By Bernie Barringer
Hundreds of factors must come together in one shining moment for a buck to reach world record caliber. A long line of big antler genetics must funnel down through the generations into one female deer. This doe must have hit the genetic lottery with a series of big buck sires in the females of her family tree. Then she must breed with a gigantic buck and she must produce a buck fawn, otherwise, all this genetic information will have to be delayed one more year.
Then, of course, this buck fawn must escape the myriad pitfalls that lay out before him. He must escape coyotes, cars, farm equipment and of course hunters. He must live an idyllic lifestyle in comfort with excellent nutrition readily available, and he must do this for five or six years. If all these things come together, out walks a buck carrying a rack larger than the millions and millions of bucks who have come before him.
This all happened on a ranch in Nebraska in the 1950s. A rancher who will remain unnamed had seen three gigantic bucks on his property during the fall of 1958. There was no hunting in Nebraska at that time, the first modern day hunting season for whitetails would not occur until the following fall of 1959. Whitetails had been off limits for half a century and they were expanding their population. The age structure was balanced, with many mature bucks.
In the spring of 1959, this rancher was tending to his cows, which were calving at the time. He walked into a patch of brush to retrieve a newborn calf and discovered two gigantic shed antlers lying a few feet apart. He later sawed off the back of the burrs so they would fit flat against a wall and screwed them above a doorway in a back room of his farmhouse. There they hung for many years.
In the mid-1990s, an outfitter named Tim Condict was talking to ranchers in the area about leasing land for hunting when he asked a rancher if he had any big racks or shed antlers lying around. The rancher said, “No, but the neighbor across the way has a set you aren’t going to believe. I’ve seen the big bucks in the Cabela’s store and they ain’t got nuthin’ like this one!”
That led Tim to the set of sheds that would become known as The General, the largest typical sheds of all time. Details of the transaction which caused those antlers to leave the farmhouse for the first time in 37 years are not known, but the gigantic buck would finally become known to serious whitetail collectors and big buck lovers.
The buck’s main beams are both over 32 inches and mass measurements are as high as 7-1/2. When mounted in a position that they look natural, they have an inside spread of nearly 24 inches. As it is, the buck scored 240 gross typical and nearly 219 net, more than five inches larger than the current Saskatchewan world record held by Milo Hanson. But the shrinking effects of a warm, dry Nebraska farmhouse have taken a large toll. No one, of course, knows exactly how much, but many antler collectors have some estimates.
Antler collector Dick Idol said about the buck, “It’s hardly fair to compare such a rack to a recently harvested one kept indoors from the time of skinning for the short 60-day drying period and then officially measured for the record book. Just in shrinkage alone, these Nebraska sheds could easily have lost as much as 6 to 8 inches in total measurement, especially in this type of rack, which still has 32-plus-inch main beams and a conservative inside spread of nearly 24 inches. Another 8 to 10 inches overall, which this buck conceivably lost, would have put him at 226 1/8 to 228 1/8 net, had the antlers been measured soon after being found back in 1959.”
There have been some other giant sheds found that would be contenders for the world record if the buck was shot by a hunter. The “Kansas King” theoretically scores 217 as a typical with a spread credit included. One of side a giant Iowa buck was found that scored 112 typical. Even with a small spread credit of 20 inches you are looking at a 244 gross typical. It makes you wonder what might have been. And is there a buck out there now that hit the genetic lottery? One as big or bigger than The General?
UNBELIEVABLE, what a monster!!
about time something crushes Ole Milo Hanson’s record, United States should be separate from Canada, we should have our own WORLD RECORD and Canada their own…
I guess it wouldn’t be a world record then would it?
You ain’t killed no bigger.
Only in a dream
Pity to kill something so beautiful that has lived so long.
It died of unknown natural causes. Did you even read the article?
February 25th is my birthday!!
How heavy was this buck?
Bernie Barringer, You ahould not be so quick to snap at someone. Did you even read the article? The farmer found two sheds, not a dead deer.
I wrote the article.
Try as you may there isn’t a good way to cook antlers ! I would rather eat a doe , I’ve thrown away a ton of antlers in the past some were pretty impressive .
Who’s that hiding behind that tree
I can’t believe how big he is his rack alone is a blessing I don’t think I would have made a shot I would be shaking so bad.
Americans think that they are the world 🙂
For example, they are the only ones that play American football, but they consider themselves as world champions when they win a championship, they are world champions in every sport they play, but they only play American teams.
Yeah, like the olympics for example. They never win anything against other countries in the world right?
Aint that right but those are awesome deer, it would be very interesting to see what specimens were like back in the day
Then it wouldn’t be a WORLD RECORD now would it? That would be more like an Intercontinental Champion…
That’s why the world record is called the world record, because whitetail deer are only native to North America.
There are whitetail deer in south America as well. Also a population of them in Sweden and New Zealand’s Stewart Island
Good article. Good read. Extremely impressive animal.
Really just really
Lol , thats like catching a small.bass and saying that wil be a good eater. Lmao
Its a world record… 🤦♂️
Why? Because you can’t compete with real monster deer? Sheds don’t ever count for records . Are you just upset Murica doesn’t have the record?
There were 3 “gigantic bucks”
Those genes are still out there.
I guess you are not sure of what world means
agreed.
In Canada we leave them to naturally develop.
The states have historically ran multiple programs to enhance genetics for larger deer by releasing farmed animals i to the wild.
They really should not be considered in the same catagories.
Absolutely not true. If you have some evidence to support this preposterous claim you should come forward with it.
There should also be a true in the wild class and a farm or ranch class.
I met Milo Hanson at the Springfield Ma. Sportsman show.He had the buck with him.You could buy a autographed photo of it for 10 buck.Milo was a salt of the earth type guy.Just a plain Joe who loved to hunt like all of us.Good for him.
I met milo also and he was a great guy!
Sounds like a real down to earth kinda guy @ $10 a photo.
I read an article in OutdoorLife magazine when I was a teen. 49% of all Boone & Crocket trophies from all of North America came from Saskatchewan. Poor conservation has wiped out a lot of our big deer. Farm raised deer should not be included.
Couple questions:
I can’t imagine that there was any time in history when half of the B&C entries were from Sask. When was this?
What do you mean by Farm raised deer? Farms across the country, particularly in Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Kansas and Missouri in the US, and in Saskatchewan and Alberta in Canada, produce more B&C bucks than anywhere else. If you are talking about deer farm deer within fences, they are not eligible for entry into record books.
You are a poor hunter! It doesnt matter where a big buck is shot, I’m glad someone can enjoy taking it…even thou it’s our hometown deer that hold the record.. canadian bucks rule!
Why cause Canada normally generates bigger deer. You yankies come here spend huge cash and take home 140-150 most deer lol
How can you separate from Canada and have a world record? Are you a Democrat or just not really thinking that thought through
In case you haven’t noticed, Canada is part of the world.
Ya they just quit growing at the state line damn I told them bucks not to cross state lines guess I’ll have ta tell them again,WOW.!!!!
Sounds like a dumbocrat!!
Joe Biden has the world record! This no lie, just ask him.
Ok. I’m dead on these comments
It’s called a WORLD RECORD… not national record.
Joe Biden don’t know his ass from a hole in the ground.
Really!?! You have to make deer hunting about politics!?! Everyone make sure to ask the deer if he’s a Republican or a Democrat before you shoot!! Ronni make sure your next big buck isn’t a tRumpster just so you know you’re not killing a Republican buck..
Ole lord ole bobby must be one of them feller who capitalize r in Trump. & Still does it way after the whole Russia shit was all made up. Been proven time and time again. But if he ain’t watching nothing but msnbc he don’t know no better. Damn it Bobby!!
Agreed
I think you miss the point of a WORLD record.
I think world records and state records be only fair chase not with the aid of electronics bait or dogs
Yeah Canada isn’t on the same world, what are they thinking being in the world record…
Makes sense to separate the world. That’s what is wrong with this world. Ppl think they live in separate worlds from other country’s. Great job
Truth
Come on man! Canada has some great trophies, but the upper Midwest can compete with you.
DK
Be more Than Happy ….Us Canadians have Bigger & better deer…..You want it that way then you Americans shouldn’t be allowed up here in Canada Then hunting our Deer….
Would you please take Justin Bieber back! We don’t want him here!!
Can’t believe the arguing here.
Don’t come to Canada, don’t come to the u.s. our deer are bigger. World is whole globe, not half of it. That’s just common sense. Cut in half and see if we still orbit.
C’mon guys.
Back about 1995 or so me and several folks watched a whitetail here in tennessee that in my humble opinion gave this buck a real run for his money!! Only problem was it was on a wildlife refuge where u can’t hunt. Saw I once at 60 yards massive rack perfect 6×6 with about 26 inch INSIDE spread don’t know what it would have scored but in the 200’s !!! Im just greatfull to have witnessed this beautifull animal and I just hope he banged every for within a 20 mile radius so maybe one day I’ll see one of his sons!!
Okie dokie I’ll stay in the USA
You do the same!
How could it be a world record if it only is for one country?
Biggest in the world, not a country.
Well think about it then, that would be called “The American Record” or “The Canadian Record”. “World Record” means what it says.
True to that. 🇺🇸 and Canada 🇨🇦. Should be 2 different Categories. Ohio bucks grow bigger than indiana deer
Alberta bucks are smaller then ohio deer
Do a little research on a biological principle known as Bergmann’s Rule.
Ya they just quit growing at the state line damn I told them bucks not to cross state lines guess I’ll have ta tell them again,WOW.!!!!
Wouldn’t be a WORLD record then would it
The Bergman rule only applies to body mass not antler size. I believe Iowa, parts of Kansas, Illinois have deer to rival any Canadian buck in both antler and body size
Um, it’s called a world record, not a national record lol. If America would be separate then it would only be a national record, not a world record. Just saying
World record. Not Country World record???
NO
A whitetail is a whitetail no matter where it was taken.
As long as no man made deer is part of the record.
A world record means world, not one country.
You realize it’s not a world record if each country has their own record? Cmon man Milos buck is huge. It doesn’t matter what country it was shot. It’s an amazing animal
That would be the country record not world
United States is not the world fyi
Wow!🦌
I like the stories of some of these big bucks. Jordan buck killed by a meat hunter and rack thrown in a swamp. Later recovered by someone hearing the story.
Missouri Monarch found dead by hunter who could have claimed him but had already taken one (the most unlucky kill of his life I’m sure).
And Milo’s buck. Shot through the base and was taped so it wouldn’t break and negate the record.
Thats because milo shot his over the hood of his truck after he’d been chasing it for miles
No , monsters are the ones that kill such magnificent creatures
Why are you even reading this article if you feel that way? It’s not for you, and you are definitely not for us!
Perhaps you should find a hobby other than reading these articles.
Read your bible. God gives us those animals for food. Do you eat pigs (against God’s rules) cows? Deer are healthier than either. Man isn’t controlling what goes into them. All natural. Full of protein.
Read your Bible and you’ll find that the eating of Pork is not against God’s rules.
Amen,brother. I had rather it the meat from wild game animals than any of the farm raised animals. All the farm raised meat is not good for anyone. The food that the farm raised animals eat is full of steroids and who knows what else. That’s what causing a lot of people to get cancer. The government is killing us with the foods we eat.
Agree 👍
I don’t believe a thing you have showed me I believe this is a fake bunch of crap
Who’s that hiding behind that tree
That is truly amazing.it make you think how many other great ones are just hanging around.
One of God’s perfect creations 🙂🙂
Deer of a life time
Too bad almost all the massive bucks u see anymore are on private properties and are fed antler grow and growth hormones. Then they go to Boone and Crockett or pope and young to be measured. Let an average hunter that can’t afford to lease or buy property to grow their own massive bucks find one on public property. Almost impossible.why not have a different category for those bucks
Yep, as a kid every year dad paid rent I would drool over those sheds!!!
Fine example of the so called hunters we have now. Only wanting to whine,correct someone point out where your wrong and fuss like a child over minuscule childish nothings. Why is it so hard to just say nothing if your only going to be putting down a set of antlers. I wont say grow up cause you e tried that already. Just never call yourselves sportsmen. A sportsmen compliments obeys laws shows congratulations to your fellow sportsmen. Anyone can go hunting!
You 100% hit on the head great job.
Agree 👍100%
It was lucky that both antlers of that monster buck were found together. As you all know, both antlers don’t always fall at the same time.
P.S. This is a great story for discussion, not for fighting. If we were in a war with a foreign country, we would stick together and not be fighting one another
AMEN. LOL ALL THIS ABOUT A DEER THAT SHED ITS ANTLERS AND SOMEONE FINDING THESE SHEDS, BUT READING ALL THIS IS CRAZY CANT HELP BUT LAUGH WHEN READING THIS ARTICLE DAMMIT MAN…
This is why they call Nebraska The cornhusker State. A massive Buck like this has great food stock to become the world’s biggest.
Ok not to be a iowan here but they do call us the corn state ya know, we both have very good corn crop and very big whitetails aswell.
Most whitetail hunt shows on the Outdoor Channel…”He’s a real nice buck but not the one we’ve been after…well let him grow another season…” 😂😳🦌🦌
Okay grass animals tend to feed primarily on well grass not corn 🙄
Corn is a grass
A Democrat would be as dumb as you little redneck peckerwood…lmfao at you chump
There is no correlation between corn and rack size. Corn is one of the worst foods for any animal or human to eat as far as breaking down with little protein absorbtion. Deer in the mid west are inherently bigger bodies bc they have to put on more weight for the harsh climates. Deer love it dont get me wrong, but you cant expect monster bucks on your property bc you gave a few corn feeders. Arguably artifical feeding stations make it harder to pin down a smart buck. Natural feeding habits are easier to pattern. A lot of varibles go into this though.
Beans by almost triple the amount of protein in corn,deer get much more by far in a soybean field compared to a corn field,eat less with more benefits and then they will hit the corn in the late season SCRATCHING the ground trying to get what they can.
This why I hunt Nebraska as well
Let the public hunt ur property and give everyone a chance at ur worlds biggest bucks
Assome whitetail specimen looking forward to seeing a replica maybe on one of these cables trips.
I’m 80 yrs old been hunting all my life hunting now In Webb co south Texas if a buck walked out like that I’d take him and there wouldn’t be enough toilet paper in a roll to clean my britches. Up. And that’s the truth
World record means any where in the world. True monster bucks are special weather they are from Canada or Ky. Look out the next world record might just come from my home state of Ky or it may come from Canada. Honor to see such beautiful white tails.
Look at the big non- typical from Tennessee you never know whete there at still one of the biggest
Lol….good luck fred!
Amazing simply amazing that a whitetail deer could grow such a rack. BEAUTIFUL
Nice one that’s once in a lifetime deer if u that luck
J.mac awesome buck! And a great story to go with it!
This is the kind of story we all like to read about, and sure enough the (Buck) we all dream of it rekindles the fire if you no what I mean. Good luck Hunters.
And no hunting for half a century. I bet there was some other monsters around too!
Use to drink beer and laugh at this freak looking whitetail deer hanging on the wall at kent/ canadian club bar. They would dress it up every holiday. Turns out it was the famed ” hole in the horn buck” found dead in the ravenna army arsenal. It’s worth couple hundred thousand dollars now. Jokes on me!
There could be bigger bucks out there no one knows for sure
100% monsters walking around, smarter than us and will never be tagged.
Probably would have had a heart attack if I seen it in the woods. Absolutely the most awesome looking beast I’ve ever seen.
I like the stories of some of these big bucks. Jordan buck killed by a meat hunter and rack thrown in a swamp. Later recovered by someone hearing the story.
Missouri Monarch found dead by hunter who could have claimed him but had already taken one (the most unlucky kill of his life I’m sure).
And Milo’s buck. Shot through the base and was taped so it wouldn’t break and negate the record.
Is this a real Genetic deer or a Farm raised deer let out into the wild. This hard to believe with all the deer farms and genetic breeding going on. ?
Read the story.
Well ,
It seems there could be Two or More world record Antler Categories..
Boone and Crocket Club.
Pope and Young.
Sheds ( minus spread).
Road Kill / Found .
Doesn’t matter much where they came from , its called ” World Record” for a reason.
Theyre all impressive animals mentioned.
Thanks for bringing this up. What you said is Mostly true. But B&C accepts found, road-kills and kills with any legal weapon as long as the score meets their minimums. Shed antlers have their own record book, and P&Y only accepts archery killed animals that meet their minimums.
Yes u are right and who ever decided to measure a deer and take away from the deer because one side aint as perfect as the other side is dumb in my opinion if the deer grew it count it deductions on a rack are bullshit
Wow, what people will do for a buck$
Like what for example?
A Democrat wouldn’t be as dumb as you little redneck peckerwood…lmfao at you chump
Why would it mater a whitetail is a whitetail don’t mater
Tough northern buck or a pussy warm weather buck EY
Great story, Milo Hanson has the world record whitetail an deserves it. Canada is a great place to hunt and so is the U.S..
I think we will see a new world record whitetail in the next 5 years, good luck to all you great hunters.
Ya they just quit growing at the state line damn I told them bucks not to cross state lines guess I’ll have ta tell them again,WOW.!!!!
IV GOT a Set of Sheds My Dad Found in Indiana that Scores Over 205 in 1995! A 10 Pointer! Big Bucks Are There Just GOTA Be at The Right Place at The Right Time. Randy Beck VFWs
Got any pics?
My biggest is an 8 pt scoring 169 and I do have pictures and have seen bigger by far Indiana is deer heaven but y’all can keep going elsewhere cause we don’t have a big bucks,o’chit these people make me laugh if you hunt enough your going to c big deer in Indiana everyday everywhere period ,everyone have a great Christmas and HAPPY NEW YEAR….
Congratulations to Milo Hanson on his world record Buck. It doesn’t matter where a world record white comes from. To be able to hunt such a beautiful majestic elusive animal is a blessing from above. More and more 200 inch deers are being harvested now days is because of great ethics. People are learning to let bucks grow to the right age. So always be safe hunters and good luck
As a new York upstater, hunting is in the blood. Any size buck or doe should always be a fair chase and should not be considered a throphy.
Fair chase and trophy are really the same thing. A trophy is in the eye of the beholder.
I have killed two deer in one day at a friend’s place. The first was a spike. That’s the first deer I’d ever shot. The second one is an eight point. A record for me. I’ve not been able to go hunting since then. My brother in law mounted the scull for me. It hangs on my living room wall.
That’s right.Just give me a shot at a doe or buck,as long as it’s not this year’s baby.As for those hunters who are “trophy” hunters,you can’t eat those antlers ! I hunt for the meat
I always get a kick of of people who call themselves meat hunters and think they are better than people who hold out for a mature deer, but when a nice buck steps out, they about pee their pants and can’t wait to shoot it and brag that they are a great hunter.
What a powerful neck he must have had to hold proudly that ‘CROWN’ UP HIGH! I ONLY EVER CAUGHT BUCK FEVER ONE TIME! (and it is a real thing when you cant stop your leg from bouncing up & down) , imagine having such a thing in your sights standing broad side @ 30 YARDS! And how you would kick yourself the rest of your life for missing the shot! Been there done that! Followed a batch of bucks for 5 years . 19 of them. Two got hit by cars. But came on them srccond day after opening day. They all stop there looking at me, but as long as there was a tree between us they were ok. And the two ‘MAKERS OF THE BLOODLINE’ WERE in front of them all! At last tree they were only 25 yds. The 2 were like 55 gal drums on legs. Each antler was a good 6″ wider them their offspring. Which is what I ended up with scoring 220
Either of the two would have been close to 300! The hardest drag I ever hear to do withy buddy helping with other antler! What a great hunt that one was
I’ve actually held the rack in person I couldn’t imagine shooting such a deer pictures do not do it justice
If that buck was the biggest world record then why shoot the buck? keep it beautiful let it enjoy nature and the world
When you learn to read, then read the story.
Ha ha! Unfortunately you will never understand.
Let’s go over a little bit once again. Because of hunters, there is funding to pay for conservation and habitat management. Hunters care about conservation and healthy herds far more than people like you because they are active in doing the work and paying a lot of money to take care of the environment where they live. It is not like the 1400’s. There are a lot of people in the world that encroach upon these animals space. People just like you. Without mans help, starvation and disease is more than a possibility. Nature is far more cruel than man has ever been.
But then again, there are people like you who do nothing to preserve the herds or habitat. You continue to believe that watching Disney is the way to understand nature. You just like some others need to educate yourself.
Good response.
Agree %100
Anyone who says they wouldn’t shoot this trophy is an idiot. Imagine all the deer this size that have been killed with a spotlight that no one has ever known about 🧐 We should respect meat hunters until they pass on a doe to shoot a 1.5 year old buck.
I would of let him walk least another step or two
Well he died of old age soooo…
They ain’t seen Waldo
WOW EVERY ONE HAS 2 ARGUE OVER 2 BONES GET OVER IT BUT I GUESS THAT’S HOW JEALOUSY JUST TEARS AT PEOPLE,CANT WE ALL JUST ENJOY THE STORY AND GO ON WITH THERE LIFE ITS BOUT THAT TIME OF YEAR GO OUT AND FIND YOUR OWN SHEDS JUST MAYBE YOU WILL FIND SOME BIGGER YOU NEVER KNOW.IS IT REALLY WORTH ARGUING ABOUT ITS CHRISTMAS, EVERY ONE ENJOY THE HOLIDAY SEASON.
Everyone Have a Great
Christmas 🎄
And A Happy New YEAR!!
🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌
There’s Enough For ALL
OF US…….ENJOY..