World Record Cover Up?

[gloomiseye]

Wow have you guys seen this? Makes B&C sound like a bunch of teenage girls. Great buck though.

Quote:

by Duncan Dobie

On Nov. 18, 2006, avid whitetail hunter Johnny King of Mt. Horeb, Wis., shot a massive 12-point buck the likes of which were almost unparalleled in the annals of deer and deer hunting. As a straight 6-by-6 typical with no additional abnormal points, the great rack grossed more than 220 inches, a milestone few typical whitetail racks in history have attained.

Yet, some 4 1/2 years later, the rack remains in relative obscurity. In a time where antler scores and giant racks are the Holy Grail to most avid whitetail fanatics, how could this happen to a buck of this magnitude? How could Wisconsin, rich in whitetail history and proud producer of the former world-record James Jordan Buck, let a deer like this slip through the cracks?

Hunter Johnny King, of Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin, killed this buck Nov. 18, 2006, the opening day of the Wisconsin firearms season. (Photo courtesy of Johnny King)

The answer is perplexing and, in a way, maddening. For King, life will never be the same. Here, in a Deer & Deer Hunting exclusive, is his untold story.

A Stunning Revelation

Soon after recovering the buck, King and his cousin Brad Heisz realized — to their shock — that the left main beam had been hit by one of the .30-30 Win. bullets from King’s Savage bolt-action. The bullet damaged the beam just below the left brow tine. As soon as the cousins began to examine the rack, the beam broke off in Heisz’s hand. Yet, for days, friends urged King to have the massive rack officially scored.

King contacted official Boone-and-Crockett Club measurer John Ramsey, who green-scored the antlers before the required 60-day drying period had elapsed.

Ramsey measured the rack as a clean 12-point typical. As soon as he tallied up the numbers, he was stunned. The antlers grossed in the low 220s and netted more than 215 typical B&C points. Ramsey told King that depending on how the broken beam might be interpreted by B&C, he could be the owner of a new Wisconsin record and possibly the new world-record typical!

Even after the left antler was repaired, Johnny King wanted the bullet hole in the left main beam to remain visible so that the antler would be unaltered in any way. (Photo courtesy of Klaus Lebrecht)

(Note: The current typical world record scored 213 5/8 and was taken by Milo Hanson in Biggar, Saskatchewan, in 1993. Ironically, the long-standing former world record before 1993 was taken in Wisconsin. In 1914, James Jordan shot a massive 10-pointer near Danbury on the Yellow River in Burnett County. The buck was later scored 206 1/8 typical B&C points. The Jordan Buck wasn’t officially declared a world-record typical until the 1950s. It held the top spot, however, until Hanson killed his buck.)

According to King, Ramsey was reluctant to officially score the head until a determination could be made by B&C about whether the broken beam could be accepted into the record book. Steve Ashley, an official measurer of the prestigious Wisconsin Buck and Bear Club, contacted King and made arrangements to inspect the rack. According to King, after Ashley examined the massive rack, he apparently concurred with Ramsey’s score.

“He insinuated that he thought I might have a new world record,” King said. “He asked me if I realized what I had. And then he told me not to let anybody see it.”

King was a little bewildered.

“Why shouldn’t I let anyone see the rack?” he wondered. “If it’s a new world record, everyone will want to see it.”

King said he was informed that his rack would need to be panel-scored by B&C if the issue regarding the break could be resolved. (A recent rule change by B&C makes it possible for bucks with broken beams like King’s to be entered in the record book under certain conditions.)

An Emotional Roller Coaster

King said he was urged to contact the B&C headquarters in Montana and make arrangements to have the rack examined and possibly panel-scored. King said he called the club office and learned that the Pope and Young Club (keeper of archery records in North America) would soon be conducting its 25th Biennium National Convention and Awards Banquet in April 2007, near Lancaster, Pa. King said he was told by a B&C official that he could take the rack to Pennsylvania to have it examined and obtain a ruling about the break in the main beam.

The disputed right G-3 can be seen in this replica. (Photo by Shane Indrebo, courtesy of www.classicantlers.com)

So, thinking he might have a possible world-record whitetail that would need to be panel-scored if the break issue could be resolved, King jumped into his truck and drove 1,200 miles to Pennsylvania with his dad and a close friend. Expectations were high.

King said when he reached the Cabela’s store in Hamburg, Pa., where the actual scoring was being done by officials of P&Y and B&C, he was ushered into a room where Jack Reneau, executive secretary of B&C, and Glenn and Kevin Hisey of P&Y were scoring various big-game heads for the archery record book. Ashley was also there. King said Reneau asked him and Ashley to leave the room so he could examine the rack. Some time later, King and Ashley were ushered back into the room.

King said Reneau then informed him that because the break in the main beam was a clean break, the antlers could be accepted into the record book. However, he also dropped a bombshell. He told King he had determined the right G-3 was an “abnormal point” because it came more from the inside base of the G-2 instead of the top of the main beam. According to scoring procedure, that also put the left G-3 in the abnormal category. That meant the rack would have to be scored as a mainframe 5-by-5 with two abnormal points (both G-3s) instead of as a typical 6-by-6 with no abnormal points.

It also meant that instead of netting in the 215-plus range, the typical score of King’s buck would drop into the low 180s.

King said Reneau then informed him there was no need to panel-score the rack because B&C doesn’t panel-score typical racks with scores in the low 180s. King was also told that if he wanted to get the rack entered in B&C, he would have to take it back to Ramsey in Wisconsin and have him officially score it with the G-3s being listed as abnormal points.

Somewhat bewildered and confused, King headed home. Basically the fate of his potential world-record buck had apparently been decided by the opinion of one B&C official instead of a panel of judges. As instructed, King took the rack to Ramsey who, on March 7, 2007, in accordance with Reneau’s implicit instructions, scored the rack and deducted the two “abnormal” G-3s, giving the deer a net typical score of 180.

King Moves On

Despite the tremendous letdown, King signed the appropriate papers and submitted the 180 1/8-inch score to B&C. In late March 2007, he took his antlers to the Wisconsin Deer and Turkey Expo in Madison. There, he was overwhelmed with the reception that his trophy received.

“Everyone who saw it, including a number of experienced measurers, said it was the biggest (typical) rack they had ever seen,” King said. “They kept asking me what it scored, and I would answer ‘180 1/8.’ They all said ‘No way! This deer is clearly a 200-plus-inch 6-by-6 typical!’”

Because of the overwhelming response he received at the expo, and after more whitetail experts (including several experienced official B&C and P&Y measurers) had looked at his rack and agreed the right G-3 was, in their collective opinion, not abnormal, King decided to cancel his B&C entry.

“I simply felt like it was much bigger than the 180 inches that Jack Reneau had assigned it,” King said.

While attending the show in Madison, King struck up a friendship with local antler collector Jay Fish of Edgar, Wis. Fish, like numerous other whitetail experts, also questioned the ruling. After careful examination of the rack, he believed the right G-3 was a typical point, and thought the rack should have remained a 6-by-6 typical as it had originally been scored.

“I’m gonna buy that deer some day if you ever decide to sell it,” Fish told King.

After the expo, King took the rack to well-known antler artist Tom Sexton in Iowa to have the broken beam repaired.

Buckmasters Declares it a Record

In the meantime, King contacted Mike Handley, executive director of Buckmasters Whitetail Trophy Records of Montgomery, Ala. After reviewing photos of the deer, Handley promptly flew to Wisconsin and scored the rack on King’s kitchen table. Just as Handley had suspected, the rack was the largest typical he had ever seen. His composite score (gross) came in at 219 5/8 inches.

(The rack’s official Buckmasters gross score came in at 198 2/8, because the Buckmasters scoring system does not include a rack’s inside spread measurement.)

King’s buck was soon declared a new world record by Buckmasters Trophy Records. The BTR full-credit scoring system uses the same measurements as B&C, except no inside spread measurement is included in the final score (which in King’s case was 21 3/8 inches) and no deductions are taken for side-to-side differences. The BTR perfect category is equivalent to the B&C typical category.

The left G-3, shown here, is 3 6/8 inches longer than the right G-3. This difference is deducted in the “side-to-side differences” column when scoring the rack as a typical. (Photo by Kris Kandler, copyright F&W Media 2011)

King’s buck was co-winner of Buckmasters’ prestigious Golden Laurel Citation for 2007. Handley, having scored hundreds of whitetail racks through the years, said there was never any question in his mind that both G-3s were typical points. According to his score sheet, there were 8 1/8 inches in side-to-side differences. Thus, on the B&C scale, his measurements would have given the rack a net typical score of 211 4/8 inches, slightly lower than Ramsey’s original score and not quite a world record, but definitely a Wisconsin state record. (The Jordan Buck still holds the state’s top spot at 206 and ranks No. 2 all time behind the Hanson Buck).

The Debate Rages On

Marlin Laidlaw is a past board member of the Wisconsin Buck and Bear Club. Although he is not an official B&C scorer, Laidlaw has scored thousands of racks during his 27-year career with the WBBC. He first saw the King Buck on display at the Wisconsin Deer and Turkey Expo in 2007, and he said he immediately knew it was a giant buck. But at that time, Laidlaw was only vaguely aware of any controversy.

In 2009, Laidlaw said he received a call from a friend, Korey Schillinger, a local police chief, who asked him to look at a deer head. It turned out to be the King Buck.

As Laidlaw examined the rack, he listened to the story about the unfortunate ruling in which the right G-3 had been declared abnormal. However, it appeared to him that the rack could be scored as a typical. Schillinger told him the rack had never been scored for the Wisconsin Buck and Bear Club.

Several more months passed. Laidlaw was haunted by what had happened, including the fact the rack had never been scored by the WBBC. His conscience would not let him forget about the King Buck. He called Fish, the new owner, and asked him if he could score it strictly for personal knowledge. Laidlaw said he made it plain to Fish that he would not be scoring the rack as a function of the WBBC or in any other official capacity.

Fish responded, “I’ve been accused of ‘shopping’ the score by B&C, even though I have never allowed one single official B&C measurer to score it. The only way I would ever allow it to be officially scored is if it goes to a panel. Since no one from the Buck and Bear Club has scored it yet, and since you’re not an official B&C scorer, I will make an exception and allow you to score it for your own purposes.”

Laidlaw measured the deer under the stated conditions and came up with a net typical score of 215 1/8 inches.

“I found it easy to call this rack a typical 215-plus-inch rack and difficult to call it a 180-inch typical or a nontypical,” Laidlaw said. “I learned early on in my scoring career that if it’s a close call, give it to the animal. The rules are fairly clear, but judgment does enter in to any measurement. The facts, as they relate to this deer, are:

“All points come off the top of the main beams.

“All points have a matching point on the other beam.

“What draws attention to the rack is that the right G-3 is shorter than its matching point on the left side. But the rules clearly state that differences in point length are accounted for in the ‘difference’ column.

“Then there is the question about ‘common base points.’ This occurs when two points share the same base, which increases the circumference between them. If this occurs, one point could be construed as ‘abnormal.’ This is a judgment call and, many times, results in confusion for hunters and scorers alike. Once you answer the question, ‘Do the points come off the top of the main beam and are they matched?’ it seems that any other determination that would change them to something other than ‘typical’ points is double jeopardy in my view.

“Under the common-base rule, to be able to count the tines as ‘typical’ they must have a figure 8 or peanut appearance if you removed both at the main beam. If they do, then you must draw the base line not at the beam but at the low point between the points — in this case between the G-2 and G-3. This is done so as not to give double credit because of the larger circumference as well as the extra point length.

“With the King Buck, I found the G-2s and G-3s do pass the figure 8 test, but I believe that although the points are growing close together, they are so evenly spaced that ‘common base’ might not necessarily be the call. I found this rack to be almost perfect with the exception of the length difference between the right and left G-3s.

“I have had numerous conversations with measurers who have a long history as B&C measurers, and they are of the belief that this deer is clearly a typical 200-plus-inch deer.”

Shopping for Justice

After examining the rack, Laidlaw told Fish that he would talk to some other WBBC officials and attempt to set up an objective panel-scoring session at the upcoming Deer and Turkey Expo in April 2010. Naturally, Fish and King were elated the deer might be given an impartial hearing. If nothing else, they hoped to get it recognized in the state of Wisconsin.

Deer & Deer Hunting Editor Dan Schmidt (left) and Johnny King admire the rack. (Photo by Kris Kandler, copyright F&W Media 2011)

Their elation was short-lived. Just before the expo, Reneau allegedly caught wind of the possible panel-scoring session and contacted several WBBC measurers, allegedly telling them Fish was “shopping for a score” and instructing them not to score the King Buck under any circumstances. The end result: The deer was deemed too controversial to allow into the show, and the anticipated scoring session never occurred.

Because so many people asked to see the rack, Fish ended up sneaking it into the show, but kept it out of sight in a box at a friend’s booth. While the rack was there, several official measurers — including several members of the WBBC — got an opportunity to examine it. With the exception of one man, all agreed the rack should have been scored as a straight 6-by-6 typical.

In fact, a WBBC officer told Fish, “This really p…..es me off! This sort of thing never should have happened in Wisconsin or with B&C. This deer is typical all the way, no question.”

According to Laidlaw, proper protocol for scoring a deer of this magnitude was not followed, and that’s where things went astray. After it was officially scored by Ramsey as a typical 6-by-6, the next step should have been for the buck to be panel-scored by WBBC members. At that point, the final entry score would have been submitted to B&C. If that had happened, it’s likely that an impartial group of WBBC measurers would have scored the deer as a 6-by-6 typical. Then, even if Reneau had refused to accept a typical score, the WBBC would have been in a good position to protest the ruling.

However, because of the lingering question regarding the broken beam, proper protocol wasn’t followed. Instead, King was told to take the rack to Pennsylvania so that it could be examined by Reneau. Instead of allowing the WBBC to get involved and panel-score the rack and come to its own conclusion, Reneau made an arbitrary ruling declaring the G-3 tine to be abnormal. After that ruling was made, the WBBC felt like its hands were tied, and the club had to abide by the ruling.

Interestingly, Laidlaw later had the rack precisely measured by a laser-measuring device. Amazingly, all of the tines were found to be almost perfectly symmetrical from side to side as far as spacing is concerned, and both G-3 tines were found to be rising up off of the main beam at the same angle as most of the other typical tines.

In other words, if the G-3s were abnormal, all of the other typical tines on the rack would have to be scored as abnormal tines. In short, all of the upright tines on one of the world’s

greatest 6-by-6 typical bucks with an almost perfectly symmetrical rack (except for the length difference of the G-3s) would have to be scored as abnormal points.

A Master Measurer Weighs In

Several more months passed. Because so many people in Wisconsin believed the deer had not gotten a fair shake, another tentative panel-scoring session was set up for October 2010 in Marshfield, Wis. Several prominent WBBC measurers again were invited to take part.

Official B&C measurer Ron Boucher and Wisconsin Buck and Bear measurer Herman Feller discuss a measurement on the massive rack. The disputed right G-3, some 3 2/8 inches shorter than its matching point on the left side, is plainly visible. (Photo courtesy of Klaus Lebrecht)

Just before the session was to take place, however, one of the club officers called Reneau and asked permission to allow the club to panel-score the deer. Reneau adamantly refused, and for the second time in 2010, a scoring session was cancelled at the last minute.

Ron Boucher, a highly respected B&C measurer from Vermont, had been following the plight of the King Buck since he saw it at the Iowa Deer Classic in 2010. Highly experienced in scoring deer, Boucher had been one of the panel members who scored the world record Hanson Buck in the mid-1990s. Because he planned to be bow-hunting in Wisconsin in late October, he also planned to attend the panel-scoring session — strictly as an observer.

“When I arrived, I knew that Fish and many others who were anticipating the scoring were deeply let down that the panel session had been cancelled, so I volunteered to score the rack myself,” he said. “I felt like it was the right thing to do. I wasn’t trying to go against B&C, but there were so many mitigating circumstances involving the rack. Jay never asked me to score it, I simply volunteered. After all, this is a pretty special deer. To my knowledge, it’s the only straight 6-by-6 with no abnormal points ever to gross over 220 inches.”

Boucher knew he might be castigated by B&C for scoring the deer. After careful scrutiny, he said he believed both G-3s met the criteria to be scored as typical points, so he scored the rack as a typical 6-by-6. When he added up his numbers, he did a double-take. Incredibly, his figures tallied up a net typical score of 213 6/8 inches, beating Milo Hanson’s world-record score by 1/8 inch!

Boucher submitted his score to B&C along with a six-page letter explaining his reasons for what he had done and why he thought the deer should be scored as a typical 6-by-6, according to the rules of scoring outlined in the B&C scorer’s manual.

Reneau refused to accept the score.

Conclusion

Sadly, one of the world’s greatest whitetails has been denied a chance to be recognized as a potential world record by Boone and Crockett, and the hunter who took that buck by fair-chase means has been sorely disappointed time and again the past four years.

As a result, the King Buck has not been entered in B&C and probably never will be. Nor has it been recognized in any way by Wisconsin. Because of the way things were mishandled from the beginning, the Wisconsin Buck and Bear Club has apparently been hamstrung to do anything to rectify the situation.

King often wonders, “Will this unfortunate situation ever change? Even if B&C reverses its one-man ruling and agrees to panel-score the rack at some future date, could my buck receive a fair and impartial scoring? Will the WBBC ever change its collective mind and agree to panel-score the rack for the sake of the Wisconsin record book?”

In short, antler aficionados everywhere will be left wondering: Will the King Buck ever get its due? My guess: Only if someone has the courage to stand up and do what is right.

Currently, it appears as though one of the greatest whitetails of all time has been unjustly condemned. What a tragedy — for the deer, the hunter who took it, the state of Wisconsin and the deer hunting world in general.

— Duncan Dobie is a whitetail hunting expert and professional outdoor writer from Georgia.

[Boar]

Wow! thats crazy sad, I had never heard of it before. thanks for posting that. Thats just too bad. Very very intersting. Again thanks, later boar

[nonteepical]

Definatly an either way judgement. My first impression the second the picture popped up was non typical point, it looks out of place compared to how the rest of the rack grew. Just because it's off the top of the main beam dosen't automatically make it a typical point. To be counted as a typical point it has to grow off the top of the main beam. Conspiracy? no. The rack was studied by 3 people who see hundreds of racks a year and thousands over the years, and made their determination.

By bringing the rack to pennsylvania he was looking for a decision, and one was made by the top dogs of B&C and P&Y, your talking a potential world record i'm sure they went round and round on their determination.

[DTro]

Here's a close up of the point in question.

[Boar]

Thanks dtro, makes it a little clearer why Reneau called it the way he did. Wouldnt wanna be in that situation. If ya did a side by side comparrison of the hanson buck an the king buck, my nod would go to milo hanson, but it of course dont work that way. A truly world class incediable buck thou. Boar

[Steve Foss]

Man, does that suck or what? World record or nearly so, and can't even get it recognized. What's wrong with this picture?

[Bear55]

I saw this story too, it does sound like this guy deserves at least a panel decision vs one guy making the call.

Either way, what a buck!

[mrklean]

weird never heard that story before now

[LightningBG]

I saw this story too, it does sound like this guy deserves at least a panel decision vs one guy making the call.

+1

let a panel decide.

[sticknstring]

Surely controversial but surely worth a panel decision. Like the Zaft buck, there's just too many "ifs" & controversy with this buck to be a WR imo. Incredible buck no matter what it scores. It's too bad, Mr. King was given the run-around on it.

[lungdeflator]

First when I read the article there wasnt any pics, and I was leaning in favor of Mr. King. But after seeing the pics, it really does look like the G2-3 share the same base and the 3+ inch difference really stands out. Its strange though, to me a typical rack should be counted typical if it has very similar sides, regardless of where the points come off. What if Milo's buck had matching 4" droptines? would that have counted as a non-typical?

Kings buck, even though it looks like the G3's arent "true" tines coming off the main beam, it should still be counted as a "typical" deer.

[Bear55]

This reminds me of the Zaft buck, same deal, it would have contended for the archery world record.

[snapcrackpop]

That's why they have rules... to measure everyone by the same standard, sometimes the rules "stink".

The guy that owns the rack dosen't like the ruleing and it's in his best interest to keep pushing the issue...but I don't blame him.

[Bear55]

A valid point snapcrackpop, however B&C seems to be pushing more and more hunters away from their scoring system. Most guys around here could care less about net score let alone if two tines are coming off the main beams a little too close together. To score a buck like this as a 180 B&C is kind of a joke.

You kind of have to ask yourself what is the point of a typical record if they are not going to let in some very typical deer with very minor flaws. Can you really even call the antlers that this deer has grown flawed? Should the world record be the closest to perfect rack or the biggest rack? A deer of this magnitude is far more rare then common bases.

Sorry snapcrackpop, didn't mean to single you out, just using your comment to ask a few questions.

[snapcrackpop]

No worries here bear55

For argument's sake...where do you "draw the line in the sand?", if not here...

I believe to be judged a world record "typical" it should be perfect and symmetrical. Maybe P&Y should have a no deductions category.....oh ya, Buckmasters does that. "Buckmasters has a scoring system???".... sorry, but P&Y is the gold standad

And for the record, I shoot any buck I like at that moment.

[Bear55]

I don't know where to draw the line but I think we need to evolve a little bit and maybe focus a little less on perfection and a little more on the deer itself. Why not open up some new categories, keep the perfect/typical entries and add a typical gross score that would measure the true size of the deer. What would you shoot if you happened on a perfect scoring 170 buck and the King 220 something gross buck standing next to each other?

[wannafish2]

If I EVER am lucky enough to see and shoot a deer even close to this caliber....please keep Jack Reneau as far away as humanly possible from me and the antlers. That guy should be ashamed of himself for his poor representation of the B&C. If he was so convinced that his evaluation of the rack was accurate, he should have been comfortable with any other scorer evaluating it also. Even if they disagreed, he should have been willing to enter into a discussion to determine an accurate outcome.

And who is policing Reneau? certainly he is not the all powerful of the B&C. If he is, its time for him to step down to a level more appropriate for someone with a "god" complex. He is obviously too big for his britches.

Just my .02

[wannafish2]

just for clarification, I am not addressing if the points should be scored as typical or nontypical, only the fact that Mr. Reneau behaves as if HIS is the only accurate opinion. If there is anything that should come of this it should be that if there is a difference of opinion, a group of qualified individuals should then be invited to make their own decision. Then, the majority should rule. That way it is not a right or wrong, left or right, or just ONE person making a determination. All people walk away with their heads held high that they make the most accurate decision according to their "opinion" and King is comfortable that all measures have been taken to give him and the animal all the respect they deserve. There isn't any implication that I can see that having a "panel" score the rack is implying that Reneau is incorrect. It is another step in the validation process, and he should be willing to participate in the process.

[snapcrackpop]

Maybe P&Y should have a no deductions category....

I here ya. 8^)

[suncruiser234]

WHO CARES!

[nonteepical]

At the time Reneau was the head of B&C and it was panel measured by reneau and the Hiseys from P&Y.

[ZebraMussel33]

You obviously cared enough to read this topic. Just move onto the next discussion if this one does not interest you.

[ANYFISH2]

nonteepical, you seem to understand the B&C scoring process well, could you answer this question me? Why in the artical did he say that both g-2's need to be scored as abnormal points being the one on the right side (in his opinion) was abnormal? Was there also a question of like bases on the other side?

I ask because my understanding of scoring is that if that "g-2" was abnormal it is not a g-point at all. One would move to the next typical point and that would be the "g-2". Thus losing just for tine length between the two and sucessive typical points and minus only the one abnormal point. Am I wrong?

Thank you and I hope I am clear with my questions!

[nonteepical]

I'll try to answer your question tomorrow, i just got home from tuesday night golf league....it's a beer drinkin' league. I'll add this for thought, would it be fair to Milo Hanson(current world record typical buck) to be dethroned by a controversial point or a deer that absolutely has a clear cut no "iffy" points? I can guarantee B&C would love to see a new world record, it's good for the club, and the deer hunting industry as a whole.

[Boar]

Anyone got a picture of milos's buck, havent seen it in a long time an would be interesting to have that also in theis thread. Boar