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Late last September, Rhett Butler ran into an old friend on his hunting club on the Mississippi River. And the friend, Don Baddhour, had a pointed question for him: “Rhett, are you hunting a specific buck?”
With a ting of reluctance, yet trusting his friend, Rhett replied, “Yes, I am.”
“How big is he?” Don asked.
“A 180-inch deer,” Rhett replied.
“I don’t think you should shoot that deer.”
“Why not?” Rhett asked.
“There is a bigger deer here,” Don explained. “A 200-inch deer.”
Astounded by the words of the trusted friend, Rhett asked the next logical question: “Well, where is he?”
“That I’m not going to tell you,” Don replied. “You’ll have to find him.”
Because of a unique regulation in effect on this 6,000-acre hunting club, there was no way for Don to shoot the huge buck himself. Never mind that the deer was the biggest he had ever seen lay a hoofprint in the black mud of eastern Desha County.
In an effort to manage for trophy bucks, this club has strict antler regulations. Area genetics are such that a high percentage of mature bucks have eight or nine points. In an attempt to produce mature deer with 10-point frames, the rules state that a member can shoot only one deer with at least 10 typical points during any 3-year period. Don had killed one the year before, so he knew he couldn’t hunt this main-frame 10.
As well, the club is enrolled in Arkansas’ Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP). This allows for a customized management plan, including a heavy doe harvest and a “cull buck” program. Strict adherence to the long-term management plan is paying off and reforming the stereotypes of Southern hunting culture. “If it’s brown it’s down” is being replaced by, “Only if it’s mature is it down.”
Rhett is hardly a rookie at killing big deer. Going into last fall, he’d taken eight whitetails ranging from 160 to 180 inches, many of them Arkansas bow kills. As a whitetail hunter, he doesn’t have a casual bone in his body or thought in his mind.
“When I hunt, I give 110 percent all the time,” he says. “I think it is important to have goals,” the hunter notes. “And I have always had a goal to kill a 200-inch deer.” While that’s a huge deer anywhere in North America, to him the goal was realistic.
Rhett has an intimate knowledge of his hunting ground, one acquired through years of hunting the same real estate. He also has the discipline to track the nuances of the land and understand how deer use it. Keeping tabs on feeding patterns is huge.
“If there is a feed tree, persimmon, bean (honeylocust) that consistently produces, I can tell you where it is,” Rhett claims. He uses a GPS to mark what he calls ‘feed trees.’
“My favorite place to hunt a big buck is in a staging area near a feed tree, back in the timber close to where he is bedding,” Rhett says. “These big deer will use these feed trees in the evenings before heading out to bigger feeding areas.”
Rhett also keeps good records of where he gets photos of bucks and a yearly journal recording buck sightings and deer movement patterns. Rhett![]( "rhett_butler_box")
is extremely mobile when he hunts. He uses tree spikes and hunts out of light lock-on treestands 99 percent of the time. “I can be 25 feet up in a tree and hunting in 5 minutes,” he says. “I rarely leave a stand in a tree. I put it up when I get there and take it down when I leave.”
The Hunt
Immediately after the conversation with Don, Rhett went to work trying to locate the buck somewhere on the club’s 6,000 acres. Unfortunately, he had to leave camp that day, and he wouldn’t be back for over a week. But he proceeded to strategically scatter cameras all over the property, trying to find the deer. Phase one of fulfilling his dream of taking a 200-inch buck was under way: find him.
When Rhett returned to Desha County, he was astounded by some photos one of his cameras had captured. It was Don’s 200-incher!
On Oct. 10, the in middle of the night, the deer had been photographed in a cutover just south of a large alfalfa field. And to Rhett’s surprise, he recognized the deer! The hunter was able to go back into his trail camera archives and find photos of the buck from 2010 and ’11.
No one could have predicted the buck would leap into the 200-inch category, but he had. Two years prior, at the estimated age of 3 1/2, he would have scored in the high 140s. At 4 1/2, he’d moved into the 160-inch range.
Rhett comments, “When you look at this buck’s history, you have to calculate the stress from the 2010 floods and the drought of 2011. He made a 40-inch leap in 2012, but he probably would have been a 170 or 180 in 2011, had it not been for the stress.”
This deer did what all land managers hope theirs will do: he made a quantum leap! The buck was big bodied, heavy antlered and just outright impressive. Rhett and Don began to refer to him as “Hercules.”
Having two years of history with the deer, Rhett was able to track where he had taken pictures of Hercules. The deer seemed to be ranging over 1-1.5 square miles revolving around a 100-acre alfalfa field.
“I got out my topo maps and started trying to figure out where this deer was bedding.” Rhett recalls. On this property are areas of mature river-bottom timber, agriculture fields, thick clearcuts, buckbrush thickets and a lot of water. Historically, Rhett has had good success hunting bucks along the edges of the buckbrush.
“I like to hem up a buck along the edge of a thicket,” he says. “They don’t like to travel through the open woods, but they will move through the thick stuff in the daylight.”
Rhett relocated all of his cameras to locations inside what he thought was the buck’s main range, with the intent of getting a daytime photo. However, this proved extremely difficult.
“If I can get a picture of a buck before 7:00 in the morning in October, I know I am within 200 yards of his bedding area,” Rhett points out. “That’s what I was looking for. But this deer never gave me that.”
Rhett was getting a lot of nighttime photos in a cutover on the south side of the alfalfa field and along a buckbrush ridge a half-mile north of the alfalfa. But the early-morning photos never came. It wasn’t until Nov. 5 that he got his first daytime image of the buck along the ridge at 4:30 p.m.
From Oct. 10 until Nov. 10, Rhett bowhunted for Hercules and bounced back and forth between the cutover and the buckbrush ridge, trying not to pressure the deer too much. “I bowhunted this deer hard until rifle season opened up on Nov. 10, but never saw him,” he says. “I had hoped to get him with my bow, but when gun season opened, I picked up my rifle.”
The buck always seemed to be one step ahead of the hunter. Add in that Rhett had abandoned the hunt for a 180-inch buck he had patterned and you can understand his frustration. It is as this point in the hunt that a guy might question his decision to devote an entire season to a particular buck. However, Rhett stuck to the plan. It would be Hercules or nothing.
This frustration had him conversing with his dad about the buck just before Thanksgiving. “Dad said the buck would probably be locked down with a doe soon,” Rhett notes. And that conversation triggered a thought. Rhett remembered that inside the buck’s known range was a buckbrush thicket he hadn’t monitored.
The hunter slipped in and put a camera on a persimmon tree near a trail leading to the alfalfa field. This was a spot he had hunted in years past and really liked. He just hadn’t suspected Hercules was using it much.
“It had been a couple of days since I had hung the camera, and I needed a place to hunt with a north wind, so I decided to go check the camera,” Rhett says. “It was near a buckbrush thicket, which was this buck’s Achilles’ heel.”
When Rhett pulled the card, he was shocked to see a picture of Hercules working a mock scrape directly in front of the camera at 3:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving—the day before! The hunt was on.
The last few days the weather had been warm and balmy, and it rained on the morning of Nov. 23. “The rain cleared up mid-morning and the temperature dropped about 20 degrees,” Rhett says. “It was the kind of day you just know that something is going to die.”
This was the first time in over 20 days of the hunting the buck that Rhett had strong feeling that he was going to kill Hercules. He knew the buck was bedding in the buckbrush thicket, and he knew how he was leaving it. He felt like the buck was locked down on a doe.
Rhett climbed into his tree early that afternoon. At about 3:30 p.m. he saw six does come out the thicket and walk right past the stand. Roughly 20 minutes passed, and then a big, lone doe popped out the thicket. Hercules was right behind her! After 23 days of hunting, this was the first time Rhett had even seen the deer he was after.
“I hate to say I wasn’t nervous when I saw the buck, but to be honest, I wasn’t. The first thing that came to my mind was what a good friend said to me, ‘When you get him in your sights, remember to breathe.’ And I did.”
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(Ironically, Rhett hadn’t been quite so steely on his earlier hunts for Hercules. “For the last 23 days, every deer I saw made my heart about pop out of my chest,” he admits.)
When the buck stepped out, Rhett put the crosshairs onto the buck’s left shoulder and squeezed the trigger of his Winchester .270 bolt action. At the crack of the rifle the buck dropped in his tracks and never even kicked. The hunt for Hercules was over.
“When I walked up to the deer, I was overwhelmed by his mass,” Rhett recalls. And no wonder—the eight circumference measurements totaled more than 46 inches. Hercules also had a 22 3/8-inch inside spread, over 24-inch main beams and 16 scorable points.
The first person the Rhett texted was his wife. “I was fortunate that I killed this deer the day after Thanksgiving, when so many of my friends and family were in camp, including my wife and kids,” he reflects.
Rhett worked extremely hard for this buck. A diligent, cunning hunter turned a generous tip from a good friend into the deer of a lifetime. It was a fitting ending for Hercules, one of the state’s biggest bucks of 2012.
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Aaron Milliken
Aaron Milliken caught up with this massive Kansas whitetail after repeated attempts to track down the 194-inch trophy. For the details, make sure to check out NAW's Deer of the Day entry..
Barry Turner
After an off-season spent drooling over trail cam pics of the deer he'd come to know as "Big Show," Barry Turner came face to face with a Missouri giant. The rest of his story—and his 217-inch trophy—are enshrined in NAW's Deer of the Day.
Bill Winke
Bill Winke has earned himself a spot as one of the best Midwestern whitetail hunters of all time, with a recent buck to prove it. To read more about this massive double G4 Iowa giant, check out NAW's Deer of the Day entry.
Bo Cocannouer
Two years ago Bo Cocannouer fell from a treestand fracturing his back. Most hunters aren’t lucky enough to walk away from a twenty-foot fall, and the ones that do don’t normally get to hunt from one ever again. But Cocannouer did just that, and he came home with this 194 gross non-typical Oklahoma buck.
For more, read the rest of the story in this Deer of the Day entry.
Brian Herron
Brian Herron fought numerous obstacles and setbacks in 2012 to bag this 184-inch bruiser. Read the full story in NAW's Deer of the Day entry.
Brian Hollands
After many years of chasing the same buck and coming up empty, Brian Hollands' luck finally turned around. On a fateful morning in 2012, Hollands not only found a lost little girl wandering the back roads of Missouri, he also found the buck of a lifetime. Check out the full story at NAW's Deer of the Day.
Carter Rice
Carter Rice is another first-time hunter that had huge success in 2012. Carter killed this buck in Pettis County Mo., with his father at his side . "I had not experienced that type of excitement since my 15-year-old son Seth was that age," wrote proud dad Rusty Rice.
This photo was submitted to NAW Editor Gordon Whittington earlier this season via e-mail.
Dorothy Shaffer
Iowa native Dorothy Shaffer has only been hunting for a couple years now, but she already has the buck of a lifetime with this 196-inch giant, her second buck ever.
At about 5:30 p.m. Nov. 1, Shaffer arrowed this bruiser through both lungs, dropping it near one of her husband's stands.
For more info, check out Shaffer's Deer of the Day entry.
Dylan Beach-Bittner
Have you seen the (almost) Turdy-Point Buck?
Taking a cue from the popular folk rap song, 12-year-old Dylan Beach-Bittner, downed a 27-point Minnesota monster scoring 241 green.
For more info, check out Beach-Bittner's Deer of the Day entry.
Fred Swihart
You need only skim the pages of the record books to understand why the majority of hunters pick the November rut as the prime time to hunt giant whitetails. Mature bucks are never a pushover, but they are more vulnerable when their nose is glued to the ground trailing an estrus doe. Fred Swihart proved, however, that you can have success outside the rut—sometimes it's just a matter of persistence. Check out the full story at NAW's Deer of the Day.
Garry Greenwalt
Garry Greenwalt teamed up with North American Whitetail's Gordon Whittington to kill this amazing Washington buck, known to Greenwalt as "The Ghost." Greenwalt spent a good deal of time tracking down the amazing 172-inch Washington giant, but it was all worth it. Read the full story at NAW's Deer of the Day.
Garry Morris
It was mid-afternoon on Nov. 13, 2009, and Gary Morris of Winslow, Ark., was heading south out of Iowa. Driven by a haze of internal frustration, he was headed back to Arkansas six days early. The last three years of planning, anticipation and excitement for his Midwestern hunt had been stolen by an encounter with a 170-inch behemoth buck and a blown 12-yard “chip-shot.” After his miss, Morris thought about giving up bowhunting altogether. But it's a good thing he didn't. Read about his unlikely comeback—as well as his 221-inch monster—in NAW's Deer of the Day.
Jay Price
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Jeff Danker
Jeff Danker of Major League Bowhunter is no stranger to trophy bucks, and on Oct. 3 Danker proved his prowess. He killed this 183 5/8-inch typical buck in Kansas' Rice County after following him all year.
For more, read the rest of the story in this Deer of the Day entry.
Jeff Iverson
Earlier this year, Jeff Iverson killed what might be the new non-typical record for a Minnesota whitetail. This is the third season that Iverson hunted this particular buck. Two years ago, when the buck was a six-by-six typical, he missed a shot at it with his bow.
For more, read the rest of the story in NAW's Deer of the Day entry.
Jordan Dressler
On the first hunt of her lifetime, Jordan Dressler killed this amazingly wide whitetail in Iowa. Now all she has to do is hunt the rest of her days in search of another buck like this one.
For more, read the rest of the story in this Deer of the Day entry.
Josh Barnard
As a dedicated whitetailer, Josh Barnard has had his fair share of ups and downs. This year was a high point, as Barnard killed this monstrous 192-inch trophy buck in Ohio. Read the full story in NAW's Deer of the Day entry.
Joshua Earp
Joshua Earp's Georgia giant scored 187 inches green, weighing in at 235 pounds, and was a great October surprise.
"“I’ve hunted 25 years for this," Earp said. " I give all thanks to God and my father for teaching me and introducing me to this sport I’m addicted to.”
For more, read the rest of the story in this Deer of the Day entry.
Lindsay Groom
With the help of her husband, Kevin, Ohio resident Lindsay Groom scouted this buck for two weeks before coming across its path again on Nov. 7. Lindsay shot the buck with her crossbow at about 10 yards, but was unable to locate the buck.
After watching the kill shot again on film, the couple decided to track it the next morning, finding the deer just 30 yards away from where they stopped looking the night before.
For more info, check out Groom's Deer of the Day entry.
Lucas Cochren
Lucas Cochren killed an amazing 238-inch Kansas trophy, but it all started with a blood trail gone cold. Fortunately, Cochren stuck to it and bagged the trophy of his lifetime. Check out the full story at NAW's Deer of the Day.
Matt Ford
Abingdon, Ill., resident Matt Ford downed this monster buck in the early evening of Nov. 4; the Knox County beast scored 219 1/8 inches green.
“I still can’t believe it. I thought my 145-inch 8-point was big until this,” Ford said. “I never thought I would see a deer this big, but getting to kill one this big never crossed my mind.”
For more, check out Ford's Deer of the Day entry.
Michael Morgan
Michael Morgan killed this amazing double drop-tine giant in Kansas. After watching in agony in 2011 as the monster buck walked just out of range, Morgan found success in his second attempt at the bruiser. Read the full story in NAW's Deer of the Day entry.
Mike Giarraputo
Mike Giarraputo set a New York state record with this 210-inch non-typical bruiser. Read the full story in NAW's Deer of the Day entry.
Mike Moran
Mike Moran's Saskatchewan buck was a dream come true for the hunter who'd spent 27 years looking for a deer of that quality. He finally got his wish on Thanksgiving day, an experience he won't forget. Read the full story in NAW's Deer of the Day entry.
Paul Keller
Having chased whitetails in Wisconsin since 1978, Marion bowhunter Paul Keller is no stranger to monster bucks, but this year was decidedly different. Keller dropped a 229 2/8-inch buck that will challenge for the top of the record books when all is said and done.
For more, read the rest of the story in this Deer of the Day entry.
Payton Mireles
Payton Mireles, age 10, of Ind., killed her first buck in 2012, a 154-inch bruiser. Read the full story in NAW's Deer of the Day entry.
Pete Alfano
After a two-year quest to track down the massive deer known as "Mufasa," Pete Alfano finally struck gold with this 215-inch Kansas buck. Read the full story in NAW's Deer of the Day entry.
Randy Walk
It's pretty safe to say Randy Walk, president of Hoyt Archery, knows a thing or two about bowhunting.
Nevertheless, the 225-inch Kansas beast shared by Hoyt's Facebook page stands alone as the biggest buck he'd ever seen, he said.
“He is a giant buck. Eighteen points total with nine on each side. He has been green scored at 225 inches and some change and is clearly the largest whitetail deer I have ever seen on the hoof or on the ground for that matter."
For more info, check out Walk's Deer of the Day entry.
Rich Baugh
For years, Rich Baugh carefully managed his Iowa property to maximize whitetail trophy production. After several years at it, Baugh finally capitalized in 2011 with this monster 177-inch trophy. Read more about his process—and his amazing buck—at NAW's Deer of the Day.
Richard Buker
Richard Buker has been hunting his family's property in Vermillion County, Ind., for over 20 years, and on Oct. 28, he finally got the buck of a lifetime.
That windy evening, he spotted the massive 170-inch buck working the treeline before heading across the field toward him. At 35 yards, Buker stopped the buck with a grunt, placed his shot perfectly behind the shoulder and squeezed off a shot. After running 75 yards, the buck then dropped within sight.
For more info, check out Buker's Deer of the Day entry.
Robert Gramoll
Robert Gramoll killed his 202-inch Juneau County, Wisc., record in 2012. Having deliberated about staying for the last evening of rifle season, Gramoll doesn't regret that he did. Read the full story in NAW's Deer of the Day entry.
Ryan Dietsch
After a sleepless night and an unsuccessful afternoon tracking a blood trail, Ryan Dietsch was sure he'd squandered the opportunity of a lifetime. He and friends went back to track the deer he thought he'd hit, but couldn't find so much as a drop of blood. His luck all changed, however, and the rest—along with his 219-inch trophy—is history. Check out the full story at NAW's Deer of the Day.
Shane Frost
Whitetail fate played its hand for Arkansas’ Shane Frost on January 23, 2012. The setting was in the big-timbered, fertile ground of the Black River Bottoms in Clay County in northeast Arkansas. The ancient oaks and sloughs, in all their years, had likely never witnessed a more epic bowhunting scene. So began Frost's whitetail season, which ended with a 216-inch trophy on his wall. Read more at NAW's Deer of the Day.
Stanley Suda
Southern Ohio turned in another giant earlier this season when Stanley Suda shot this buck which is estimated between 235 and 240 inches.
"The shot was perfect," he said. "I watched my dream buck run across the field and pile-up about 20 yards inside the wood line. This was definitely my finest moment in the treestand.”
For more, read the rest of the story in this Deer of the Day entry.
Travis Trimmer
Travis Trimmer of Varina, Va., killed this monster buck on Oct. 27 with a crossbow at 15 yards. The brute weighed in around 159 lbs. and was reported to have a 27-inch wide inside spread.
For more, read the rest of the story in this NAW Community entry.
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NAW's Best Bucks of 2012
Late last September, Rhett Butler ran into an old friend on his hunting club on the Mississippi River. And the friend, Don Baddhour, had a pointed question for him: “Rhett, are you hunting a specific buck?”
is extremely mobile when he hunts. He uses tree spikes and hunts out of light lock-on treestands 99 percent of the time. “I can be 25 feet up in a tree and hunting in 5 minutes,” he says. “I rarely leave a stand in a tree. I put it up when I get there and take it down when I leave.”
(Ironically, Rhett hadn’t been quite so steely on his earlier hunts for Hercules. “For the last 23 days, every deer I saw made my heart about pop out of my chest,” he admits.)
