TriggerHappyJake
Senior Member
Ok guys, if there is one thing I have read about, listened about, studied, and watched, its B&C whitetail deer antlers. Regardless of state of origin or method of harvest. That being said I am here to state forever that the Hole in the Horn buck from Ohio is the greatest non-typical whitetail deer to have ever walked this Earth. For those of you who are not familiar with said animal then allow me to elaborate. The Hole in the Horn buck is a name given to a deer that was found deceased in Ohio sometime in the late fall of 1940. The deer was discovered on land belonging to the Ravenna Arsenal in Portage county. The arsenal was currently in use to provide munitions to be shipped to the front in the early days of WW2. According to a former employee of the arsenal by the name of George Winters, the deer's remains were spotted at the base of a chain link fence by a passing train crew. Winters and another employee with the last name flower then proceeded to return sometime in the day to investigate. The narrative goes that the right antler of the buck was buried beneath the base of the fence. As the head was attempted to be removed from its resting place it was said that it was held fast by a strand of wire from the fence that protruded into a portion of the antler itself which left a hole. The head was then reportedly cut from the decaying carcass and was taken to the car of Flower. Now, Flower was reportedly a member of a local men's club know as the Kent Canadian Club. It is speculated that he gave the head and antlers to the club which in turn allowed a local taxidermist to mount for display. The mounted head then hung in the clubhouse for the next 40 years. fast foreword to early 1983 when a noted antler collector named Dick Idol "discovered" the mounted head within the clubhouse. The antlers were measured and entered into B&C.
Now, with the story told, I will explain my reasoning behind my claim of this buck being the greatest of all time. First, the deer has a net non-typical score of 328 2/8 which leaves him at 2nd place for the highest scoring non-typical whitetail. Yes he is second to the Missouri Monarch buck that was found dead in 1981. However this is simply because the aforementioned buck is only slightly more symmetrical than the Hole in the Horn buck as is B&C method of measuring to favor the symmetry of a deer's antlers. The Missouri Monarch's antlers, in my opinion, pales in comparison to the Hole in the Horn. The Ohio whitetails rack weighs in at eleven and a half pounds as well as sporting an outside spread of thirty three inches. His abnormal growth is the highest ever found on a whitetail rack with 192 7/8 of growth. This is simply staggering. To put it into prospective this buck has more abnormal growth than the Georgia state record typical has in its entire rack. 23 points on the right and 22 on the left bring a total of 45 points, the third highest number of points ever found on a whitetail rack. This is the first and currently oldest whitetail to ever be entered into B&C records that scores above the 300 inch mark.
Numbers aside I marvel at the story of this deer. He came from a time in America when whitetails did not receive nearly the attention they do now. No one was planting food plots, making mineral licks, or supplementary feeding deer in 1940s Ohio. The state did not even hold its first deer season until 3 years after this buck was found. Mother nature alone had a hand in producing such an animal. One thing that I feel is lost on many people regarding this deer is that it was able to live and die without once crossing paths with a hunter. I personally feel like that there was not a hunter that could be found worthy of taking this deer. Instead he lived and died and came to us after his purpose was served on Earth. I have heard it said that this deer, having not been harvest by one singular hunter, belongs to all hunters who take to the field every year. All hunters to ever have witnessed this deer have harvested it in their minds and so we can all smile as we look upon it regardless of place of origin, age, or gender.
Now comes the time for me to state the obvious. Yes, there will be many who disagree with me proclaiming this buck of yester year as the G.O.A.T and yes I have crammed much too much typing for a single forum post. But I never get the chance to express my thoughts about this incredible animal and I just wanted to speak my mind. Thanks for reading.
Now, with the story told, I will explain my reasoning behind my claim of this buck being the greatest of all time. First, the deer has a net non-typical score of 328 2/8 which leaves him at 2nd place for the highest scoring non-typical whitetail. Yes he is second to the Missouri Monarch buck that was found dead in 1981. However this is simply because the aforementioned buck is only slightly more symmetrical than the Hole in the Horn buck as is B&C method of measuring to favor the symmetry of a deer's antlers. The Missouri Monarch's antlers, in my opinion, pales in comparison to the Hole in the Horn. The Ohio whitetails rack weighs in at eleven and a half pounds as well as sporting an outside spread of thirty three inches. His abnormal growth is the highest ever found on a whitetail rack with 192 7/8 of growth. This is simply staggering. To put it into prospective this buck has more abnormal growth than the Georgia state record typical has in its entire rack. 23 points on the right and 22 on the left bring a total of 45 points, the third highest number of points ever found on a whitetail rack. This is the first and currently oldest whitetail to ever be entered into B&C records that scores above the 300 inch mark.
Numbers aside I marvel at the story of this deer. He came from a time in America when whitetails did not receive nearly the attention they do now. No one was planting food plots, making mineral licks, or supplementary feeding deer in 1940s Ohio. The state did not even hold its first deer season until 3 years after this buck was found. Mother nature alone had a hand in producing such an animal. One thing that I feel is lost on many people regarding this deer is that it was able to live and die without once crossing paths with a hunter. I personally feel like that there was not a hunter that could be found worthy of taking this deer. Instead he lived and died and came to us after his purpose was served on Earth. I have heard it said that this deer, having not been harvest by one singular hunter, belongs to all hunters who take to the field every year. All hunters to ever have witnessed this deer have harvested it in their minds and so we can all smile as we look upon it regardless of place of origin, age, or gender.
Now comes the time for me to state the obvious. Yes, there will be many who disagree with me proclaiming this buck of yester year as the G.O.A.T and yes I have crammed much too much typing for a single forum post. But I never get the chance to express my thoughts about this incredible animal and I just wanted to speak my mind. Thanks for reading.
