Well.. since he's dead I'll let the cat out of the bag. I've known about this buck's existence for the past 2 years.. even filmed him in a beanfield in 2010 just after July 4th weekend that year. He was over 200 inches even then.. with weeks left to grow. I got word this buck was taken earlier this week and knew exactly who it was.. I called him "Sistine Chapel".. hoping one day I could get permission to hunt him. I tried for 2 years.. always getting a yes from one of the owners and a no from the other. So for 2 years I knew where this once in a lifetime crazy buck lived but could not obtain permission to hunt him.. of course... find a 200" plus whitetail and can't get the permission to go after him. Anyway.. my congrats to the lucky hunter.. this picture does not do him justice.. trust me he'll scare you he's so big... and very old. I think he was actually bigger in 2010 as he lost some tine length this year.
Taken with bow.. only about 4 miles from where I'm typing right now. And.. yes.. yes I do have the video of him in velvet still.. you don't get rid of footage like that. I've talked to a lot of crazy shed hunters in the area since this bucks demise and it appears I was the only one who knew of his existence.. besides my wife and Justin (who I told).
Wow dm, that's a shame you didn't get a shot at chasin him. Did this hunter who shot him, take him where you couldn't get permission? For only you to know about him, he must have been reclusive... a buck like that gets known... Massive is an understatement.
It is said he was taken near another intersection about 1.5 miles or more away from where I knew he was spending much of his time. The interesting thing is this buck was taken Monday... because I live so close to the farm the buck seemed to call home I know that on the Friday and Saturday before the fields were disked... turning them into basically just mud. I've known for a while that the buck would have to move to find food once this happened (it happened every year).. I've been searching for the sheds the past 2 years.. but I never could figure where he'd move to for the winter. The bucks are very nomadic around this area. So.. it's really not that unheard of that the buck had moved that distance. The bucks around where Justin and I call home are very reclusive.. the does are too. You can drive for months and not see a deer around here. They're there.. they just don't show themselves... too many people.
I'll see if I can get Justin to show me how to do it.. I don't mind showing it anymore now that he's no longer alive.
That's too bad you never got to hunt him. I remember seeing the picture he did seem bigger in it, from what I remember. Great deer congrat's to the one who took him.
Duke I am in your boat right now buddy! I have a deer I have been seeing for a few years now and can not get to him. That is a stud congrats to the hunter!
