Photo by Billkenney.com

We've all imagined what it would be like to harvest a mature buck with a gargantuan set of antlers. In Indiana, the chance at such a buck is a real possibility. Of the three well-known components of mature buck production -- genetics, age, and nutrition --only one of the three has been lacking here in the past.

The excellent soils of Hoosierland have always produced great agricultural crops, in addition to creating highly nutritious native forages, which in turn help our whitetails to attain large antlers. The genetic potential of our deer is also very high; a few of the bucks harvested in the past rank right up there with some of the top-scoring bucks taken in North America. What the majority of our bucks have lacked in the past has been the ability to reach maturity.

County records are falling like fresh snow. Several of the top bucks harvested this past season are new county records. Take young Charles Harvey's Delaware County non-typical, which was harvested during the second week of the November firearms season. This 202 1/8 monster shatters the old record by nearly 15 inches!

The young hunter took this tremendous buck in a county not previously known to produce giant deer. His stepfather, Jason Rees, said that they are seeing such improvements in the overall number of big bucks that it is hard to believe compared with past years, when they would go all season without seeing any real big deer.

The ever-improving Hoosier Record Buck Program is looking for a few good men or women who would like to become official scorers. There are still areas of the state that don't have adequate numbers of scorers. If you, or someone you know, live in one of these areas and would like to become a scorer, you can write to HRBP, c/o John Bogucki, 66603 Pine Rd., North Liberty, IN 46554.

ZONE 1
This northeastern zone puts out some of the top bucks in the state every year, and 2004 was no exception. Zone 1 produced 26 racks for the HRBP last season, up from 20 the year before.

Noble County, which has proved to be this zone's top county, produced seven entries last year, maintaining its spot at the top. Shane Silver's monster 21-point non-typical was tops for the zone, and also the top muzzleloader non-typical buck from the entire state last season. It ranks No. 2 overall in the firearms category.

The Silver buck's score of 206 1/8 puts it in the B&C record book as well. Chris Addison, a Columbia City High School student, harvested the No. 2 archery non-typical from last year. It came from Noble County as well. His wide mega-buck scores 193 2/8, just missing the all-time B&C book by less than 2 inches.

Another noteworthy buck is Adam O'Connor's new 21-point DeKalb County record non-typical, which scores 187 4/8. Another great non-typical from Zone 1 is Jimmy Hampson's 183 0/8 taken in Marshall County. Marshall produced six total entries.

The top typical buck taken in the zone is by muzzleloader hunter Peggy Gantz. She harvested her 167 2/8 buck in Marshall County. Other Zone 1 counties that produced at least three entries include Kosciusko (5), LaGrange (4) and DeKalb (3). Steuben and Elkhart also produced entries.

ZONE 2
Northwestern Indiana's Zone 2 lies in the shadows of Lake Michigan's highly urban, industrial area. In this somewhat unorthodox habitat live some whopper bucks. This zone produced 23 HRBP entries to the overall number, compared to 2003's total of 20. While this zone traditionally kicks out a few giants, it did not put any of its bucks near the top of the four categories this past year. This does not mean that Zone 2 has lost any of its prestige, however.