GOODHUE COUNTY, Minn. – When Jesse Schroeder stumbled upon a large deer carcass in the spring, he knew it was big, but he didn’t realize it was a Minnesota monster, according to the Minnesota Official Measurers.
“This deer was well known by a handful of people that were fortunate to see it, get trail camera pictures of him, and find his sheds,” wrote the Minnesota Official Measurers on social media. “He is every definition of a Minnesota Monster.”
Schroeder told Field and Stream that he was searching for antlers that deer shed annually on his brother’s 32-acre property. He was surprised these antlers were still attached to the whitetail deer skeleton.
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What makes a record?
After a mandatory 60-day drying requirement, an official from Minnesota Officials Measurer, keeper of state records, brought out his ruler. The antlers scored 277 and 3/8th – a new state record. The state counts both found and hunted deer antlers.
That record stood for 50 years. Schroeder’s score beat it by almost 9 points.
According to the Boone and Crocket Club, keepers of North American big game records; the major features that make up the score are the main beam length (horizontal), points length, circumferences and the inside spread.
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Pictures show Schroeder’s hands barely wrapped around the massive rack. He estimated that the antlers had a 6-inch diameter at the base.
After word of his trophy hit social media, his brother’s neighbors started sending Schroeder photos and videos of sightings, according to Field and Stream. Schroeder estimates that the buck was 7 or 8 years old.
He told the magazine that he didn’t see any obvious signs of death.
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“I did notice some of his front teeth were gone, and it looked like the jaw bone might have been fractured and infected,” he told Field and Stream. “My guess is the buck got in a fight and got sick and just didn’t make it through the winter. We plant 5 or 6 aces of food plots every year, just to help the deer feed and winter well, but this winter was tough on the deer, with plenty of ice and snow and cold, which stayed around late.”
Boone and Crockett’s world record holder is an 11 pound rack that scored 333 and 7/8. This was also a deadhead buck found in 1981. The cause of death for the “monstrously large deer” could not be determined, according to the B&C records, but it did not appear to be shot.
