8 of the Coolest Drop-Tine Bucks Ever
Everyone enjoys a big buck with drop tines. Here are eight impressive bucks with some of the coolest drop tines ever seen on a whitetail deer.
Nothing grabs a hunter’s attention quite like a buck with a drop tine. Many hunters go their whole deer hunting careers without ever seeing one in the woods, let alone harvesting one.
Today we’re sharing eight bucks with some of the most incredible drop tines ever seen on a deer. These bucks have all become iconic for tines that go the wrong way.
The Del Austin Buck
Also known as “Old Mossy Horns,” this giant buck is characterized by matching eye guard drops jutting from its bases. Sheds from the year before he was shot had even more impressive drops. Scoring 279 7/8, this buck was a world record for decades after and a favorite of hunters everywhere since then.
The Gerald Rightmyer buck
Scoring an eye-popping 272 2/8 inches, the No. 2 Kansas non-typical, boasts a little bit of everything hunters love in big deer. This buck has a couple of drop tines, including an impressive club-like drop on its right side.
The buck would likely be even more well-known, but it was a fighter said to have broken off numerous tines. This lowered the score from being one of the all-time largest bucks ever killed by a hunter.
The Larry Raveling buck
Better known as “Old Rag Horn,” this buck was taken down by Larry Raveling during a deer drive in Clay County, Iowa. The twisted antlers have points going in all directions, including two impressive drop tines.
Scoring 282 inches, this impressive buck remains one of the largest ever harvested by a hunter.
The Jeff Benson buck
This buck sports some of the most impressive drop tines ever seen on a whitetail, and it has an intriguing story shrouded in mystery since it wandered Texas sometime in the 1890s. The 72-point buck is known both from the set of antlers it was carrying when it was shot and a matched set of 286-inch, 78-point sheds.
The mystery of this buck comes from the buck’s origins. No one is quite sure who shot it, but it’s widely believed a man by the name of Jeff Benson was the one who shot it. It’s said he eventually brought the buck to the Buckhorn Saloon in San Antonio and sold the antlers to the owner, Albert Friedrich, for only $100.
Unbelievably, not only is the Buckhorn Saloon still open for business, but the antlers are still there all these years later as the star attraction of the bar’s wildlife museum! It seems Friedrich made a solid investment!
The Hole-in-the-Horn buck
No list about drop tine bucks can leave off this monster found dead in Ohio in 1940. This buck is probably the best-known, non-typical whitetail ever, and boasts some incredibly heavy drop tines including one with the trademark hole that gives the deer its name.
People are still debating what made that hole but the most widely accepted explanation is the buck got tangled in a fence and the wire bore a hole in the soft drop tine as the buck struggled to free himself.
The Neil Morin buck
It was 17-year-old Neil Morin who shot this 279-6/8-inch Alberta monster back in 1991. In addition to sporting some of the most impressive brow tines ever seen on a whitetail, the buck also sports several equally impressive drop tines.
Most impressive are the two matching club-like tines on both sides that still sport a bit of dried black velvet on the ends.
The Lobster Claw buck
This buck would have been impressive for any hunter, but the 15-inch drop tine makes this buck a real head-turner.
A teenager found this monster dead in Fulton County, Illinois, back in 1990, but it’s uncertain what exactly killed it. One of the sadder theories is that a hunter shot and lost the buck during the firearms season. Whatever the case may be, this is one of the most impressive single drop tines ever seen on any whitetail.
The Mike Okray buck
Colorado isn’t really known as a big whitetail state, but it does produce some stud bucks. For further evidence of that, just check out Wisconsin resident Mike Okray’s 258-2/8-inch non-typical, which he harvested in Colorado in 1992.
Not only is this buck still the state-record non-typical, but it sports some awesome drop tines any hunter can appreciate.
The post 8 of the Coolest Drop-Tine Bucks Ever appeared first on Wide Open Spaces.
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Originally posted 2018-05-07 18:35:01.
