John Breen Buck

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The John Breen Buck, shot in northern Minnesota in 1918, is considered by many whitetail experts to be the greatest typical ever, despite the fact that at 202 net B&C points he’s several notches down the list from No. 1. This isn’t an attempt to take anything away from the incredible trophies that outscore him, but few other typicals can approach this buck’s “shock value.”

Back in 1903, John took a job as a store clerk in the northern Minnesota town of Bemidji. At that time, a vast area of logged-over woods lay between there and the Canadian border 100 miles to the north. Transportation in the region was difficult, and the use of a horse and buggy was still common. From Bemidji, a railroad ran northeastward all the way to the border town of International Falls. Some 30 miles from Bemidji, the tracks went through the small town of Funkley in Beltrami County. And, that’s where whitetail history was made.

“People who lived north of Bemidji liked to catch the train and ride it into town to do their shopping,” said Ray, John’s youngest son. “In those days, you could flag the train down anywhere along its rout and ride it for two cents a mile. For a lot of people, it was a real treat.

“One of Dad’s customers, Knute Week, lived up near Funkley, at a flagstop place known as Hopt. He would come into Bemidji every so often to do his shopping. Week had access to some good deer hunting land up near Funkley, and he invited Dad to go up and hunt with him,” Ray recalled.

One cold day in November 1918, while two of his sons were overseas fighting in World War I, John grabbed his rifle and gear and hopped aboard the train for Funkley. When he returned home a day or two later, he had with him a deer so large that even back then it cre­ated quite a stir.

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“I still can remember when he brought it home,” said Ray, who was 12 at the time. “He had quite a time getting it back to the house. He had to bring it down to Bemidji by train; then he had to get a horse and wagon to transport it from the depot to our house. The story that I always heard was that he was on his stand with his .30/30 rifle when a bunch of deer came by. Several does were being chased by a buck. He raised his rifle and started to shoot at the buck. All of a sudden, he saw this great rack of horns coming through the woods, so he took aim and shot this big buck instead.

“When he got the buck home, everybody came by to see it. A lot of people made a big fuss over it. The rack was so big that even in those days everybody knew that it was something special. The rack was so wide that we had a hard time getting it through the front door of the house.

“Dad knew his buck was really unusual,” Ray added, “and he was awfully proud of it. After much deliberation, he decided to have it mounted. He sent the antlers over to a taxidermist in Duluth—a man named Story. Mr. Story took one look at those antlers and offered him $50 cash for them. Now, $50 was a lot of money back in those days, probably equal to about half a month’s wages. Dad turned him down flat. That deer meant too much to him.

See also  7mm-08 Remington for Black Bear Hunting? Best Ammo (Round, Load, Cartridge) for a Successful Black Bear Hunt Hunting Calibers 04 Apr, 2020 Posted By: Foundry Outdoors Is the 7mm-08 Remington a viable caliber/load/round/cartridge for black bear hunting? The accurate answer is “it depends”. However, the goal of this article is simply to address the question of whether the 7mm-08 Remington is within the ideal range of suitable calibers to harvest black bear. As with anything, the devil is in the details. To answer the question completely, we would need to evaluate the downrange distance to the black bear, the bullet type, the grain weight of the bullet, the physical condition of the firearm, the size of the black bear in question, the shot placement, the local wind conditions, the expected accuracy of the shooter, the ethics of the ideal maximum number of shots – the list goes on. [Click Here to Shop 7mm-08 Remington Ammo]What we can do is provide a framework to understand what average conditions might look like, and whether those are reasonably viable for a shot from the average shooter to harvest a black bear in the fewest number of shots possible, i.e., ethically. Let’s dive right in. In the question of “Is the 7mm-08 Remington within the ideal range of suitable calibers for black bear hunting?” our answer is: Yes, the 7mm-08 Remington is A GOOD CHOICE for black bear hunting, under average conditions, from a mid-range distance, with a medium grain expanding bullet, and with correct shot placement.Let’s look at those assumptions a bit closer in the following table. Assumption Value Caliber 7mm-08 Remington Animal Species Black Bear Muzzle Energy 2450 foot-pounds Animal Weight 340 lbs Shot Distance 150 yardsWhat is the average muzzle energy for a 7mm-08 Remington? In this case, we have assumed the average muzzle energy for a 7mm-08 Remington round is approximately 2450 foot-pounds. What is the average weight of an adult male black bear? Here we have leaned conservative by taking the average weight of a male individual of the species, since females generally weigh less and require less stopping power. In this case, the average weight of an adult male black bear is approximately 340 lbs. [Click Here to Shop 7mm-08 Remington Ammo]What is the distance this species is typically hunted from? Distance, of course, plays an important role in the viability of a given caliber in black bear hunting. The kinetic energy of the projectile drops dramatically the further downrange it travels primarily due to energy lost in the form of heat generated by friction against the air itself. This phenonemon is known as drag or air resistance. Thus, a caliber that is effective from 50 yards may not have enough stopping power from 200 yards. With that said, we have assumed the average hunting distance for black bear to be approximately 150 yards. What about the other assumptions? We have three other primary assumptions being made here. First, the average bullet weight is encapsulated in the average muzzle energy for the 7mm-08 Remington. The second important assumption is ‘slightly-suboptimal’ to ‘optimal’ shot placement. That is to say, we assume the black bear being harvested is shot directly or nearly directly in the vitals (heart and/or lungs). The third assumption is that a projectile with appropriate terminal ballistics is being used, which for hunting usually means an expanding bullet.Various calibersA common thread you may encounter in online forums is anecdote after anecdote of large animals being brought down by small caliber bullets, or small animals surviving large caliber bullets. Of course those stories exist, and they are not disputed here. A 22LR cartridge can fell a bull elephant under the right conditions, and a newborn squirrel can survive a 50 BMG round under other specific conditions. Again, the goal of this article is simply to address the question of whether 7mm-08 Remington is within the ideal range of suitable calibers to harvest black bear - and to this question, the response again is yes, the 7mm-08 Remington is A GOOD CHOICE for black bear hunting. [Click Here to Shop 7mm-08 Remington Ammo]This article does not serve as the final say, but simply as a starting point for beginner hunters, as well as a venue for further discussion. Please feel free to agree, disagree, and share stories from your own experience in the comments section below. Disclaimer: the information above is purely for illustrative purposes and should not be taken as permission to use a particular caliber, a statement of the legality or safety of using certain calibers, or legal advice in any way. You must read and understand your own local laws before hunting black bear to know whether your caliber of choice is a legal option.Foundry Outdoors is your trusted home for buying archery, camping, fishing, hunting, shooting sports, and outdoor gear online.We offer cheap ammo and bulk ammo deals on the most popular ammo calibers. We have a variety of deals on Rifle Ammo, Handgun Ammo, Shotgun Ammo & Rimfire Ammo, as well as ammo for target practice, plinking, hunting, or shooting competitions. Our website lists special deals on 9mm Ammo, 10mm Ammo, 45-70 Ammo, 6.5 Creedmoor ammo, 300 Blackout Ammo, 10mm Ammo, 5.56 Ammo, Underwood Ammo, Buffalo Bore Ammo and more special deals on bulk ammo.We offer a 100% Authenticity Guarantee on all products sold on our website. Please email us if you have questions about any of our product listings. Leave a commentComments have to be approved before showing up Your Name * Your Email * Your Comment * Post Comment

“It seemed like we ate on that old buck for weeks,” Ray added, “and he was one tough old boy. The deer was thin and gaunt when Dad brought him home, despite the size of his antlers. He was a big-bodied deer, and I remember people saying that he weighed well over 200 pounds. Dad tried to give away some of the meat, but it was so tough that nobody wanted it.”

John died in 1947 at the age of 81. Several years later, B&C introduced its new scoring system, and at the urging of friends, the family decided to have the head officially measured. With an unprecedented net typical score of 202 points, the Breen Buck immediately became the world record typical, even though he suffered heavy deductions for non-typical points. The Breen Buck held the record until 1964, when the James Jordan Buck was recognized as a new No. 1 typical.

During the late 1960s, an antler col­lector from the East Coast wrote the Breen family and asked if they wanted to sell the rack.

“His name was Dr. Chuck Arnold, a dentist in Boston,” Ray recalled. “He wasn’t sure whether we spoke English or not, so he wrote to us in both French and English. He said he collected antlers, and he offered us $1,000 for the rack. After talking it over, we decided not to take his offer because we didn’t want the antlers to leave northern Minnesota. After all, Dad’s trophy was Minnesota’s largest typical whitetail of all time (a position the deer still holds today), and we felt it should remain in the state. However, by this time, the old mount was beginning to show its age. For a while, we let it hang in a local store, but most of the time, it hung in our house.

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“We talked to sev­eral different museums about possi­bly taking the trophy, but at the time, no one seemed to have much interest in it,” Ray added. “Then, in 1970, Dr. Arnold wrote to us again. This time, he offered us $1,500 for the antlers. He promised us that he would take good care of the trophy and that he would see to it that it got the kind of recognition it deserved. We talked it over and decided to take his offer.”

Dr. Arnold did indeed take good care of the buck . . . and avid whitetail hunters everywhere are glad of it.

The exceptional fact about the Breen buck is that its gross typical frame scored 215 0/8. Six small abnormal points kept this buck from being the world record. Without those points the buck would have had a net score of approximately 210.

The main beams measure 31 2/8″ and 31″ in length, with 6″ bases. The 26 7/8″-wide rack has outstanding tine length and is truly a masterpiece of nature. When compared side by side with similar scoring giants, any hunter would pick this buck as number one!

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Ethan Smith
Ethan Smith is a seasoned marine veteran, professional blogger, witty and edgy writer, and an avid hunter. He spent a great deal of his childhood years around the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona. Watching active hunters practise their craft initiated him into the world of hunting and rubrics of outdoor life. He also honed his writing skills by sharing his outdoor experiences with fellow schoolmates through their high school’s magazine. Further along the way, the US Marine Corps got wind of his excellent combination of skills and sought to put them into good use by employing him as a combat correspondent. He now shares his income from this prestigious job with his wife and one kid. Read more >>