I’m not sure what drives hunters, including myself, to be so enamored with those beautiful, heavy antlers carried atop deer and their cervid relatives. Even so, I’m certain that the feelings aren’t new. They surely find their roots in times long before written language, with the elegantly rough paintings found scattered on rock walls across the continents, journalizing those ancient hunts.
The shaman’s prehistoric beat still lingers in our hearts, and our breath still catches at the majesty of what we see. While the hunt continues to bring meat to the table, just as it has throughout history, the antlers draw many to endless hours of woods-wandering and study.
I believe it’s an acknowledgment of the dominant buck’s ability to survive and become an authoritarian presence in his own kingdom. Those antlers signify strength, longevity and the power to defend its domain and the bravery to ward off predators.
Eventually, it will lose its place to a younger rival, an accident, disease or possibly a hunter, whether two or four-legged. That’s the way of his world, but he won’t disappear. His history is written in the DNA of his offspring who will someday challenge rivals for their place in their wooded kingdoms.
Ohio’s Buckeye Big Buck Club
Ohio’s Buckeye Big Buck Club was created in 1957 to celebrate the many fine buck deer that have been collected by hunters throughout the state and the stories that are carried with them. Their records add a bit of immortality to the hunting experience and to the whitetail deer they celebrate.
The organization was founded by Merrill Gilfillan who served as a biologist for the Ohio Division of Wildlife and who also doubled down as an outdoor writer. His goal was simple: to increase the appreciation and understanding of the state’s then minimal, but expanding, deer herd.
Buckeye Big Buck Club strives to encourage wise management of this valued resource, while also promoting building positive relationships between hunters and landowners. They also promote trophy hunting, a practice that sometimes garners undeserved negative connotations.
Trophy hunting is very selective and allows many smaller, younger bucks and does to pass by a hunter’s stand without harvest; deer that in all likelihood carry the genes of the very deer the hunter hopes to take. If trophy hunting has a fault, it can actually be the lack of harvest in certain areas and situations. Poaching, illegal hunting methods and habitat degradation are far larger concerns when managing big game populations.
Each year, Buckeye Big Bucks uses the scoring system developed by the Boone and Crockett Club to measure and honor record-worthy deer. A “typical” antlered deer must score a 140 while a “non-typical” will need to measure at least a 160 for inclusion in the records.
Today, the Buckeye Big Buck Club works closely with the Division of Wildlife in tabulating Ohio’s deer harvest by making the searchable list available on the division’s website at https://apps.ohiodnr.gov/wildlife/bigbuck. To learn more about the Buckeye Big Bucks Club, visit http://buckeyebigbuckclub.org, and if you find yourself in need of an official scorer for your buck, visit: http://www.buckeyebigbuckclub.org/findascorer.html.
So, who holds the top-spots in each category for the 21,517 record book bucks recorded in the annals of Ohio Big Bucks history? Remember that “overall” scores are separated by typical and non-typical designations. Let’s take a look!
Typical buck records
Crossbow: Brad Jerman, of Springboro, Ohio, was using a crossbow in 2004 when he bagged the biggest typical buck ever taken by a hunter in the state in Warren County, scoring a most impressive 201.125 inches.
Longbow: Jerman’s buck doesn’t stand alone at the pinnacle of the typical harvest records. William D. Kontras, of Springfield, Ohio, tied that record — or should we say Jerman tied his? Kontras’ deer was taken 18-years earlier in 1986, in Clark County, also scoring exactly the same score of 201.125.
Straight-walled rifle: Tim Newman of Galena, Ohio, shot his buck in 2022 in Morrow County, and it ranks number four on the trophy list. With a score of 196.75 — it must have been a proud moment.
Modern shotgun: Hunting with a shotgun during Ohio’s gun season was the rule for many years. It’s not surprising that John D. Daugherty, of Wooster, Ohio, had chosen that hunting implement when he took to the woods in 2006, in Wayne County. His buck scores in at number six overall and measured 193.125.
Handgun: Most wildlife officers don’t run into many deer hunters using a handgun, and the records seem to bear that out. Curt McBride, of Bellville, Ohio, was one of the minority to choose a handgun during the 1991 season when he grounded a nice buck in Richland County scoring 170.75. It holds the 581st spot in the overall typical buck records.
Muzzleloader: Kenny Pickard, of Wilmington, Ohio, was hunting during the 2006 season when he used his front-stuffer to anchor his buck in Clinton County which currently ranks seventh in the overall records. It scored a very nice 192.375.
Women hunters: While men do outnumber the women in the hunting field, women remain the fastest growing group who are joining these outdoor experiences. Ellen Turner, of Bethel, Ohio, was hunting with a longbow in 2014 when she harvested the 123rd largest typical buck in the records in Brown County, scoring in at 180.25 inches.
Honorable mention: I’ll give an honorable mention to my local state respresentative of District 83, Ty Matthews. He has one in the record books for Hancock County, which he bagged in 2020, with a crossbow. The typical rack scored a very nice 140.63 points and ranks 16,615 of the Ohio typical bucks recorded with the Buckeye Big Bucks Club.
Non-typical buck records
Crossbow: Jonathan Schmucker, of Peebles, Ohio, was using his crossbow during the 2006 deer season when he came upon the second largest deer in Adams County to land in the score book. That big-boy scored a very nice 295.375.
Longbow: Ohio is well known for harboring some big bucks, and it seems that one of their favorite haunts is in Greene County and its neighbors. Michael Beatty, of Xenia, Ohio, proved it by arrowing the current number one non-typical buck in the record books in Greene County. It’s score of 304.75 is going to be a tough one to better. The record has been at the top since 2000.
Modern shotgun: This record is standing the test of time, holding its number five on the non-typical list and best in the “shotgun class” since 1971. That’s 54 years of bragging rights. Charles T. Veach, of Columbus, Ohio, bagged the buck in Pike County, which scored an impressive 261.625 inches.
Handgun: 1989 was one of the first years that handgun hunting for deer was approved for Ohio hunters. William R. Allen, of Defiance, Ohio, took advantage of that opportunity in Williams County and his buck remains as the largest non-typical rack taken with a pistol, scoring 222.0 inches and landing as the 74th largest overall.
Muzzleloader: Kaleb Watson, of Leesburg, Ohio, was hunting during the 2016 season with his muzzleloader when he tagged out in Highland County. His buck scored 240.0, placing it as the 23rd largest non-typical buck.
Straight-walled rifle: This, the newest of the legal firearms that are permitted during the statewide gun season, is quickly replacing the slug-firing shotgun. They have a lot going for them: plenty of hunting punch, less expensive to shoot and gentler on the shoulder. Carson Putnam, of Frankfort, Ohio, currently holds the record for a rifle-harvested, non-typical deer in Ross County. His buck scored 237.625 inches and holds the 25th spot.
Women: Nicole Wolf, of Chillicothe, Ohio, joined the fun in the woods during the 2005 deer season. Using a longbow, she was rewarded with a very nice buck which holds the 384th place for a non-typical harvest in Ross County. It scored 198.5 inches and would make any hunter very proud.
Oldest record: The oldest record on file was a buck taken in Scioto County during 1943 by Howard Maham, of Wheelersburg, Ohio. It scored a respectable 155.00 and ranks 4,535th in the records.
While these bucks will remain as Ohio Big Buck records, all of their placement is up for grabs. You know what they say about records … they’re made to be broken. Ohio’s statewide archery season opens Sept. 27, so you better get to scouting!
“Maybe stalking the woods is as vital to the human condition as playing music or putting words to paper. Maybe hunting has as much of a claim on our civilized selves as anything else. After all, the earliest forms of representational art reflect hunters and prey. While the arts were making us spiritually viable, hunting did the heavy lifting of not only keeping us alive, but inspiring us. To abhor hunting is to hate the place from which you came, which is akin to hating yourself in some distant, abstract way.”
— Steven Rinella
