-
- Species
- Whitetails
- Rut Reporters
- Deer Camp
- Big Game
- Small Game
- Birds
- Special Methods
- Bow Hunting
- Conservation
- Heroes of Conservation
- Hero for a Day
- Outdoor Skills
- Total Outdoorsman Challenge
- Land for Sale
-
- Species
- Bass
- Trout
- More Freshwater
- Saltwater
- Catchbook
- Special Methods
- Fly Fishing
- Hook Shots
- Conservation
- Heroes of Conservation
- Hero for a Day
- Outdoor Skills
- Total Outdoorsman Challenge
- Land for Sale
-
- Health & Fitness
- F&S Adventurer
- Outdoor Skills
- Total Outdoorsman Challenge
-
- Rifles
- Shotguns
- 2nd Amendment
- SHOT Show
- Outdoor Skills
- Total Outdoorsman Challenge
My "Tilter" Buck Comes Home
Recent Comments
- bowguy6633 on Announcing the Results of the Bowtech Insanity Buck-Scoring Contest (5)
- Walt Smith on A Deer Hunter May Be First to Tag a Minnesota Timber Wolf (16)
- old_greenie on Announcing the Results of the Bowtech Insanity Buck-Scoring Contest (5)
- Bushwackers on Announcing the Results of the Bowtech Insanity Buck-Scoring Contest (5)
- buckhunter on Announcing the Results of the Bowtech Insanity Buck-Scoring Contest (5)
Categories
- Ammunition (4)
- Big Game Hunting (41)
- Bird Hunting (15)
- Bow Hunting (242)
- Cover Packages (9)
- Deer Hunting (575)
- DIY (1)
- Fishing (3)
- Fishing Gear (1)
- Fly Fishing (1)
- Gear (31)
- Great Plains (3)
- Guns (23)
- Hunting (496)
- Hunting Gear (30)
- Mid-South (2)
- North Central (18)
- Northeast (2)
- Optics (2)
- Optics (4)
- Rifles (18)
- Rut Report (23)
- Shooting Gear (7)
- Shotguns (4)
- Small Game (6)
- South (2)
- South Central (2)
- Survival (1)
- Trout Fishing (1)
- Venison: America's Meat (11)
- West (2)
Recent Posts
- Announcing the Results of the Bowtech Insanity Buck-Scoring Contest
- A Deer Hunter May Be First to Tag a Minnesota Timber Wolf
- Call Better: Try These Two Turkey Yelps
- Bowtech Insanity CPX Buck-Scoring Contest, Final Round
- Looking For a New Line of Work? Think About Taxidermy
- Bowtech Insanity CPX Buck-Scoring Contest, Round 3
- Good Stuff: Gear Keeper Rangefinder Holster Lets You Stay on the Move
- Creators of Deer Antler Velvet Spray Sue MLB
- World Record Muley Divides Family for Decades
- Bowtech Insanity CPX Buck-Scoring Contest, Round 2
Archives
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- February 2005
Syndicate
Whitetail 365
in your Inbox
December 14, 2009
My "Tilter" Buck Comes Home
By Scott Bestul
Back in July, my trail cams captured a neat-looking deer. The broad-bodied buck toted a dandy 6-point right side, but his left antler was very odd. Four small points sprouted from a main beam not much larger than a yearling’s rack, and a 4-inch “kicker” point grew back toward the buck’s hindquarter. Because the antlers were so imbalanced I nicknamed the buck “Tilter.”
I’m a fan of funky racks, and I decided if I ever got a chance at Tilter I’d try to shoot him. Of course, taking a buck’s picture and getting him in bow range are only slightly related, and I jokingly told a friend “That photo is probably the last I’ll ever see of that buck.” I was nearly correct, as neither I—nor anyone else who hunts that farm—had seen Tilter all fall.
All that changed Friday evening. The farm where I snapped Tilter’s photo is owned by my neighbor Vernon, and his brother Terry had a muzzleloader tag in his pocket. Vernon asked if I’d help Terry get on a deer, and I was happy to help. Vernon told me he’d found some good feeding sign in the same bean field that Tilter had enjoyed last summer, and a quick scouting run confirmed this. So I set up a snow-camo ground blind for Terry and after the afternoon hunt on his second day, Terry called to say he’d shot a buck, and would I help get him out of the woods?
Of course I recognized the buck as soon as we found him, and I was absolutely ecstatic. Not only had a good friend had tremendous success under brutal conditions (16” of snow and 4 degrees), but a deer I’d been looking for all fall had finally shown his face. Whether Tilter had gone nocturnal for much of the fall, or had simply relocated, I’ll never know. But the cool-looking buck had finally come home, and it was neat to see him up close and personal!
ADVERTISEMENT
Today on Field & Stream
Loading...
Visit Our Sister Sites at Bonnier Corporation
| Enthusiast | Kiteboarding | QUAD | SKI | Skiing | Scuba Diving | Sport Diver | TransWorld Ride BMX | TransWorld Business | TransWorld Motocross | TransWorld SKATEboarding, | TransWorld SNOWboarding | TransWorld SURF | WakeBoarding | WaterSki | Warren Miller Entertainment | WindSurfing |
|---|---|
| Travel | Caribbean Travel & Life | Destination Weddings & Honeymoon | Islands | Meeting Traveler | Resorts & Great Hotels |
| Lifestyle & Shelter | Florida Travel & Life | Garden Design | Home Ft. Lauderdale | Home Miami |
| Luxury | SNOW | Spa |
| Marine | Boating Life | Cruising World | Fly Fishing in Salt Waters | Power Cruising | Marlin | Motor Boating | Sailing World | Salt Water Sportsman | Sport Fishing | Yachting | NewBoats.com | UsedBoats.com | YachtBroker.com |
| Outdoor | Field & Stream | Outdoor Life | SHOT Business |
| Parenting | Babytalk | Parenting |
| Science | Popular Science | Science Illustrated |
| Saveur | Saveur |
| Working Mother Media | Working Mother |
| Entertainment / Events | World Entertainment Services | World Sports & Marketing |
Fieldandstream.com is part of the Field & Stream Network, a division of Bonnier Corporation.
Copyright © 2012 Bonnier Corp. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
Comments (18)
great story! any other pics?
Your right that is an unusual Buck! I keep my eye out for an atypical, have yet to get one, then no more Horns for me ya can't eat 'em!
Is that considered a non-typical? He sure has a big body! What caliber is that muzzleloader? Looks like a nice gun!
That looks like a bull not a buck. Huge body. Great job to him.
nice buck, have a buck like that one that i'm after nice 4 points one one side and a horn that looks like a (j) on the other, congrats on the buck
Nice Buck... Like the rack as well...Congrats
Wonder what he'd score?
http://anchorpointoutdoors.com/trophy_score
Three years ago while bowhunting I glassed a huge Kansas buck with a strange rack dogging a doe in a bean field. His left antler was normal and very massive with 6 points. On the right side there was only 2 points growing out of the antler base. Each had plenty of mass, curved outward like a normal antler and was about 15 or 16 inches long.
Thats cool he is a hog weird that he sprouted such and abnormal rack.
The anlers are unususal but her is a "a maybe why")
3 yeasr ago at the end of an extended season colder
than all Billy "H" I couldnt sit anymore,.. too cold ,.. so started moving along a corn field next to a woods,.. rolling terain, saw a big buck ,. too far away ,.. big sucker,. was trying to close to get a shot ,.. all of sudden a big 6 pt trotted out of the woods right in fornt of me ,. I could taste that deer befoe I pulled the trigger ,
40 yds moving R to L a shot I like ,steady trot .. held on the front of his chest just as I pulled could see he turned sharply right,.. down he went,.like he was pole axed ,. but I heard a sound like something breaking. Strange,. walked up to him,. could see he was still breathing but no antler on left side and his ear was notched and bleeding ( where the 12 ga slug cliped him ) , jacked another round in ,.. stepped back to neck shoot him shoot
He jumped up and ran crazely off into the oods.
Funny now but so suprized then I didnt even shoot ,..
lookd down where he had laid and there was a small amount of blood and the antler I shot off.
Knocked him out but thats all .
Bet that deer had a head ache for a week.
Anyway last year same farm early season ,.. thought I was sooting a BIG doe satning in eh thick stuff at 30 yds ,.. got up to the deer and one antler was very screwed up growing flat down the side of his face the other was just a point ,.. less than three inches
And then I noticed the ear notch where my slug had clipped him the year before, ouside edge left ear
Im no biologist but have heard that a blow may cause abnormal antler growth ,.. any one know ??
I call them character racks or character bucks. Old fighting injuries to the pedicle. Injuries in velvet all make for interesting transformations in a buck's head gear. The also make for interesting stories interesting hunts and interesting trophies. I really enjoy hearing about and hunting for character bucks!
That buck has a nice funky rack, but that thing has a huge body that dwarfs its head.
Nice. I'd like to see a picture that better shows the other "funky" side though. Big deer.
Awesome story.
The buck I shot this year was very similar, though not as big- it had an average sized 4 point on the right, and the left was an 8 inch stub with a paddle and three would be points started. I called my buck "Quasimodo".
He was big bodied and a great eater... and a very unique rack.
More pics would have been nice!
thanks for sharing this interesting, I will share your article for my friends and I know they will enjoy reading your articles. http://www.disneychannel.us/
I have also shot an abnormal buck and I wish now that I would have done a european mount of it. The picture of the buck is in my photos.
Yes, I will share your article for my friends and I know they will enjoy reading your articles. Thanks
Post a Comment
great story! any other pics?
The anlers are unususal but her is a "a maybe why")
3 yeasr ago at the end of an extended season colder
than all Billy "H" I couldnt sit anymore,.. too cold ,.. so started moving along a corn field next to a woods,.. rolling terain, saw a big buck ,. too far away ,.. big sucker,. was trying to close to get a shot ,.. all of sudden a big 6 pt trotted out of the woods right in fornt of me ,. I could taste that deer befoe I pulled the trigger ,
40 yds moving R to L a shot I like ,steady trot .. held on the front of his chest just as I pulled could see he turned sharply right,.. down he went,.like he was pole axed ,. but I heard a sound like something breaking. Strange,. walked up to him,. could see he was still breathing but no antler on left side and his ear was notched and bleeding ( where the 12 ga slug cliped him ) , jacked another round in ,.. stepped back to neck shoot him shoot
He jumped up and ran crazely off into the oods.
Funny now but so suprized then I didnt even shoot ,..
lookd down where he had laid and there was a small amount of blood and the antler I shot off.
Knocked him out but thats all .
Bet that deer had a head ache for a week.
Anyway last year same farm early season ,.. thought I was sooting a BIG doe satning in eh thick stuff at 30 yds ,.. got up to the deer and one antler was very screwed up growing flat down the side of his face the other was just a point ,.. less than three inches
And then I noticed the ear notch where my slug had clipped him the year before, ouside edge left ear
Im no biologist but have heard that a blow may cause abnormal antler growth ,.. any one know ??
Your right that is an unusual Buck! I keep my eye out for an atypical, have yet to get one, then no more Horns for me ya can't eat 'em!
Is that considered a non-typical? He sure has a big body! What caliber is that muzzleloader? Looks like a nice gun!
nice buck, have a buck like that one that i'm after nice 4 points one one side and a horn that looks like a (j) on the other, congrats on the buck
Nice Buck... Like the rack as well...Congrats
Wonder what he'd score?
http://anchorpointoutdoors.com/trophy_score
Three years ago while bowhunting I glassed a huge Kansas buck with a strange rack dogging a doe in a bean field. His left antler was normal and very massive with 6 points. On the right side there was only 2 points growing out of the antler base. Each had plenty of mass, curved outward like a normal antler and was about 15 or 16 inches long.
Thats cool he is a hog weird that he sprouted such and abnormal rack.
I call them character racks or character bucks. Old fighting injuries to the pedicle. Injuries in velvet all make for interesting transformations in a buck's head gear. The also make for interesting stories interesting hunts and interesting trophies. I really enjoy hearing about and hunting for character bucks!
That buck has a nice funky rack, but that thing has a huge body that dwarfs its head.
Nice. I'd like to see a picture that better shows the other "funky" side though. Big deer.
Awesome story.
The buck I shot this year was very similar, though not as big- it had an average sized 4 point on the right, and the left was an 8 inch stub with a paddle and three would be points started. I called my buck "Quasimodo".
He was big bodied and a great eater... and a very unique rack.
More pics would have been nice!
That looks like a bull not a buck. Huge body. Great job to him.
thanks for sharing this interesting, I will share your article for my friends and I know they will enjoy reading your articles. http://www.disneychannel.us/
I have also shot an abnormal buck and I wish now that I would have done a european mount of it. The picture of the buck is in my photos.
Yes, I will share your article for my friends and I know they will enjoy reading your articles. Thanks
Post a Comment