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Bestul: Massive Main-Frame Eight Point from Park Rapids, Minnesota

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October 30, 2009

Bestul: Massive Main-Frame Eight Point from Park Rapids, Minnesota

By Scott Bestul

Minnesota bowhunter Eric Hendrickson knew he was looking at a special deer last summer. Hendrickson is a hard-working, self-employed plumber who trades farm labor for hunting privileges on a property near his home near Park Rapids. “I saw this buck feeding in the fields several times two summers ago on the farm, and again during this past summer. I even shot video footage of him a couple of times,” Eric says. “And then he disappeared for awhile.”

Hendrickson finally spotted the buck again once hunting season opened. “He came out to the same big field, where I have stands on the southwest and northwest corners,” he says. “He entered the field halfway between those stands, where there is no good tree for a setup. I wasn’t sure what to do. But one afternoon it just seemed like a great night to hunt, so I went to the southwest stand just to see if I could spot him.”

There were two does in the field when Eric arrived, but he was able to get in his stand without spooking them. And then at prime time the buck he was after appeared, walking on a trail that would put him at 25 steps. Eric made a perfect shot on a buck he’d been pursuing for two seasons. “I guess the best thing was I didn’t have too long to look at him or think about it,” he laughs. “He was just there. I had to shoot, or he’d have walked right into my wind.”

The monster 8 point sported a gross green score of 188” and should net in the high 160’s as a typical. I haven’t met a whitetail rack I don’t like…But massive antlers really trip my trigger and this buck is as beefy as they come. Congrats on a monster deer, Eric!

Comments (34)

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from stutzman.21 wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

That is an awesome rack!

+2 Good Comment? | | Report
from bjohnston wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

The mass is breath taking!

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from jamesti wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

seems like with that mass he would be bigger than the 160's. very nice!

+2 Good Comment? | | Report
from pfettig77 wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

Why isn't it considered a nine-pointer, or does "main frame 8-pointer" mean they only count the main points?

+2 Good Comment? | | Report
from micropterus wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

Why isn't it considered a nine-pointer, or does "main frame 8-pointer" mean they only count the main points?

I second this question. . .

+2 Good Comment? | | Report
from thuroy wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

For scoring purposes it would have eight points and the additional point(s) would be deductions. I personally prefer gross scores for that reason. I am sure the shaking did begin after the shot. Great deer!

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from pfettig77 wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

I don't want to hijack the discussion, but the scoring system seems weird to me (I'm sort of new to this). Why deduct points for things like asymmetry and lobster claw points? Those are things that some people came up with, but it's sort of arbitrary - I don't think that people's opinions on what makes a good rack should enter the equation. (for instance what if the people who scored suddenly decided that racks that have more circular cross section were better and the ones with flatter cross sections should receive some sort of deduction). I think they should go by sheer volume. Just a thought. Be nice - I'm pretty new to this stuff.

+2 Good Comment? | | Report
from jjas wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

Nets are for fish. I've always felt a deer's score should reflect what Nature gave him.

For a basic 8 to score near 190 is incredible!

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from buckhunter wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

That's a whopper!!!

The crab claw at the end of the left beam is considered nontypical making it a main-frame 8pt.

Net typical score is necessary for the record books only and to some a big symetrical rack is a true trophy and should not be compared to a non typical.

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from Sage Sam wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

Beautiful animal!

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from RichardF wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

Great deer. I wish that we could get pictures of him on teh ground and not in a pickup. None the less, you can not deny the fact that a 188 inch 9 point is better to look at then a 200 inch 12 point. I wonder what the rack weighs.

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from Walt Smith wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

You guys and your point systems, you sound like you're back in JR High, measuring your peckers. A buck is a buck, a point is a point. Hendrickson's buck is a damn fine buck.

+2 Good Comment? | | Report
from idahooutdoors wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

No words to describe mass like that..amazing..

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from buckhunter wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

Walt,

But I couldn't beat them in basketball.

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from bwaters13 wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

What mass. Best 8 pointer I've ever seen. Amazing

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from dmattix wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

Whoo-ahh. Park Rapids. The La Jolla of North Central Minnesota. /heh

I hope he took it to cousin Dale at Main Street Meats for processing. The boy has some mad skills with a knife and a sausage grinder. :-)

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from turk wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

Man what a buck i really love the mass on this deer it is unreal how many big bucks that have been taken this year in the midwest and notheren states but what can you say they grow em big up there congrats on a monster of a whitetail this is a true trophy.

+2 Good Comment? | | Report
from deadeyedick wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

I like to see huge bucks, but are we becoming obsessed with them. I think all deer are trophies in their own right. From a bald-headed doe to a big racked brute they are all the same in my eyes. All the deer I have taken over the years has a special place in the recesses of my mind. Maybe we are putting too much emphasis on large racks and should concentrate on just hunting whitetails

+3 Good Comment? | | Report
from Dances with Deer wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

Deadeye, massive racks have always captured the attention of hunters. They're just getting more "common" these days with more guys passing up smaller bucks and more urban, suburban and rural refuges allowing more deer to get the age needed to get towering antlers. Keep praying for more public land purchases and aggressive public land management because the trend toward privatization is not going to stop. Big tract leases, food plots, etc. Those with the bucks (dollars) to spare will always be able to shoot the bucks. I give more credit to the guy who nails a whopper on public land, or shares hard-hunted private land with many others. Still, congratulations to Eric on a monster. Not sure I wouldn't have fallen out of the tree upon seeing that one appear!

+2 Good Comment? | | Report
from twillis wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

That's a lot of bone!

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from waterdrinker9 wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

Look at the mass on that sucker. Dang dude!!!

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from stickbow13 wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

that's buck is awsome.....congrats

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from hjohn429 wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

I call that a 9-pointer, not an 8-pointer. I mean look at the crabclaw. Either way, that's a HUGE rack.

+2 Good Comment? | | Report
from JOHN ANDERSON wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

That is one damn fine deer!! Congratulations.!

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from Clay Cooper wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

WOW, I bet you thought it was a D9 Cat mowing those trees down!

Today at breakfast, a kid wearing a shirt and on the back someone has taken a cartoon figure of a massive bull pounding and scraping the ground kicking up dust has taken a massive deer head similar to this fellas and the bottom it said BUCKSUMO WRESTLING!

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from Clay Cooper wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

Made contact with an old hunting partner Paul Turner and found out he shot one of the largest bucks in Arkansas. At work, they call him the YANK from being from the north east and he told them, he doesn't know why they go into the woods all the time, he shot this one from the front porch just seconds after he bought his Arkansas Hunting License online to shoot it!

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from Casey Walker wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

I would like to say thank you to the land owner that lets him hunt for nothing more then some sweat on weekends. I used to be able hunt a lot of places with this same agreement but people with more money then me have locked these places up. I love it when the blue collar guy scores a big one the right way. Way to go.

+2 Good Comment? | | Report
from huntingtennessee wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

Wow nice buck Eric!

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from rampageingapes wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

THAT DEER IS HUGE!!!!

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from rampageingapes wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

That thing would definitely make a nice wall mount. Good Job!

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from neuman23 wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

thats one narly buck

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from Ricardo Rodríguez wrote 2 years 12 weeks ago

Congratulations on that huge buck.
Just make me think of Hulk.
Should look great in green.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from seadog wrote 2 years 12 weeks ago

Wow, those are tree trunks growing out of that buck's head.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from mihunter wrote 2 years 12 weeks ago

um ya...HUGE!

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from WhitetailHunter706 wrote 2 years 12 weeks ago

Wow!!!! congrats man wat an awesome buck that main beam is a unique find on a whitetail thats one you only see once in your life, if your lucky, great job again

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from BuckHunt wrote 2 years 12 weeks ago

I'm working a DNR check station in Park Rapids this weekend for rifle opener here in MN, hope to see many like that coming in there. Now if one of them will come in while I'm on stand...

0 Good Comment? | | Report

Post a Comment

from deadeyedick wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

I like to see huge bucks, but are we becoming obsessed with them. I think all deer are trophies in their own right. From a bald-headed doe to a big racked brute they are all the same in my eyes. All the deer I have taken over the years has a special place in the recesses of my mind. Maybe we are putting too much emphasis on large racks and should concentrate on just hunting whitetails

+3 Good Comment? | | Report
from stutzman.21 wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

That is an awesome rack!

+2 Good Comment? | | Report
from jamesti wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

seems like with that mass he would be bigger than the 160's. very nice!

+2 Good Comment? | | Report
from pfettig77 wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

Why isn't it considered a nine-pointer, or does "main frame 8-pointer" mean they only count the main points?

+2 Good Comment? | | Report
from micropterus wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

Why isn't it considered a nine-pointer, or does "main frame 8-pointer" mean they only count the main points?

I second this question. . .

+2 Good Comment? | | Report
from pfettig77 wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

I don't want to hijack the discussion, but the scoring system seems weird to me (I'm sort of new to this). Why deduct points for things like asymmetry and lobster claw points? Those are things that some people came up with, but it's sort of arbitrary - I don't think that people's opinions on what makes a good rack should enter the equation. (for instance what if the people who scored suddenly decided that racks that have more circular cross section were better and the ones with flatter cross sections should receive some sort of deduction). I think they should go by sheer volume. Just a thought. Be nice - I'm pretty new to this stuff.

+2 Good Comment? | | Report
from Walt Smith wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

You guys and your point systems, you sound like you're back in JR High, measuring your peckers. A buck is a buck, a point is a point. Hendrickson's buck is a damn fine buck.

+2 Good Comment? | | Report
from turk wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

Man what a buck i really love the mass on this deer it is unreal how many big bucks that have been taken this year in the midwest and notheren states but what can you say they grow em big up there congrats on a monster of a whitetail this is a true trophy.

+2 Good Comment? | | Report
from Dances with Deer wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

Deadeye, massive racks have always captured the attention of hunters. They're just getting more "common" these days with more guys passing up smaller bucks and more urban, suburban and rural refuges allowing more deer to get the age needed to get towering antlers. Keep praying for more public land purchases and aggressive public land management because the trend toward privatization is not going to stop. Big tract leases, food plots, etc. Those with the bucks (dollars) to spare will always be able to shoot the bucks. I give more credit to the guy who nails a whopper on public land, or shares hard-hunted private land with many others. Still, congratulations to Eric on a monster. Not sure I wouldn't have fallen out of the tree upon seeing that one appear!

+2 Good Comment? | | Report
from hjohn429 wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

I call that a 9-pointer, not an 8-pointer. I mean look at the crabclaw. Either way, that's a HUGE rack.

+2 Good Comment? | | Report
from Casey Walker wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

I would like to say thank you to the land owner that lets him hunt for nothing more then some sweat on weekends. I used to be able hunt a lot of places with this same agreement but people with more money then me have locked these places up. I love it when the blue collar guy scores a big one the right way. Way to go.

+2 Good Comment? | | Report
from bjohnston wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

The mass is breath taking!

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from thuroy wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

For scoring purposes it would have eight points and the additional point(s) would be deductions. I personally prefer gross scores for that reason. I am sure the shaking did begin after the shot. Great deer!

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from jjas wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

Nets are for fish. I've always felt a deer's score should reflect what Nature gave him.

For a basic 8 to score near 190 is incredible!

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from buckhunter wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

That's a whopper!!!

The crab claw at the end of the left beam is considered nontypical making it a main-frame 8pt.

Net typical score is necessary for the record books only and to some a big symetrical rack is a true trophy and should not be compared to a non typical.

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from Sage Sam wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

Beautiful animal!

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from RichardF wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

Great deer. I wish that we could get pictures of him on teh ground and not in a pickup. None the less, you can not deny the fact that a 188 inch 9 point is better to look at then a 200 inch 12 point. I wonder what the rack weighs.

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from idahooutdoors wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

No words to describe mass like that..amazing..

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from buckhunter wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

Walt,

But I couldn't beat them in basketball.

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from bwaters13 wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

What mass. Best 8 pointer I've ever seen. Amazing

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from dmattix wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

Whoo-ahh. Park Rapids. The La Jolla of North Central Minnesota. /heh

I hope he took it to cousin Dale at Main Street Meats for processing. The boy has some mad skills with a knife and a sausage grinder. :-)

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from twillis wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

That's a lot of bone!

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from waterdrinker9 wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

Look at the mass on that sucker. Dang dude!!!

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from stickbow13 wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

that's buck is awsome.....congrats

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from JOHN ANDERSON wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

That is one damn fine deer!! Congratulations.!

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from Clay Cooper wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

WOW, I bet you thought it was a D9 Cat mowing those trees down!

Today at breakfast, a kid wearing a shirt and on the back someone has taken a cartoon figure of a massive bull pounding and scraping the ground kicking up dust has taken a massive deer head similar to this fellas and the bottom it said BUCKSUMO WRESTLING!

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from Clay Cooper wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

Made contact with an old hunting partner Paul Turner and found out he shot one of the largest bucks in Arkansas. At work, they call him the YANK from being from the north east and he told them, he doesn't know why they go into the woods all the time, he shot this one from the front porch just seconds after he bought his Arkansas Hunting License online to shoot it!

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from huntingtennessee wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

Wow nice buck Eric!

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from rampageingapes wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

THAT DEER IS HUGE!!!!

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from rampageingapes wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

That thing would definitely make a nice wall mount. Good Job!

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from neuman23 wrote 2 years 13 weeks ago

thats one narly buck

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from Ricardo Rodríguez wrote 2 years 12 weeks ago

Congratulations on that huge buck.
Just make me think of Hulk.
Should look great in green.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from seadog wrote 2 years 12 weeks ago

Wow, those are tree trunks growing out of that buck's head.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from mihunter wrote 2 years 12 weeks ago

um ya...HUGE!

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from WhitetailHunter706 wrote 2 years 12 weeks ago

Wow!!!! congrats man wat an awesome buck that main beam is a unique find on a whitetail thats one you only see once in your life, if your lucky, great job again

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from BuckHunt wrote 2 years 12 weeks ago

I'm working a DNR check station in Park Rapids this weekend for rifle opener here in MN, hope to see many like that coming in there. Now if one of them will come in while I'm on stand...

0 Good Comment? | | Report

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