Kansas bowhunter Brian Butcher (center) with Boone and Crockett scorers Marc Murrell (left) and Ken Witt (right). Butcher’s non-typical buck was scored last week and could be one of the largest non-typical whitetails ever taken. (Photo courtesy of Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism)
January 08, 2020
By G&F Online Staff
Bowhunter Brian Butcher’s best day as a deer hunter may have resulted in one of the largest non-typical whitetail bucks ever scored.
If accepted and verified by the Boone and Crockett Club, the huge buck taken in Chase County in October by the 38-year-old could rank fourth in the world for non-typical whitetail deer. Last week, the buck’s rack was measured by Boone and Crockett Club-certified measurers and earned an unofficial net non-typical score of 321 3/8 inches, according to Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism . The big whitetail had 67 scorable points, KWPT said.
As for the Kansas record books, Butcher’s buck would be the largest non-typical whitetail ever harvested there, surpassing the current state record for a non-typical whitetail taken by archery equipment by 57 2/8 inches.
“When I first saw it, I thought it had some branches or grass tangled up in its antlers,” said Butcher, who arrowed the buck from just 25 yards away. “But when I looked at him with binoculars, I realized it was all antlers. … I was in complete shock.”
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According to Boone and Crockett guidelines, the rack could not be officially measured until it had dried for at least 60 days, KWPT said. B&C measurers Marc Murrell and Ken Witt took nearly 5 hours on Jan. 3 to score the rack, and the results have been sent to B&C headquarters for verification and acceptance. It will be scored again at the club’s next awards ceremony in 2022.
If it stands, Butcher’s buck will rank fourth in the world by B&C for non-typical whitetails, behind two whitetails that were found dead in Missouri (333 7/8) and Ohio (328 2/8), and the so-called Brewster Buck (327 7/8) taken in Illinois in 2018 by bowhunter Luke Brewster. The Brewster Buck is the largest hunter-harvested non-typical buck ever taken.
The current Kansas state record archery non-typical whitetail (264 1/8) was killed in 1998 in Pottawatomie County by Dale Larson.
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The current Kansas state record firearms non-typical whitetail (280 4/8) was killed in 1987 in Shawnee County by Joseph Waters.
More on Kansas big-game records
More on the Boone and Crockett Club
