There’s a lot more to deer hunting than obsessing over monster bucks. But most hunters would be lying through clenched teeth if they said big deer weren’t captivating. The animals with the age, genetics, and nutrition required to sport such phenomenal antler growth are quite impressive. So are the hunts for these kind of deer.
In our modern media world, most monster whitetails come with incredible stories. Whether documented in written or video form, the deer hunting community usually gets to learn about all the details of a giant buck and the hunter who tagged it. There was an era, however, when whitetails didn’t receive much press, and many of the most magnificent deer stories were lost to time. Some were altogether forgotten. Others were re-discovered.
But Antlers by Klaus, one of the top antler reproduction houses in the world, has collected the scant details of some of the biggest and most mysterious whitetail bucks in history. Some of the following deer offer so little background that we can’t share much more than assumptions, conjecture, and a bit of rack analysis. Others come with just enough details to tease even more curiosity. So, here are 11 monster bucks that remain shrouded in mystery.
The Caraganga Buck: 197 Inches
The background for the Caraganga Buck is unknown. This heavy, chocolate-racked deer is a sight to behold, though. Its rack scores 197 inches, but the total isn’t the most impressive part about it. Rather, It’s the incredible mass that stands out. Not to mention, those bonus drop-tines.
The Johnstone Buck: 198 7/8 Inches
To this day, no one knows who killed the famous Johnstone Buck. All that is known is that it was bagged in Aitkin County, Minnesota, in 1920. Incredibly, Glen Johnstone discovered this rack at a garage sale, and thus, it’s named after him. The huge whitetail scores 198 7/8 inches. The virtually perfectly symmetrical typical rack represents a true Northwoods monster buck.
The Michigan Barn Buck: 200 Inches
The Michigan Barn Buck comes with a bit of a backstory, but not much. These antlers were discovered nailed to the exterior of a barn in Michigan. The locals say the antlers were hung there for as long as anyone remembers. According to Antlers by Klaus, the rack is estimated to be approximately 100 years old. The deer scores 200 inches as a nontypical.
The Kyress Buck: 204 6/8 Inches
Incredibly, this deer was rediscovered in an antique store in Boyertown, Pennsylvania, many years after it was tagged. Harvested somewhere in Pennsylvania, little additional information is available about the Kyress Buck. After much time spent trying to unearth more details on the deer, Antlers by Klaus learned it was taken in the 1960s or 1970s, although 1962 is the most widely accepted year. Frederick Kyress was the lucky hunter. This deer totals an impressive gross score of 223 4/8 inches.
According to the Boone and Crockett Club, “the buck initially net scored 202-7/8, but at the 31st Big Game Awards Judges Panel the score was revised. The buck’s official score now sits at 204-6/8 points, securing its place as the number four typical whitetail of all time and the largest typical ever recorded for Pennsylvania. Recently, the antlers changed hands again — quite possibly for the last time. Today, they are part of the King of Bucks collection at the Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife National Museum & Aquarium in Springfield, Missouri.”
If the Kyress buck had been entered into the record books when harvested, it would have stood as a world record for decades. It remains the No. 1 typical in the Keystone State.
The Sellin Buck: 225 2/8 Inches
A double-drop-tine beast, the Sellin buck is another record whitetail with a legend lost to time. We do know the Elmer Sellin Buck was tagged in St. Louis County, Minnesota. It was harvested in 1938. It boasts a wide antler spread, long tines, cool and curvy brow tines, plus two massive droppers. A third drop-tine was snapped off. It scores 225 2/8 inches.
The Schumlik Buck: 250 Inches
The Mark Schumlik Buck was harvested in Saskatchewan in 1997. As the story goes, it was taken with a rifle, but that couldn’t be officially confirmed. Some reports score this deer at 242 5/8 inches, but others put its score as high as 250 and change. Regardless, this nontypical whitetail is impressive, and the mass is what really stands out. Of course, it has plenty of points, and the crowned brow tines are exceptional, too.
The Kietzman Buck: 245 Inches
No one is sure who killed the Kietzman buck, but the rack gets its name from the man who acquired it: Robert Kietzman. We know only know that it was harvested somewhere in Wisconsin in 1940. The buck’s vast number of points certainly add to the score, but the tine length really gets it there. A drop-tine on the left main beam doesn’t hurt, and adds more character. This massive buck scores 245 inches.
The Braund Buck: 255 Inches
The Braund Buck is a huge non-typical with a dark-antlered rack that tallies a whopping score of 255 inches. The frame is stellar and full of mass, and hosts a slew of points. This buck’s antler character is especially unique. Long brows and nontypical points all over add plenty of appeal. And what about that ninja throwing star on the end of the left-side drop-tine? Yeah, that’s pretty cool, too.
The Brenneman Buck: 258 6/8 Inches
Another buck that has a lot to show but little to tell is the Brenneman Buck, which was harvested in Saskatchewan. Its huge set of antlers scores 258 6/8 inches. This deer’s rack is the epitome of mass. It even carries that mass up the length of most points. Long curvy tines certainly add to the overall score, and that L-shaped drop tine is pretty amazing, too.
The Pauls Buck: 265 Inches
The Pauls Buck is incredibly unique. This non-typical stretches the tape to 265 inches. Of course, that’s in part thanks to the split main beam, crazy-long stickers, all the extra points, and more. That left-side typical frame is quite the display of antler growth as well. Besides the crazy score, we don’t know much else about this buck.
The Benson Buck: 286 Inches
The Benson Buck remains the No. 1 nontypical in the state of Texas. This deer has a mess of 78 points and, according to Antlers by Klaus, the picture displayed is from a set of sheds from this deer, which were found by a ranch hand named Jeff Benson. According to most sources, this deer was eventually killed in 1892 by an unknown hunter.
The deer is also known as the Brady Buck (the deer was killed near the town of Brady, Texas) and the McCulloch Buck, according to the Texas State Historical Association:
“There are no records on the hunter who killed the Brady Buck, but one commonly-repeated tale is that an old cowboy came into Brady (county seat of McCulloch County) and claimed he had shot a ‘Goliath buck with a rack that looked like Yosemite Forest.’ Benson, who had heard the exclamations of regional cowboys who had spoken of glimpses of a monster buck with antlers that ‘looked like a twisted mass of cedar roots,’ reportedly found the dead buck. Still another story tells that Benson himself shot the Brady Buck but ‘lost the blood trail,’ and the carcass was found later.”
The buck ended up scoring slightly smaller than the set of its sheds. With the sheds (again, pictured here) scoring 286 inches, and the harvested buck’s rack sporting 284 3/8 inches, it held the world record nontypical record for a long time. It’s still the biggest buck in Texas. The buck’s antlers are currently displayed at the Buckhorn Saloon and Museum in San Antonio.
Read Next: The Biggest Shed Antlers Ever Found
The Upshot
We’d love to know, and share, more about the huge bucks showcased above. After all, antlers like these are rare, and it’d be great to know the legends that come with these record-class racks. But in some ways, the mystery is part of the fun. We’ll forever wonder about the lands these giants roamed, and the unknown (or little-known) hunters who tagged them.
