Typically, hunters imagine tracking and then shooting a record-setting buck, but in non-typical fashion, the Missouri state record for the non-typical whitetail deer was simply found by the side of the road on private property. This buck set not only a state record but also a world record, which it has held for four and a half decades.
Nearly 100 years before this discovery, in 1887, Theodore Roosevelt and others founded the Boone and Crockett Club for the purposes of conservation and wildlife management. This group also sets guidelines for and maintains trophy hunting records for big game animals, including whitetail deer. Often, it is assumed that what garners a trophy record is the body size or weight of an animal; au contraire, the Boone and Crockett Club awards recognition for score given to the size and complexity of a set of antlers in two categories: typical and non-typical.
Antlers are scored using the score chart from the Boone and Crockett Club. Antlers on a typical whitetail deer follow a standard pattern, defined by symmetrical tines and evenly spaced points, and a typical score above 170 is in all-time record territory. Non-typical antlers deviate from this standard in quite unique ways, creating stunning, strange shapes and often racking up very high scores. Non-typical scores over 195 are considered all-timers by the Boone and Crockett Club.
Measurements and counts are taken of the individual elements on the antlers: the number of points on the antlers, the width of the main beam spread of the antlers from tip to tip, the inside spread, the length of the main beam, the length of the points, and the circumference between points. The data are calculated according to a formula outlined on the score chart to provide a final score.
The largest non-typical whitetail deer scored 333-7/8, and the carcass was found by the side of the road on private property in 1981.
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On November 15, 1981, hunter David Beckman found the non-typical rack in northern St. Louis County, Missouri, only moments after conservation agent Michael Helland had checked and sealed Beckman’s own kill. Beckman called Helland back to the scene since the animal was on private property. The agent received permission to recover the carcass, and it did not appear to have been shot.
The picked-up buck’s final score was 333-7/8, and the final resting place for the antlers is with the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Ten years earlier in 1971 and from 10 yards away, Larry W. Gibson shot a buck with his .308 rifle hoping to fill his freezer. What he got was a full freezer of high-protein meat, a Missouri state record, and a No. 3 world record for that typical whitetail deer. The rack scored 205. He sold the antlers to the Missouri Show-Me Big Bucks Club for $200, and they are now owned by Bass Pro Shops.
