the Johnny King buck

[Bushman]

I personally never liked the Hansen buck because I think that a world record should have more mass to it than what I see with Milo's buck. Then I began to wonder what is it about Wisconsin that keeps producing these huge antlers when other states have more restrictive seasons, more land mass, fewer hunters, less severe winters, better feed, better managed ratios, older age class animals... Then I got looking at some geological maps and it became clear that our soil and sub-species probably has a lot to do with it. The Niagara Escarpment runs right through the east, south and then up into west central Wisconsin. Limestone is predominate in this area and limestone is made up of the tiny invertebrates and deposited during the Ordovician period. Door County is producing some huge bucks and runs right up the east coast. That Johnny King buck is out of Dane County which is always high on the list of big buck producers in the south central part. Then that Ordovician rock area swings up into western Wisconsin to include Buffalo County which is far and away the leading county in the Midwest for B&C bucks. The mineral deposits from the Mississippi river bordering Buffalo County help too.

I've always liked hunting in the relative seclusion of NW Wisconsin and while there are some big bucks up there due to their older age class, nothing compared to the kind of bucks that were coming out of that west central area. My entering any kind of a big buck contest over there was nothing more than a donation. Add that soil type to the fact that we have the largest sub-species here in the Midwest and it creates a perfect environment for world record class animals.

Some years back the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources wanted to designate one of those SW counties as a trophy county and get more age on those bucks that already had the food, soil and genealogy working for them. It never worked out, but it would have grown some bigger bucks to be sure. The QDM movement and all the private land in the southern part of the state has done much the same thing.

[kjjm4]

...Most of the skeptics believe that the rack was cobbled together from spare parts and that an X-ray would prove/disprove its authenticity, but he refused to do that, either. Sold it to an anonymous collector, he says, so if you ever figure out whether it's real or not, we should put you to work on the JFK thing...

That says it all to me. If he wouldn't let them x-ray it, something was probably fishy.

Although, if it were me, I might react in a similar fashion, except I'd probably keep the rack. All the attention from people with antler fetishes might drive me nuts.

[venado]

kjjm4, I followed the saga of that buck from early on and still have many of the articles that were written about the buck and the hunter himself. There was no question as to his skill at killing great bucks because he had killed quite a number that were in the MI Record book prior to this buck. There were so many stories that questioned the validity of the buck/kill but because I know a bit about his personal history gleened from my friend that knew him personally, I believed the tale and still do. He appeared to have a clouded history that made him live a very secluded lifestyle and my friend said he simply was not the kind of person that could deal with all of the questions and pressures that came with a personal investigation. Added to those personal issues he had a real hard on for the Boone & Crockett Club even before he killed the buck. All in all a great mystery that I really wish could come to a honest conclusion just for the record.

[swamp]

Well i guess everyone has their own opinion... but to have it verified as legit was a rather simple process... most of us wouldnt turn down lottery winnings because of the public attention... but each to his own

[venado]

Swamp, as I noted there were some personal issues that were presented at the time that may or may not have been true. For someone that was a recluse and really only cared about hunting, these accusations might have been enough for him to decide that shutting up and letting the attention go away was prudent. I agree with you that the proof likely would not have been that difficult and maybe some day the head will resurface and the proof or lack thereof my surface too..!

[StringJumper]

The really odd thing is the guy did want the attention, at least in the beginning. As I recall he videotaped the recovery, took still photos, and told people about his buck. It was not unusual for someone to be asked to validate their authenticity about a subject (unless your Barry Obama being asked to prove US citizenship ) nor was it singling him out to request it. The moment he stopped seeking attention was when he was asked to prove it.

The most telling thing to me is when he turned down a public offer of $10,000 just to have the antlers x-rayed. And he could keep the rack. That was a perfect opportunity to shut up all the nay-sayers. And later I heard he sells the rack so money was obviously important to him. If the rack was real why didn't he take the earlier opportunity to make ten grand?

Nothing adds up in the story. I filed this one up "if it walks like a duck..."

[swamp]

for a guy that started his own website about his deer kills that doesnt add up to someone who wants to be a recluse and all private like...

look at some of those photos wierdest damn deer i ever seen LMAO

http://www.rompolawhitetails.com/galler ... 3&photo=22

[venado]

Swamp, I could not get the link to work.

[swamp]

not working for me either ... it was working when i put it up..

the entire site appears to be down...