South Dakota May Have a New Record Whitetail Deer

I have spent hours, upon hours in a tree stand in the fall. It's amazing how your mind can drift from thought to thought, similar to the shifting of the wind or the passing of time. It's a magical place. Your up off the floor of the woods watching down.

Watching and waiting.

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On Halloween morning I was fortunate to shoot the buck pictured that grossed over 172. I was and am still ecstatic over that. Now, anyone who bow hunts, knows there's always another big one out there. But where?

I am proud as heck of the deer I shot Halloween morning 2009. But in bow hunting everything is relative. You think you have a big deer and someone else shoots a monster!

Then you start talking more than 30 inches of antler over that number of my buck and you start getting a little dizzy. His name is Michael Mettler. Seems Mettler was in the right spot at the right time.

Mr. Mettle may also have a new state whitetail record for bow hunting and rifle.

According to South Dakota Hunting:

Pending acceptance by the Pope & Young Club and Boone & Crockett Club, South Dakota will have a new state record archery typical whitetail, and even more significantly, a new all-time state record.

 

Measured on January 20th by SD official B&C and P&Y measurers Stan Rauch and Craig Oberle, the mega-buck taken by Eureka, SD bowhunter Mike Mettler on Nov. 17, 2014 in McPherson County.  It scores 194 1/8 - surpassing the current SD state archery record of 182  7/8 by a large margin.  It also surpasses the current SD state firearm record set in 1948 in Sanborn County of 193 2/8 - making it the largest typical whitetail ever taken by a hunter in SD.

If you would like to read the rest of Mettler's story it's here. And it's good. Make sure you share this story with your Facebook and Twitter Hunting friends!