New Badger State Best

The No. 1 state for trophy whitetail has a new No. 1.

Jim Baker killed his buck on September 18 during archery season in Waukesha County, Wis. After a 60-day drying period, the Wisconsin Buck & Bear Club officially panel-scored it Sunday as the new state record.

The “Jim Baker Buck” achieved a nontypical score of 260 5/8 gross and 249 5/8 net scorable inches. It surpassed the nontypical state record of Wayne Schumacher’s 2009 buck that scored 243 6/8.

Baker’s buck has 28 measureable points, a 19 7/8-inch inside spread, and 66 6/8 inches of abnormal points.

The antlers created a stir when they first made an appearance on Facebook two months ago and were rough scored at 244 inches by Whale-Tales Archery.

Kyle Krischan, owner of Whale-Tales, said Baker is a friend of the shop but isn’t ready to tell his story. The buck was killed in Waukesha County near Milwaukee, a mix of farm country and suburbs, and some hunters in the area had known about the buck for about two years, Krischan said.

“There were a handful of people who knew about him and did a good job of keeping it quiet,” he said. “The crazy thing is the pictures don't even do it justice."

The Wisconsin Buck and Bear Club sent a panel of six measurers to the Cabela’s store in Richfield on Sunday to score it. Bucky Ihlenfeldt, the chairman of the club, said he’s amazed and proud that the state continues to produce record bucks year after year.

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Wisconsin is No. 1 in North America for trophy whitetails, topping the ranks in both Boone & Crockett and Pope & Young record entries.

The WBBC is a group of volunteer individuals, organized for the purpose of collecting and maintaining records on trophy whitetail deer and black bear according to the Boone & Crockett scoring system.

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Click the image to see other big bucks from Wisconsin Buck & Bear Club,
then go to its Facebook page and give it a like.

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You can check out the WBBC site here.

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