12-31-2004, 05:31 PM
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Buck, dubbed 'Deerzilla,' could have record rack
By [url "mailto:jprobasco@dmreg.com?subject=Buck, dubbed"]JULI PROBASCO-SOWERS[/url]
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
December 31, 2004
Travis Smiley of rural Red Oak won't know for another 30-some days whether the big-antlered whitetail buck he shot in early December is some kind of world or Iowa record for shotgun deer hunting.
He does know the rack is large and so unusual - it has a smaller, third antler - that locally the deer has been dubbed "Deerzilla."
"That was started by the guy on the local radio here," said Smiley, 27. "I guess if it's going to have a name, that would be a good one."
No one is exactly sure how to count the number of tines, or antler points. In addition to the two main branches and 33 tines protruding from the deer's head, there also is a third antler with three or four tines and its own base, said Angi Bruce, wildlife supervisor for southwest Iowa and a sister-in-law of Smiley.
Smiley said he shot the deer on a farm near Imogene in Mills County just as the very first drive of the day was getting under way.
"He just came running toward me and stopped," said Smiley, who said he doesn't remember being shaky or nervous about the event. "I guess people have seen him around, but the largest anyone thought the antlers were was maybe 18 tines."
No one has really attempted to score the antlers just yet. Some are afraid to try without more expert advice, said Bruce. The third, smaller antler means the deer won't be accepted in some record-keeping clubs, such as the internationally known Boone & Crocket Club.
An official there said that although the club records the size of non-typical antlers - antlers that aren't symmetrical - a deer with a third antler with its own base is too much a freak of nature to be included.
Antler scoring is done by a formula that takes into account symmetry, tine length, circumference and the size of the beam, the two main shafts of the antler from which tines grow.
The last potential world record buck to be shot in Iowa is a non-typical buck shot during youth shotgun deer season in September 2003 by Tony Lovstuen, 15 at the time, of Albia. That buck's antlers measured about 322 inches.
The antlers from that buck were eventually sold to Pro Bass Shops for display at the company's museum in Springfield, Mo., but the amount paid has not been disclosed by the family.
One antler appraiser said the Albia buck, now called the Lovstuen buck, which has eight normal symmetrical tines and 30 abnormal tines, could be worth between $100,000 and $150,000.
There hasn't been nearly as much buzz about Smiley's buck.
He said he was thinking about going after a buck that morning.
"Oh, sure, I always try for a buck first, then later in the season I'll shoot a doe if I don't have any luck," he said.
And he certainly didn't think he would run into the buck that he did.
"Right now, my plan is to have it mounted, then hang it on my wall so I can tell stories about it," Smiley said. "I suppose if someone offered me an ungodly amount of money, I might have to consider selling them."
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By [url "mailto:jprobasco@dmreg.com?subject=Buck, dubbed"]JULI PROBASCO-SOWERS[/url]
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
December 31, 2004
Travis Smiley of rural Red Oak won't know for another 30-some days whether the big-antlered whitetail buck he shot in early December is some kind of world or Iowa record for shotgun deer hunting.
He does know the rack is large and so unusual - it has a smaller, third antler - that locally the deer has been dubbed "Deerzilla."
"That was started by the guy on the local radio here," said Smiley, 27. "I guess if it's going to have a name, that would be a good one."
No one is exactly sure how to count the number of tines, or antler points. In addition to the two main branches and 33 tines protruding from the deer's head, there also is a third antler with three or four tines and its own base, said Angi Bruce, wildlife supervisor for southwest Iowa and a sister-in-law of Smiley.
Smiley said he shot the deer on a farm near Imogene in Mills County just as the very first drive of the day was getting under way.
"He just came running toward me and stopped," said Smiley, who said he doesn't remember being shaky or nervous about the event. "I guess people have seen him around, but the largest anyone thought the antlers were was maybe 18 tines."
No one has really attempted to score the antlers just yet. Some are afraid to try without more expert advice, said Bruce. The third, smaller antler means the deer won't be accepted in some record-keeping clubs, such as the internationally known Boone & Crocket Club.
An official there said that although the club records the size of non-typical antlers - antlers that aren't symmetrical - a deer with a third antler with its own base is too much a freak of nature to be included.
Antler scoring is done by a formula that takes into account symmetry, tine length, circumference and the size of the beam, the two main shafts of the antler from which tines grow.
The last potential world record buck to be shot in Iowa is a non-typical buck shot during youth shotgun deer season in September 2003 by Tony Lovstuen, 15 at the time, of Albia. That buck's antlers measured about 322 inches.
The antlers from that buck were eventually sold to Pro Bass Shops for display at the company's museum in Springfield, Mo., but the amount paid has not been disclosed by the family.
One antler appraiser said the Albia buck, now called the Lovstuen buck, which has eight normal symmetrical tines and 30 abnormal tines, could be worth between $100,000 and $150,000.
There hasn't been nearly as much buzz about Smiley's buck.
He said he was thinking about going after a buck that morning.
"Oh, sure, I always try for a buck first, then later in the season I'll shoot a doe if I don't have any luck," he said.
And he certainly didn't think he would run into the buck that he did.
"Right now, my plan is to have it mounted, then hang it on my wall so I can tell stories about it," Smiley said. "I suppose if someone offered me an ungodly amount of money, I might have to consider selling them."
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