Stewardship
Where Hunting Happens, Conservation Happens™
The Stories Behind the Biggest Typical Whitetail Deer
NUMBER ONE — Hunter: Milo Hansen
Score: 213-5/8 points
Location: Saskatchewan
Year: 1993
It all started with a school bus driver. On the last day of Saskatchewan’s 1992 deer season, the driver told some locals that a monster whitetail was feeding in Milo Hansen’s alfalfa field. Once word got around, the buck was spotted on farms, in pea fields, and then near a highway just north of Biggar in the southwestern portion of the province.
On opening day of the 1993 season, friends and family gathered at the Hansen house as they always had since Milo and his wife Olive moved to the farm in the early 1970s. There was a lot of talk about the big buck. The opener proved a bust as the snow was already a week old, but on November 22, new snow arrived and the posse devised a plan.
Neighbors spotted the buck and watched him go into the willows. No one saw him come out. One hunter went into the willows while everyone else posted themselves around the escape route. The buck flushed but several shots missed their mark.
Milo watched the buck run, leveled his four-power scope and took two shots from his .308 Winchester, bringing the buck down. One more shot and the deer was dead. Milo hadn’t had a cigarette in three years, but he wanted one that day. Friends measured the buck, and then re-measured the buck. Milo realized he might just have a world’s record. Later, Boone and Crockett Official Measurers confirmed everyone’s suspicions; Milo had killed the world’s finest typical whitetail.
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NUMBER TWO — Hunter: James Jordan
Score: 206-1/8 points
Location: Wisconsin
Year: 1914
They say if you shoot a world’s record whitetail and drop it off at the taxidermist who moves to Florida and never returns your deer, but then the deer finds its way back to you after nearly 60 years…well, the deer was meant to be with you.
Maybe the original saying is a little different, but check this out. Jim Jordan shot this beautiful buck in early November of 1914. He turned the head over to his taxidermist and thought he would see it on his wall in less than half a century. Jordan checked in on his buck, only to find the taxidermist moved to Minnesota, then to Florida. Jordan thought his buck was gone for good.
Jordan’s family eventually moved to Hinkley, Minnesota, where his taxidermist had moved prior to moving to Florida. Enter Robert Ludwig forty-four years after Jordan shot that buck. At a garage sale in Sandstone, Minnesota, he paid $3 for a giant deer rack. In 1971, he had it scored by Boone and Crockett Club measurers who dubbed it a world’s record at the time. James Jordan happened to be Bob’s uncle, and he recognized the buck immediately when Bob showed it to him. Sadly, James Jordan passed away only two months before the Boone and Crockett Club officially attached Jordan’s name to the buck.
NUMBER THREE — Hunter: Larry W. Gibson
Score: 205 points
Location: Missouri
Year: 1971
Ten yards. That’s how far Larry Gibson was from this buck back in 1971 before he shot it with his .308. Taken in Randolph County Missouri, the number three buck happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time as Gibson was just hoping to fill the freezer. He likely would have shot a fork buck given the chance. Instead, he took this bruiser and sold the antlers to the Missouri Show-Me Big Bucks Club for $200.
NUMBER FOUR – Hunter: Melvin J. Johnson
Score: 204-4/8 points
Location: Illinois
Year: 1965
The year was 1965, and guys either sported a crew-cut or long hair. Melvin Johnson had the former and a recurve. He also had a couple of treestands hung around an Illinois soybean field where he knew this bruiser liked to cruise. One day, though, he decided to build a rudimentary ground blind. With the wind in his face, he saw this stud at 300 yards, and it was moving toward him.
When the buck was close, it stared right at Johnson. After a moment, the buck turned and continued slowly on his way. Johnson rose slightly and shot. The buck took off, but turned back to look briefly. The arrow had passed through both lungs, and the deer piled up a short distance away.
NUMBER FIVE (TIE) — Hunter: Stephen Jansen
Score: 204-2/8 points
Location: Alberta
Year: 1967
A nice place to hang the V-belts. That’s what this deer rack was used for before the hunter’s nephew decided to put a tape to it. Yet rancher and hunter Stephen Jansen didn’t necessarily care for the antlers as they weren’t perfectly balanced, though the mice appreciated the dried head in Jansen’s shop.
Even if Jansen didn’t care for it, this buck was a doozy no one had ever seen before in the ranch country northwest of Calgary. The buck was 150 yards away when Jansen shot him with his Husqvarna .270. He writes, “It was the easiest whitetail I’ve ever shot.” And most certainly the biggest.
NUMBER FIVE (TIE) — Hunter: Robert W. Smith
Score: 204-2/8 points
Location: Kentucky
Year: 2000
Robert Smith knew this buck prowled a two-acre thicket of brush so thick no one would ever go in there. So, he waited on the edge of it. He was up in his treestand when a doe came out. Robert was about to shoot her until this buck came out of the bushes behind the doe. The buck was 10 yards away and never knew what hit him.
The locals weren’t exactly pleased. One even took Smith to court for supposedly trespassing. Luckily, the young man who helped Smith extract the big buck was the county sheriff’s son. Smith eventually sold the rack to Bass Pro Shops and used the money to take a church youth group to Jamaica to fix up an orphanage.
Interested in Reading More About Whitetails?
Records of North American Whitetail Deer, Sixth Edition
The definitive book of wild, free-ranging trophy whitetail deer in North America!
The sixth edition of our most popular record book -- Records of North American Whitetail Deer! This greatly expanded sixth edition features over 17,000 trophy listings for whitetail and Coues’ whitetail deer dating back to the late 1800s up through December 31, 2019. Along with the state and provincial listings, readers will also enjoy the hunting stories of 37 of the top whitetail deer taken in the 21st Century.
Included in this edition:
- More than 17,000 whitetail deer listings, which include: final B&C score, B&C gross score, key measurements, location, date, hunter, owner, state/provincial rank, All-time rank.
- Over 300 color field photographs.
- Portraits of all the current state/provincial whitetail deer, including 17 new records accepted since the last edition.
- State maps showing county distribution of whitetail deer entries.
- Tucked inside the back cover, readers will find a full-size wall poster of the U.S. highlighting the county distribution of whitetail deer entries—map unfolds to 24x36 inches. (Poster also available separately)
At nearly 700 pages, this amazing hard-cover volume is a true delight for whitetail hunters throughout North America. Here's glimpse at some pages that customers will find in the book.
U.S. Whitetail Distribution Map
This colorful map measures 36 x 24 inches, ships in a tube, and is suitable for framing. Artwork includes the county distribution of whitetail deer in the U.S. along with complete state/provincial rankings and images of the two current World's Records. Data to create map includes B&C entries accepted from 1830 through 2019.
Regular Price: $20
36 x 24 inches
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