biggest deer killed in kentucky 2021

"Don't move. On our way back to the truck one day, we came across a scrape at the bottom of a really steep drainage. This makes for heavy hunting pressure and many deer become nocturnal at an early age. In January we got one picture of him, nearly two miles from where wed found his previous years sheds. Conservation law enforcement officer Sgt. Hunting July 28, 2021 1 Five Underrated Areas for Kentucky Public Land Deer Hunting by John Stepp Pennyrile State Forest Size: 14,379 acres Location: Christian & Caldwell Counties Total Harvest 2020: 79 Bucks: 56 Does: 23 Terrain: Moderate to Hard; Most hunting areas consists of hills and ridges Afterward, Reed's father and brother-in-law helped him recover the buck and get it out of the field. ), It took me a long time to get over to the deer, he says. Words cannot describe the image of him coming in.". He spotted this giant in person for the first time in 2019, but didnt close the gap. The 360 Buckhammer cartridge is designed for lever-action rifles and will be available in two Remington Core-Lokt loads. We hunted the area every chance we could, trying not to bump him. I had no shot whatsoever.. After several tense minutes, he finally offered a broadside, 30-yard shot opportunity. Read Next: 10 Amazing Photos of a Buck Shedding Velvet. He saw only two deer that evening: A 3-year-old buck traveling with the big 4.5-year-old he was hoping to see. When hunting season came around, we never got another picture of him. 02:00. Total Harvest Results. (Settle has a medical exemption to use a crossbow during archery season because of a herniated disk in his neck. Available in 180- and 200-grain sizes. One of the best messages we received was from a local woman saying she may have found three of Sasquatchs sheds while squirrel hunting. He was real broken up last year, but we knew if he could make it through the winter that he would be something special. Then, on August 28, 2020, weeks before the archery season opened, the buck visited Settles property for the last time in a long while. During the summer of 2021, we had several pictures of Sasquatch, and he was still impressive. Derek Settle solo hunted a monster buck thats sure to make the record books and is quite possibly the biggest buck ever taken in Kentuckya state that is known for its booners. Read Next: How to Tag a Velvet Whitetail Buck (and the Best States to Make It Happen). That afternoon, he used HuntStand to check the wind and went back to the same stand, feeling optimistic since the buck had walked through there the previous afternoon. "It became a yearly tradition for me," he said. I worked nearly six years at Mossy Oak Productions filming hunts all over the country. It was also the opening of dove season, and after climbing into the stand, he heard gunshots everywhere. Settle says the. Reed has owned the farm he hunts for eight years and has spent a lot of time developing it into what it is. The deer jumped, and then walked back into cover. Dad told me to climb down and make sure he was dead. We began looking for sheds daily again, grid searching the 3000-plus acres. So, now that you have a brief history of LBL, here is the story of the buck we named Sasquatch.. Harvest Comparison by Year. Many deer end up bedding on the end of big ridges, which are everywhere, and this makes it difficult to pattern them. The sun came up and we finally saw a deer around 7:00 a.m. Three does passed through, and then I heard Dad say, Big buck, big buck.. Then he retrieved his gear from the blind returned home to pick up his 16- and 18-year-old boys, who Settle calls his little tracking dogs. They went back to look for the buck. "As I walked to my stand, I used my rangefinder to range my tree at 50, 40, 30, and 20 yards. He hadnt heard of any other hunters tagging him, and news of such a giant buck would certainly spread quickly. At 200+ inches, Huffman's deer becomes the new Kentucky state record for typical bucks taken with a crossbow. After she passed away, he quickly picked up the 5-acre lot and moved his family into a two-story log home on the property. He was still in early velvet, but I could just tell he had a lot going on under all that fuzz., The deer returned to the mineral plot at different parts of the day for nearly six weeks. With lessons learned from past seasons, Beach was excited when a familiar buck started showing up on his trail camera this summer. Personal defense in the hunting woods could involve taking down a charging bear. An intensive, four-year pursuit of an elusive buck dubbed "Sasquatch" at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area (LBL) ended in celebratory tears, hugs, and shared joy between father and son. However, Ladner said what was most impressive was the mass. "It was emotional because this was [my girlfriend's] uncle's old stand. Browning's Rafę Nielsen shares details on the new X-Bolt Pro LR McMillan hunting rifle with Game & Fish Editorial Director Adam Heggenstaller at SHOT Show 2023 in Las Vegas. Here are there stories of those giant bucks. One of the things Kentucky deer hunters look forward to is hunting velvet bucks. I drive down the bypass all the time and me and my cousin once counted 10 in that grew up ditch at one time. That looks like a wood pile on his head! Winchester's Nathan Robinson talks features with Game & Fish Editorial Director Adam Heggenstaller at SHOT Show 2023 in Las Vegas. After giving the deer plenty of time, the Arkenaus took up the blood trail, and found the buck. 2019-2020 Total Harvest Summary 148,395 deer were harvested during the 2019-20 deer season, which is the second highest harvest on record. Kentucky hunter Daniel Deckard didnt expect to start his deer season with an injury, but thats exactly what happened. Find Your Arrows and Broadhead. Gordon Whittington talks with Steven Sprout about the trophy buck he took back in 1998 while bowhunting public land in Illinois. We would share trail camera pictures with each other and talk about the deer, Kline says. I just wanted to see what it was like in that stand a few hours before dark.". Hes so much bigger in person. Then, after a while, he saw the giant. Give a Gift On Saturday, Dad and Luke hunted together with me and Jason in other trees within the same area. While checking one of the cameras, Dad saw a mature deer cross a saddle. The broadhead struck true, and the giant bolted for cover. A cold front passed through, and Taylor expected deer to be on their feet. However, after now reading Facebook comments and seeing photos of his deer that were posted on the page of an Indiana deer preserve, one thing is clear: Someone is not telling the truth. He taught me all the rights and wrongs, dos and donts, and how to be safe in the field, Settle says. On the afternoon of opening day, Beach climbed into his treestand and settled in for his hunt. Four of the county's 11 biggest deer were shot during the past five seasons. We didnt want anyone to know about him. My stand was in the top of a tall cedar tree with a good view of the soybean field.". You are using an out of date browser. Post anything thread - piss n on lefties version. Its a moment that will be very hard to top and a memory that will last a lifetime. Before we interviewed Settle, we confirmed with Kentucky Fish and Wildlife that the buck had been checked in as being killed and tagged in Kentucky on telecheck. One afternoon Dad hunted a nasty thicket, and right at dusk a big buck came in to hit the scrape. Eastons first deer 2021 Posted: 3/19/2022. Thats the time Id [historically] get the most pictures of him.. He was an impressive 160-inch 12-pointer. Deer began moving and, later in the day, movement really began to pick up. His sons took some good deer as well. Eventually, the music stopped and the shotgun blasts faded. The sighting wasnt far from where we had some trail camera pictures of the giant, so we decided this was where we would go for the quota hunt. Harvest Comparison by Month. It worked out, though. This was a great accomplishment considering how many other people hunt sheds in LBL. How many deer were killed in Kentucky 2019? Much to his surprise, the deer returned this summer. By last summer the giant buck had grown an even more impressive rack. We put out cameras that summer covering the best spots over a 1000-acre area. By summer 2020, we had several more pictures of him, and Sasquatch continued to grow. I rarely hunt with a firearm.". I was able to get a perfect shot within a few seconds.". He suspected the deer was dead somewhere on the sanctuary property. It was so bad that my dad would take his sheds off the mantle and hide them if we had company. What is the Most Important Factor in Whitetail Nutrition? 2023 Outdoor Sportsman Group. Hornady's Seth Swerczek goes in depth about the new cartridge with Game & Fish Editorial Director Adam Heggenstaller at SHOT Show 2023 in Las Vegas. Date of Kill: Aug. 22, 2021. On opening afternoon, the buck walked in front of Deckards fathers hunting blind, but he wasnt there to kill it. Hornady's Seth Swerczek goes in depth about the new cartridge with Game & Fish Editorial Director Adam Heggenstaller at SHOT Show 2023 in Las Vegas. He is truly special. Kirkpatrick scrambled to get ready for deer season. During the summer of 2019 we started getting pictures of him, but we never received pictures in the daylight. Subscribe to OL+ for our best feature stories and photography. As Herman got older, he turned into a bona fide giant. We know he traveled further than that, but he spent most of his time in this area. The velvet buck is his best archery buck to date, and one he wont soon forget. After that season, he decided to focus all his energy on hunting that deer. Among the accomplishments includes the recently concluded Save the Habitat, Save the Hunt initiative, which in 10 years conserved or enhanced 5.3 million acres of critical wildlife habitat, recruited 1.5 million new or lapsed hunters, and opened new access to 750,000 acres for hunting and recreation. The large soybean field was surrounded by hardwoods, and he was hunting on a peninsula of timber that protruded out into the field. Available in 180- and 200-grain sizes. Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. I couldnt tell if he was on my side of the property line or the neighbors. Access the newest seasons of MeatEater, save content, and join in discussions with the Crew and others in the MeatEater community. It was broadside and slightly quartering away from Settle. That was four years ago. There are some giants out there especially the 300" deer at the end of this video. In rare cases, wild whitetails can live for 20 years or more. Land Between the Lakes (LBL) is a 170,000-acre peninsula between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley, with 110,000 of those acres being in Kentucky. I knew this would mean a lot to him. I hadnt really realized what Id done because the hunt was so intense. (Photos courtesy of Jamison Standard and Casey Reed). We continued looking for the other side but never found it. I was so mad about last year, Kline says. When the buck walked through an opening, and the younger Deckard shotand missed. seizing and destroying hunter-killed deer brought in . Key features include muzzle velocities of 2,215-2,400 fps. It was seen last year in the area as well. Full story on this beast coming soon from Dean Weimer, more I look at that rack, what a buck. Josh Carter killed this massive non-typical buck in Logan County on Halloween 2021. We are still blown away that we killed Sasquatch. Features quick-change barrel system. Andy Beshear told . He just disappeared, Settle says. Six weeks before the opener, he fell from a 12-foot ladder stand, and broke or fractured his wrists, ribs, and ankles. That got that bucks attention, recalls Settle. In this edition of "From The Stand," Pat Hogan explains the importance of being aware of proper clearance when using your bow or crossbow out in the field. Weve had him on camera for several years and watched him grow up, Womack said. (Photo courtesy of Jacob Carnine) I looked up at Dad and with tears in our eyes we went crazy, and we said a prayer thanking God for this opportunity. We had one camera left, so we decided to put it up by the scrape. I used that to stay in the bucks blind spot. He quickly recognized the big typical, and watched as it walked all the way to within 15 yards. Jamison Standard started getting trail-camera photos of a huge buck just a week before deer season and started scouting diligently to try and determine a pattern. Fast forward to January. Some were saying 230 or 240 pts. Huff is just fine with the slow pace of life in the country. Just $1 per month , Jason Kline spent years chasing a giant non-typical buck he had named Herman. It started with a friend of ours getting one trail camera picture of him in December 2017. A creek rippled along behind the blind. I was thinking, Do I keep hunting this giant? Kline says. Gordon Whittington heads north to his personal Missouri farm for some crossbow action. His rack was just the icing on the cakeitll never happen again to me.. Standard exercised patience, though, and waited for the giant to appear. To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow.com and learn how to access your digital magazine. He was a pretty regular deer coming in the evenings ever since, Keating said. I kind of got out of it for a while because I went to college and lived in the city, but I made it back out into the country and got back into it. He shared the good news with them, and then met them at his house nearby. The new 7mm Precision Rifle Cartridge from Hornady is available in three loads (160 gr. "I was doing everything I could on short notice with food plots, cameras and cleaning up stands," Kirkpatrick said. He climbed down and walked over to the downed deer. Gov. He climbed down to look for blood and his arrow but couldnt find any sign that the buck had been hit. Deer. While in the hospital, he learned about the temporary crossbow permit for injured and disabled hunters. Of course, since the deer was so visible, everyone in the area knew of him and wanted a crack at the giant. However, that isnt always the case. Nathan Simmons of Browning and Game & Fish's John Taranto take a closer look at both cartridges at SHOT Show 2023 in Las Vegas. All the while, a 162-inch deer showed up on a different farm. I was hoping Id maybe see him again. It stretched the tape to 179 inches. This year, while Saturday's number of 20,263 was lower, hunters made up for that on Sunday with 12,126 deer harvested, for a total of 32,389. Its unclear when the buck escaped, but Keating started getting pictures of it on September 11. After our interview with Settle, we were confident that his story was true. Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. It even inspired him to write a song. I hate to see a great one taken out by a car. Browning Ammunition has two big-game hunting loads new for 2023 that are effective on a wide range of species: the Max Point and Silver Series. By mid-October, he was gone. Then, they spotted a trace of blood on the top of a beanstalk. After the mandatory drying period, the rack scored an incredible 312-0/8. I thought, Thats not a rack. Thinking his hunt was over, he started to climb down, then decided against it. Winchester's new Big Bore ammo, available in 10 mm, .44 Mag., .357 Mag., and .45 Colt, is specifically designed for big bears in bear country. Give a Gift In the beginning, the deer was mostly typical, but that changed with time. Guner Womack, a teen out of Oklahoma, arrowed this incredible 88 buck last night while hunting over a wheat field. It stretched the tape to 179 inches. Subscribe to OL+ for our best feature stories and photography. I figured he took off. The giant buck hit and killed by a vehicle at Fort Campbell, located in western Kentucky, on July 27 was still putting on bone as evidence by these huge antlers covered in velvet. It turned out the deer was on a steady evening routine.". He was by far the smartest deer we have ever pursued. So, on opening weekend, he moved in and hunted along a promising ridge line. The big velvet buck ran a few steps, tangled its antlers in a tree, and collapsed. Ed Arkenau, his son, and their friend Cole had hundreds of trail camera photos of a particular buck in 2019, 2020, and 2021. "I havent seen one sign of a deer. However, his obsession and hard work were ultimately what put us on Sasquatch. On the third day, the buck didnt show at all. I heard the same story as you. I know this buck being harvested out of one of his stands would have made his day. He grew again and was a 200-incher with some serious mass. Subscriber Services. But the buck took a full step to the right. Closer to dark, more does entered the field, then the big 150-inch buck the giant was with the day before stepped out. GILBERT, W.Va . I knew that if I would get the opportunity, I didnt want to be all out of breath and shaky., He stopped for a longer break around 55 yards from the buck. Oklahoma's bow hunters have killed some big bucks already this young archery season, but perhaps the most impressive so far has been Johnny Maxwell's 28-point whitetail from Stephens County. The hunt started with sightings of two does and three fawns. They use the clearing to get back and forth between the ag-fields and the hardwoods., Settle got to work setting up mineral and food plots and installing several permanent stands. I thank God that I got to experience the hunt with my dad and to celebrate it with my wonderful family. I made a little compilation of some big Ohio brutes. We knew Sasquatch was big, but to have our hands on his rack was a completely different story. CX Outfitter, 180 gr. This year, on opening day, Reed got the southwest wind he needed and decided to hunt a hilly ridgetop. That would be the only time Kline ever spotted the buck from the stand. LBL is also home to a wide variety of recreational activities. (Photo by Chase Geary). Nathan Simmons of Browning and Game & Fish's John Taranto take a closer look at both cartridges at SHOT Show 2023 in Las Vegas. I hunt a little patch amid the several hundred acres, Herman says. Ultimately, Jacob scored with a rifle during a quota hunt in November. Still, he and others regularly glassed the giant out in the open on the big farm that wouldnt allow hunting . Conservation officers said if you see something, say something. In October, the stud disappeared. The rifle has five caliber offerings, two barrel choices and three different riser stocks. I looked around a little bit and something caught my eye. Marlin is back in the game with the re-introduction of the classic 336 and 1894 lever-action hunting rifles. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets. This big buck had historically spent the early and late seasons on the Arkenaus property, and spent the rut elsewhere. A couple hours later, he and his father recovered the buck 90 yards from where Mattingly had shot the big velvet buck. Then, the big deer came back out, now concealed by a bunch of weeds. Eric Lundgren of Ruger, which now owns Marlin, highlights the features of both rifles with Game & Fish Editorial Director Adam Heggenstaller at SHOT Show 2023 in Las Vegas. People in Limestone County noticed, and so did law enforcement. I immediately had my gun up and the safety off. The non-typical green scored 211 and was the largest buck by far taken by Maxwell in his 40-plus years of deer hunting. "When walking to my stand, I crossed through the soybeans to avoid the edge of the woods where they may have been bedded or would cross my path coming out of the woods," Standard said. Here are there stories of those giant bucks. There has been a group of does hanging out across from Kroger for a couple years but I figured they had moved on since all the construction started. Settles biological father, Terry, passed away earlier this year. I never told a soul about him. All thanks to the good Lord above.". Upon walking up on the deer, Standard raised the buck's head from the soybeans and immediately realized how big it was. We then went to the entrance of LBL to get a picture with the Land Between the Lakes sign and Sasquatch. "I've got close to an hour and a half before dark," Kirkpatrick said to Moore. To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow.com and learn how to access your digital magazine. Joe Lacefield's velvet monster green-scored 179 inches. 3,757 likes. They waited a few hours before blood trailing and didn't find any blood or the arrow within the first 15 minutes of the search. It was Dads biggest LBL deer ever, a 170-inch buck that we had two years of sheds from, but it wasnt the deer he was after. By mid-October he was gone again, so we started scouting the area with cameras trying to find him. It may not display this or other websites correctly. When the deer ranch contacted me, they asked about the deer I shot and wondered where I shot it, Keating said in an interview with MeatEater. Giant bucks on opening day were taken by Kentucky bowhunters Jamison Standard and Casey Reed. But the average age of deer, especially bucks, depends a lot on the choices hunters make. CNN . Kentucky produces some fine bucks year after year. Features quick-change barrel system. - Big Deer Previous Next Kentucky Giant Buck, 226 Inches! A couple friends helped Taylor recover the deer. The window is short, usually lasting only five to 10 days, but those who work hard to pattern deer during the pre-season have a great chance of tagging a good buck. The buck ran about 50 yards and died in the brush. That summer, Dad ordered a topo map of Sasquatchs core area, which was about 3,000 acres. While Deckard had hoped his father would be the one to kill the big velvet buck, they were both just glad a Deckard had tagged him. Jacob Carnine, along with his family, hunted this 193-inch giant for five years on public land in Kentucky. Geo resource failed to load. Hiking, biking, fishing and small game hunting are all very popular. "I had never had a deer quite this size before on the farm.". I've filmed a lot of deer hunts. June 28th, 2013 | Big Deer Stories, BigDeer | 2 Comments Dustin Finley tells me his dad, Larry, killed this deer in Pendleton Co, KY on 11-11-12; they measured him at 226 7/8. The 360 Buckhammer cartridge is designed for lever-action rifles and will be available in two Remington Core-Lokt loads. This winter, he found the bucks rack, By Lacefield slowly drew back. Jason Kline shows off the beast that he hunted for nearly a decade. Kline had never killed a deer that big. More than 300,000 Hoosiers are sitting in their deer stands, looking for their dream buck this hunting season. Tag already filled; Kline couldnt help but wonder what had happened to Herman. Soon after settling into the stand, deer began moving. East ky. Strutter said: This buck was killed yesterday in Richmond in front of Krogers. Kline hunts Sandusky County, Ohio, which is located in the northwestern region of the state. He hit the woods on Sept. 25 in hopes of arrowing the big buck he had on camera. The 25-point deer may be impressive, however the way it was killed, is not.