What
is a "ghost buck" you might be asking? Well,
ghost buck is a term for those big rarities.Those
mystical deer which all great hunting stories are
based upon. Some are strange-antlered nontypicals,
some are just monsters that are rarely seen. Some
still are genetic oddities like albino bucks. There
may be a ghost buck near you, walking through the
woods, never seen or heard from because he hides in
the thickest cattails, the most briar-filled ravines,
and deepest chasms of the badlands. He is a spook,
a specter, a story told to young hunters by grandpa
to get them excited for opening day. In the rare instance
that one of these ghost bucks are actually killed,
it is rarely by bullet, but by a car, or a semi or
natural causes. Once in a while, a great story surrounding
a massive buck is told, and with the expediency and
the "authenticity" of the internet, the
story grows to field legend status. What follows are
the tales of ghost bucks from 2003. Many of the stories
come from emails, posting on major outdoors sites
from the region and the nation, and other semi-credible
sources. I will continue to update the stories as
more information is available, and dispel any rumors
as they are busted by the light of truth. Enjoy!
The Center Buck is so named because it met its end
on the bumper of a truck one night in early November,
2003 near the town of Center, ND. The deer was inspected
and initial measurments of its monsterous rack were
taken. The main beams measured 30 inches with considerable
mass around them, including nearly 7 inches at the
base. The green scoring of the deer was calculated
for a typical deer, the gross was 215, the net 186.
When added up for a nontypical deer, the gross was
244, with the net being 228. The antlers have 15 or
16 points on them, and are tall and wide. There is
a multitude of stickers surrounding the base of each
antler.RUMOR: The man driving the vehicle which killed
the Center Buck was allowed to tag it with his '03
Rifle Tag.
RUMOR:
At every big buck contest in Western ND that the rack
has been shown at, it has beat the actual winner of
each contest by a significant margin.
The
temptation of an after hours ghost buck steals the
record from Canadian Hunter.
The deer was shot near Dryden, Ontario, Canada (located
3 hours east of Winnipeg, Manitoba) approximately
1/2 hour after legal shooting time. The Ontario Ministry
of Natural Resources (OMNR) seized the deer. The antlers
were amazingly massive, and the 18 points were long
and thick.
RUMOR: This buck is estimated to score over 41 points
more than the current world record.
The
Lovstuen buck is actually a well documented story
of an Iowa legend, at least for the locals around
Albia, Iowa. Several pictures of the monster nontypical
had been taken over the past several years. But none
will be taken anymore. Tony Lovstuen, 15 of Albia,
shot the massive buck during Iowa youth season with
a blackpowder rifle. The buck scored 322 4/8 inches
in its green scoring, and then 319 4/8 inches in its
entry scoring. The entry scoring session lasted nearly
six hours as a team of Boone & Crockett scorers
worked steadily measuring the 38 scoreable points.
The rack had an inside spread of 22 4/8 inches, and
167 4/8 abnormal inches were accounted for. The buck
is the 3rd largest in the world, it is an Iowa state
record and a national muzzleloader record as well.
More information can be found HERE.
RUMOR: Young Lovstuen has been given $50,000 from
Knight muzzleloaders, the brand of rifle he was using
for this kill.
RUMOR: The rack will sell for over $100,000.
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