My Buck of a Lifetime (long and pic heavy)

My brother-in-law, Southtexascracker posted here several times from his iphone over the weekend to report a big buck down in Live Oak County. As Cracker explained, we had passed this buck for several years hoping that with the right combination of age and rain he might become something really special. He disappeard the last few weeks of the season last year, so we were thrilled when he showed up on several trail cams in October. Friday night and early Saturday morning we talked strategy and decided to focus on two areas. Cracker graciously insisted that I hunt the spot that was more likely to produce and, sure enough, he came in. It took me a good 30 minutes to calm down enough for a shot. The big bruiser went 125 yards deep into the brush with a 180 grain 300 WM through the chest. Walking up on this deer was honestly one of the most exciting experiences of my life.

Here is what I saw when we finally reached the end of the blood trail.



Field photo op (one of many!)



Celebrating back at the house with Cracker





We scored him at 172 1/4 and the boys in Pearsall came up with 172 6/8s (netted 167.5). He was also aged at 6.5 years old by the taxidermist. My prior best was a beautiful 143 incher.



I'll be spending the rest of the season (hell, maybe the rest of my hunting career) taking out does, culls and scouting out the next big boy for Cracker or my other best family hunting bud, Curtis. Cracker and Curtis scored LC jackets in 2007 and 2008, respectively.

Great story and and phenominal buck! Congratulations

Great buck congrats

that's a great story of what can happen when you let em walk a few years awsome deer

thats a super buck!


way to go!

Congrats! It's a great feeling isn't it?

Awesome deer... congrats..

Wow!

Incredible buck, congratulations !!

Outstanding. Congrats to everyone involved!

CB

That is a beautiful buck. Contracts!

Superbuck

That is an awesome buck congrats!

amazing deer dude!!!

Well deserved trophy.

Congrats.

AWESOME BUCK


It's always good when a plan comes together

What a buck! Congrats.

Congrats on an awesome buck!

Absolutely awesome buck, congrats on a true trophy!

wow he is a dandy. Big Congrats out to you. How long were the main beams and is that G3 approaching 13"?

Awesome buck and a great story!!

Very nice!

Great story and deer. Congrats.

Nice Buck

A jacket earned and deserved......

Management Pays dividends

Wow. Awesome buck.

Congrats.

Wow. Great buck.

Great buck and glad you were rewarded for your patience!

WOW

That is an amazing buck. Great job!

Really nice deer.

congrats

great buck!!!!

Congratulations!!!!

Nice buck, cool that your brother was so willing to let you have the better crack at him. That's not just a good story, but a good demonstration of what family is about.

That is an AWESOME deer. Congrats. Too bad it wasn't another 2.5 inches longer. (that's what she said)

Man I want to stab you! Just kidding of course,a little jealous I suppose. The way it sounds around your families ranch down there it may not be the buck of a lifetime. 4 boones in 3 years? You guys definitely have some great genetics, got any pics from the buck killed by the leasee's? Great buck and glad you found him, can you imagine the sickness to follow if you couldn't find him!

Super buck.. thanks for sharing.

dude, great buck, congrats.

EXCELLENT!!!

awsome buck!

Here's a pic of the buck they killed across the fence from us. They had him in the low-mid 170s and the taxi came up with 168 1/8 gross. This thing had over 39 inches in mass, which is unheard of in our area. Helluva buck!



Thanks to everyone for all the comments. I'm still smiling ear to ear. A couple of you were interested in measurements. The MBs were 23.5 and 24.5, roughly, and the G3s were 12 inches each. Spread was 20 inches inside.

wow.

truly a lifetime buck
sincerest congratulations..

You forgot to tell everybody that these 2 monsters were killed on a low fence ranch!!! Great bucks! Your bucks horns are big but that stud had a body too by the way the pics look.

Congrats.....very nice buck!!

we wouldn't have it any other way. Genetics do play a role, but we've also put many years, if not decades, worth of work into selective harvest of undesireables, ratio improvement, habitat control and supplemental feeding. When I was a kid, forkhorns were good deer, and a small 8 pt was something really special. And now we are consistently harvesting 160"+ deer. Anyone can do it with the right mix of patience and hard work. Textbook management story.

Great monster. I am jealous. I hope I ever see one like it or close to it.

Quick update...

The 60 day drying period is over, so yesterday I met with a B&C scorer. The final tally is 171 7/8s gross, 167 net. Obviously he didn't lose much from his green score. Just 3 inches shy of the B&C all time, but more than enough to earn an invitation to the 2013 B&C Awards and a spot in the next edition of the Records of North American Whitetail. Great excuse to go to Reno!

Interestingly, the buck had perfectly symmetrical mass. The bulk of the deductions came from his G2s and G5s.

Wow. Congrats and I would love to do a decal for you.

Patience pays off.

Darned awesome deer sir. Congrats.

Holy Mackeral! That's the dream that keeps us in the field when it's cold/hot/raining/snowing/sunny/anniversary/etc.

BTW, nets are for fishing.

really a beautiful symmetrical Deer, congrats!

Everything about this is awesome. Congrats!!

Holy Moly! Beautiful!

Congrats buddy. Wish me luck that i can get mine Friday, Sat or Sunday.

I might have pulled the trigger.

Awesome ....awesome .....deer!!!

WOW....I am thrilled for you. that is a beautiful, beautiful deer!!!

great job man. Talk about a stud! How far was the shot?

The shot was somewhere around 125 yards or so. Thanks for all the comments folks. Still pumped!

One of the best looking racks I've seen all year! Congrats!!!

wow your lucky

Stud and amazing that he wasn't broken up at all this time of year. Congrats on a great trophy!

I guess anyone can shoot a big one when it's in a high fence and he's been let out of a pen. Did he pass ARs?

Wow...What a buck! Congratulations!

Great Buck, Congrats!

B.B.D!!!! Crongrats!!

WOW. I'm afraid that if I shoot a buck that big, anything less would be unacceptable.

awesome color on that rack

very nice congrats

That is what we are all after!

Awesome and elegant buck right there! Congratualtions!

Great buck! Congrats on a great hunt!

dude congrats on the buck of a lifetime

X2
absolutely awesome deer... congrats

Holy smokes, that is s heck of a deer there. Congrats man. Wow!

awesome antler color on a monster buck. congrats!

Ehhhh, I would have let it go another year!














Kidding of course, I really would have wet myself.

Absolutely awesome buck, congrats on a true trophy!

very nice deer. congrats

awesome deer, good story

as all have said: magnificent buck! congrats!

Now thats a monster ! Anyone would be lucky to kill one of those once in there life.

Nice. How much did you have to pay for that one?

Nice Buck!

I heard it was tied to a tree for him!

You don't know how appropriate that comment is...

that is one hell of a deer for a low fence property in live oak county. we've got a low fence place of our own that we're putting the same amount of effort into for 4yrs now and starting to see some results. can i ask how many acres the property is?

congrats on a heck of deer

It's on approx 2,000 contiguous acres. Key is, we have neighbors on almost every side who are doing similar programs. Put it all together and we are smack dab in the middle of prob 10-15k game managed acres.

Whereabouts are you?

SSSSAAAAAAHHHHHWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTTT!!!!!!!

Wow, going to be tough to beat that.
Congrats!

Deer was officially accepted into the B&C clubs Records of North American Big Game for 2010-2012. Looks like the poster will be making a trip to Reno in a few years.

W O W .....Nice Buck!

Ya'lls grass sure is green,is that san augustine?

Yeah, that's at the house bud.

That is awesome !!!!!!!! Congratulations to him !!!!!!!

NICE BUCK MAN!

i stumbled in here and looky at what i found..... thats a monster congrats!

I have lived & hunted in Live Oak County my whole life and there are some pockets of the county ( even on the east side) that produce some huge deer on low fenced country. Most of them are not entered in contests so they are not as publicized as some of the more popular "big" deer counties. That's a great typical and awesome coloring. Management works.

What's the official score?

What a beautiful place!

167 Net Typical, Gross 172. It was pretty sweet opening up a package from B&C. I highly recommend it! Good enough for the records, but 3 inches shy of the all time. Thanks for all the comments fellas. I'll post some pics when I get the mount back (hopefully soon!).

Awesome deer!!

If I recall correctly, just shy of 168 net.