The tip of the calendar yr signifies that most of America’s deer seasons have additionally come to an finish. And as we shut out 2025, it’s time to look again on among the greatest and finest deer searching tales we’ve revealed at Out of doors Life. Listed here are eight of the most important whitetail bucks we’ve shared with readers this yr, together with transient summaries of the tales behind the hunts.
The Dawn Buck
It had stop raining the earlier night in Pierce County, Wisconsin, and Tiler Hunter figured deer could be on the transfer that morning, Sept. 19. As he was strolling to his stand earlier than daylight, he noticed an enormous buck standing close to a discipline edge 30 yards from his stand. Learn the total story right here.
Tagging a 26-Pointer “Simply Like My Grandfather Did”
It was windy and chilly in Northeast Maine’s Lincoln County on Nov. 4 when Robbie Flint stepped into the woods that afternoon. The 29-year-old was taking a break from his business fishing job, and he was sitting on the bottom subsequent to a tree, searching like his father and grandfather had taught him. Immediately he observed a deer simply 10 yards away. Learn the total story right here.
Wisconsin “Metro Season” Booner
Steven Loomans had been bow searching all yr. However on Dec. 10, it was the final day of the prolonged “metro” gun season in Dane County, Wisconsin. So, he modified issues up and grabbed a .30-06 rifle.
Searching from a ladder stand, he noticed the buck bedded down at 50 yards. Loomans yelled loud sufficient for the buck to select its head up, after which he fired one shot along with his rifle. The deer by no means stood up. Its rack inexperienced scored at 191 7/8 inches as a typical 12 pointer. If that rating holds, it could possibly be Wisconsin’s new No. 5 typical within the Boone and Crockett guide. Learn the total story right here.
The Buck We Drove Again Residence For
Jason Taylor was chook searching in Wyoming when he received a notification from one of many path cams close to his Kentucky residence. The images confirmed {that a} big buck he’d hunted for 4 years was again. Taylor and his buddy drove straight again to Kentucky. Exhausted however excited, Taylor settled into his stand along with his bow the following morning, on Oct. 2. Learn the total story right here.
Kansas Slammer with 9 Kilos of Headgear
Veteran Kansas bowhunter Danny Williams had monitored a McPherson County, Kansas buck for 3 years. He says the deer’s antlers drew 40 inches this autumn, and he knew it was time to take the buck.
Searching circumstances weren’t precisely supreme the afternoon of Oct. 21 when Williams received right into a field blind along with his scoped crossbow. The blind was arrange on the sting of an open pasture with rolling hills and cedar bushes.
Williams observed the buck standing solely 18 yards away as he raised his crossbow and shot. He thought the arrow flew true, however the blood path was faint. To be secure, he referred to as a buddy with a monitoring canine, which discovered the deer lifeless simply 80 yards from the place it was shot. The 5-year-old buck had a 21-point rack that tough scored 221 inches. Its antler base circumferences are 8.25 and seven.5 inches, and the cranium and antlers alone weighed 9 kilos. Learn the total story right here.
Trying to find “Krabs” within the Warmth
Michigander Craig Meyers had hunted the east-central Ohio buck for 3 seasons earlier than lastly getting an opportunity at him on a small meals plot on Oct. 3. He’d patterned the buck utilizing path cameras and, when the wind lastly shifted in his favor that afternoon, he headed to his blind. It was brutally scorching and sunny that afternoon, and he even used ice packs on his physique to remain cool whereas he waited for the double drop-tine to point out. Learn the total story right here.
Ready Years for a Heavy-Racked Wisconsin Buck
Mitch Piepenburg had many shut encounters with this ghost-like Sheboygan County buck, and he almost tagged it a number of occasions through the a few years he hunted it. Situations have been supreme the afternoon of Sept. 28, when Piepenburg headed to a small meals plot close to a tangled swamp on non-public land. It was lifeless nonetheless that night and the temperature was dropping when Piepenburg noticed the deer simply 15 yards from his tree stand. Learn the total story right here.
The Quest for “Cactus Jack”
Luke Beaty spent numerous hours attempting to outwit an enormous buck with distinctive stickers he’d nicknamed “Cactus Jack.” After taking part in cat-and-mouse with the buck for years, Beaty concluded the deer was rutting on a 140-acre non-public farm in southwest Missouri. Earlier than daybreak on Oct. 9, with temps within the 20s, Beaty climbed into his stand. He noticed does and small bucks instantly, then noticed Cactus Jack at 100 yards. Learn the total story right here.
