DAYTON — The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife said recently another record-setting deer has been harvested in southwestern Ohio.
The 18-point nontypical (nonsymmetrical antlered) deer, taken by Brian Stephens Nov. 30 with a muzzleloader in Highland County, was officially scored Jan. 30.
Waiting
Brian Stephens, with friends and family by his side, excitedly awaited the official score Jan. 30 in Xenia. The buck was scored by Mike Wendel, David Haney and Ron Perrine, certified scorers with Buckeye Big Bucks Club.
Gary Trent, Buckeye Big Bucks Club president, said the score as 232 5/8, which certified it as the new state record.
The Highland County deer is the largest nontypical rack ever taken with a muzzleloader in Ohio history, beating out the 2004 record of 225. The 35 1/8 inch left main beam is a Boone and Crockett largest ever recorded and the right main bean measured 34 1/8 inches.
Marty Murphy of the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association said the score will be recognized as the largest ever in Ohio according to the association’s Longhunter Big Game Record Book.
World Classics
This animal will also be a record for World Classics in the men’s muzzleloading category, according to Dan Stapleton. The World Classics scoring system does not include deductions, and the main beam outside spread measurement is added.
Under these scoring criteria, Stephens’ buck scores 252 0/8.
“Deer hunting in Ohio continues to prove to be world-class,” said Todd Haines, ODNR Division of Wildlife District Five manager. “We are seeing the benefits of a successful whitetail deer management program.”
Other records
Brian Stephens’ deer is one more to add to Ohio’s record books. In the last decade, southwest Ohio has been the setting for numerous records including:
The Beatty buck, harvested in Greene County in the fall of 2000 by Mike Beatty, holds the record for nontypical at 304 6/8 and currently ranks as the No. 1 nontypical buck in Ohio, the largest nontypical whitetail deer ever taken by a bow hunter.
A typical white-tailed deer killed by Brad Jerman in 2004 in Warren County, known as the Jerman buck, became an Ohio record with a score of 201 1/8.
In 2006 a world-class buck was harvested by Jonathan Schmucker in Adams County. The deer was scored at 34-point nontypical, 291 2/8 Boone and Crockett and 305 7/8 World Classics.
Also in 2006 the Metzner buck, harvested by Justin Metzner, scored 196 6/8 which positioned it to be the second largest deer harvested with a compound bow in Ohio; the fifth largest typical deer taken in the world in the Pope and Young record book; and Buckmaster’s seventh all-time typical white-tailed deer harvested with a compound bow.
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