Dan Senior Member

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    In 2005 I watched my wife miss a buck that I knew was over 190". A few weeks later some dude shot it and it ended up grossing 204".

    In 2006 I saw 3 bucks in a 5 day span while in Saskatchewan that would have gone over 170". The biggest being well over 200".

    Someday......someday.
     
  10. Schultzy

    Schultzy Grizzled Veteran

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    Wow Dan!!!!
     
  11. Rob / PA

    Rob / PA Grizzled Veteran

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    I've seen several while spotlighting, and only 3 from my tree stand in nearly 30 seasons here in PA. In IL I saw 3 the week I was there one which I sent an arrow over. 160's in PA, mostly in the past were very, very rare, now, they are just rare. :d

    :beer:
     
  12. Dubbya

    Dubbya Moderator

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    I guess I've been pretty fortunate in that regard... I've seen at least a bakers dozen that I can for sure say were 160+. The majority were glassing, there's no telling how many I saw before I was able to classify a 160.
     
  13. dukemichaels

    dukemichaels Grizzled Veteran

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    I have problems with this.. the whole seeing a 160" whitetail.. or a 190".. or what have you.

    All it is.. is a combination of 3 things. Diet. Age. And MOST important genes.

    So who cares if a WILD whitetail goes 125" or 175" at age 5 years. It's still a 5 year old. The only difference is likely a combination of chance.. nothing more.

    Heck.. Rob hunted Illinois for 1 week and saw 3 over 160"!

    I've seen 3 in the last 3 years that hit or exceed that.. and I hunt Illinois everyday.

    So.. what does it matter how many 160" whitetail you see? It's nothing but chance. A combination of chance.

    A better question would be.. how many 4 year olds or greater have you seen? Maybe 6 year olds? Whatever.

    I guess I just don't understand the whole "how many 160's have you seen". If a 1 year old whitetail scored 160".. would this question still be asked?
     
  14. buckeye

    buckeye Grizzled Veteran

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    Because most hunters like bucks with big antlers.... I will take a 160 four year old than a 130 6 year old 10 out of 10 times.
     
  15. Dan

    Dan Senior Member

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    You know I'm all about the age of a buck Duke, but you answered it there. Its just that, a combination of chance and its rare.

    There's no way I could count the number of 4+ year old bucks I have seen....to be honest, they weren't that rare a few years ago in Ontario. What was rare, was a buck that was both 4+ years old and had decent head gear.
     
  16. dukemichaels

    dukemichaels Grizzled Veteran

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    Good answer.

    If it's about the rarity of the animal.. that makes sense.
     
  17. DoePeeSteve

    DoePeeSteve Weekend Warrior

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    I'm with Jeff. I haven't seen one over 118. Granted that's only 3 years of hunting in PA, but I did countless hours of spotting years before I started to hunt. I'm pretty sure that If I saw a 160 class buck fevor would keep me from even drawing up on it as I'd be in shock.
     
  18. bowmanaj

    bowmanaj Die Hard Bowhunter

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    One time.. It was last fall, at 4:00am in the morning. I was pulling out of the driveway, headed to the farm that is about 45 minutes away. I pulled out of the driveway, drove about 200 yards down the road and almost hit a complete and utter monster. He was just standing there in the middle of the road like he was wanting someone to hit him. He bolted into a tiny woodlot, and that was it. All I can honestly say is he was VERY tall and VERY wide. No idea on what he'd score. Definitley well over 160" though. I have never seen anything like him on the hoof. I literally got goosebumps when I saw him. I sat in the stand that morning and watched a couple 1.5 year olds, and button bucks while that monster was probably hanging out within ear shot of my house.:cry:
     
  19. Rick James

    Rick James Grizzled Veteran

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    Nope, I don't think so. I've seen a very few that would go over 130, and maybe one that was a solid 140" deer.........but that's probably about it. I know they are out there, just few and far between.
     
  20. Brandon8807

    Brandon8807 Die Hard Bowhunter

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    I've seen two that have been 160" or up while hunting. Neither were even close to bow range. The first one was this year, the weekend before shotgun season opened. I'd been sitting in the same stand for probably the past 6 or so outings, and hadn't had any luck seeing a shooter. I decided to sit in a different stand, and my dad sat in the stand I had been sitting in. Well, mid-morning I look out in front of me and there is a buck at about 80 yards walking through the timber. It definitely had the wow factor, and I knew it was a shooter. Well guess what... the buck angled over towards the stand my dad was sitting in, and it went in to check a couple of does to see if they were in heat. The buck circled around my dad, and was coming down a road that went within 25 yards of the stand. My dad got a little impatient, and drew back too early, and the buck stopped and took his sweet time. By the time my dad had a shot, he was getting shaky, and let loose at 30 yards shooting right under him. The buck was killed the next weekend by a neighbor during shotgun season and ended up scored 195 7/8" non-typical. Here is a pic of him.

    [​IMG]

    The second buck that I've seen while hunting that scored of 160" was while I was walking out of the timber at night. I eased to the edge of the timber to look out in the field, and all I saw was rack. I quietly kept moving up, with the buck being oblivious to my presence, and got to watch him slowly wander off. He wasn't really wide, probably about 17 or 18", but he had incredible tine length. If I had to guess I would put him in the 170's.
     

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