Scoring an impressive 247 4/8’s this monster was not brought down by a hunter
“Michigan’s Biggest Buck” is a very powerful statement. The current Michigan record is a buck shot with a firearm in 1976 by Paul M. Mickey that scores 238 2/8 Non-Typical, Boone & Crockett points. The buck in the pictures accompanying this article has an amazing gross green score of 257 2/8 and a green net score of 247 4/8! If this score holds up, it will blow way past this long standing record by nearly 10 inches.
This new buck cannot officially be recognized as the state record until April 6, at which time it will be eligible for an official panel-score. The current tallies came about when Commemorative Bucks of Michigan scorer, Dennis Sheets measured the massive headgear accompanying this buck. These scores are considered “green” because the current record keeping systems require a 60 day period of “drying” after the antlers are acquired.
This impressive buck was not brought down by a hunter but rather it was found dead by Sharon Weidmayer while she was taking her dog “Camy” for a walk through some overgrown pasture land. Ms. Weidmayer found the buck on February 7, 2010 and informed her hunting friend Ron Waldron of her find and asked him to come and get the deer.
Two days later, Sharon took Ron to the dead animal. When Ron saw the monstrous buck he exclaimed in jest, “That’s not a deer, that’s an elk.”
Ron could not wait to show the antlers to his son-in-law/hunting partner, Mike Guenther. As soon as Mike saw the trophy he knew they had something really special and contacted the authorities to acquire a permit to own the deer.
This buck has 26 scoreable points and carries an incredible 29 inch inside-spread, and main beams that measure 31 inches. The deer was found dead in Clinton, Michigan which is in Lenawee County. This is the same county that produced the 200 class buck taken by Jeremy Collingsworth during the 2009 archery season and was featured on the cover of the January 2010 issue of Woods-N-Water News.
Mr. Guenther reports that the big buck that his father-in-law brought home hadn’t been dead for very long. The deer had been eaten by coyotes but the eyes were intact and the meat remained red. The cause of death is unknown but there were no visible holes or broken bones. The jaw and teeth wear indicate maybe a 4 ½ year old deer.
Ironically, another 4 ½ year old deer that was also found dead is the world record non-typical buck. This deer is known as the “Missouri Monarch” and scores 333 7/8. The highest scoring buck killed by a hunter was shot with a muzzleloader by 15 year-old Tony Lovstuen in Iowa and scores 319 4/8.
The highest scoring Michigan non-typical taken by hunters include the aforementioned Mickey buck which also holds the firearm record at 238 2/8. Aaron M. Davis has the archery record with a Hillsdale County buck that scores 225 7/8. Calhoun County is the home of the state record muzzleloader buck shot by Tim Tackett and it scores 215 1/8. The handgun record is held by Carl Mattson with a score of 218 1/8.
Mike Guenther states that Sharon also found the previous year’s shed from the buck’s right side and that the brow tine curls the same and it even has matching “sticker” points. Guenther goes on to say that the buck put on a lot of mass since the previous year.
When word spread of their great discovery over 200 people toured their pole barn to view the spectacular trophy. Ron and Mike are passionate hunters themselves and are “quite glad to be able to share such a wonderful buck with the public.”
