James Hawk used a muzzleloader to down Orange County's new typical firearms record buck. His 171 7/8 buck is also big enough for No. 4 in the category for 2004. Brad Williams' Putnam County deer is the No. 2 overall archery typical buck for the year. Its score of 176 4/8 is good enough for the all-time B&C book; this is no small feat for an archer, and is the county's new archery typical record, too. It will also find a home in the all-time top 10 for bow typicals.

Coming in right behind this buck at No. 3 for 2004 bow typicals is Mark Hildebrand's new Scott County archery record 169 3/8 buck. Owen County produced the No. 6 bow typical of the year for Josh Walls. This new county-record archery buck scores 167 1/8.

Other giant typicals harvested in the zone include Richard House's shotgun 170 1/8 Greene County brute. This is the No. 6 firearms typical of the year. Coming in at No. 8, just two places and less than an inch behind Richard's buck, is Nathan Scott's Putnam County muzzleloader buck, which scores 169 5/8.

Scott Marstellar harvested the No. 4 firearms non-typical for the year in Putnam County. This 195 0/8 monster was taken with a shotgun. Next on that list, at No. 5, is 11-year-old hunter Kory Wait's 194 4/8 trophy, which he harvested with his dad's muzzleloader at Muscatatuck in Jackson County.

Last, but certainly not least, is Jonathon Ray's Jackson County non-typical, which is No. 11 for the year in the firearms non-typical category. This buck scores a very impressive 182 2/8. J.C. Linville also harvested the No. 11 firearms typical for 2004 with a muzzleloader in Owen County, which scores 166 7/8.

2004's TOP QUALIFIERS FOR THE HOOSIER RECORD BUCK PROGRAM*
Hunter's Name	County (Zone)	Score
Typical Bucks, Firearms
Ray Jones	Shelby (4)	181 7/8
Bobby V. Hardwick	Martin (6)	180 1/8
Neil Dickerson	Parke (6)	172 3/8
James K. Hawk	Orange (6)	171 7/8
Jack W. Schuerman	Switzerland	171 1/8
Richard E. House	Greene (6)	170 1/8
Brennan Chandler	Spencer (7)	169 7/8
Nathan Scott	Putnam (6)	169 5/8
Non-Typical Bucks, Firearms
David Brasseur	Martin (6)	213 5/8
Shane T. Silver	Noble (1)	206 1/8
Charles H. Harvey	Delaware (4)	202 1/8
Scott C. Marsteller	Putnam (6)	195 0/8
Kory Wait	Jackson (6)	194 4/8
Michael Fowler	Parke (6)	192 1/8
Michael A. Beckley	Wabash (3)	188 5/8
Adam O'Conner	DeKalb (1)	187 4/8
Tony Wheeler	Clay (7)	184 2/8
Jimmy Hampson	Marshall (1)	183 0/8
Typical Bucks, Archery
Mark A. Bonnewell	Ripley (5)	183 3/8
Brad Williams	Putnam (6)	176 4/8
Mark A. Hildebrand	Scott (6)	169 3/8
Paul J. Pula Jr.	Sullivan (7)	167 6/8
Travis Skinner	Jefferson (5)	167 6/8
Josh Walls	Owen (6)	167 1/8
Frank Chesher	Henry (4)	165 5/8
Non-Typical Bucks, Archery
Brian K. Berrisford	Parke (6)	195 0/8
Chris Addison	Noble (1)	193 2/8
Joseph A. Hirst	Delaware (4)	184 5/9
Randy Speicher	Madison (4)	172 7/8
Jerry L. Reynard	Jay (3)	172 6/8
Chad Schau	La Porte (2)	169 4/8
Stephen J. Jenkinson	Tippecanoe (4)	165 5/8
Terry Brantley	Miami (4)	160 7/8
*This is not a complete trophy listing

ZONE 7
In the southwestern corner of the state is Zone 7. This zone traditionally yields some very outstanding bucks, and usually plenty of them. It produced 30 entries for the program in 2004. Those counties that turned in at least three HRBP entries for the year were Spencer (6), Daviess (6), Sullivan (4), Vigo (4) and Clay (3).

Brennan Chandler killed the No. 7 firearms typical buck of the year in Spencer County. This 169 7/8 buck just misses the all-time B&C book by a wink, but is an outstanding buck nonetheless. Shannon Davidson also shot an excellent typical in Vigo County. This 167 1/8 buck was No. 10 in the category for the year and was harvested with a shotgun.

Tony Wheeler took his 184 2/8 non-typical with a shotgun in Clay County, ranking it as the No. 9 buck for the state in 2004 in its category. Paul Pula Jr. took the No. 4 archery typical of the year in Sullivan County, a 167 6/8 beauty.

Another significant typical firearms kill occurred at the Newport Chemical Depot in Vermillion County for electrician Mike Biggs. The hunt took place during the depot's special muzzleloader hunt. Biggs' buck scores 164 7/8. A 177 3/8 non-typical buck was harvested by shotgunner Eli Hendricks in Vigo County, and Robert Mills took a 175 3/8 non-typical with a muzzleloader in Pike County.

There you have it -- the listing of where many of the mega-bucks of 2004 were harvested. With an improvement in the age structure of our bucks, it is no secret that more and more of them will continue to turn up over the next couple of years. While it has always been a possibility to harvest such a buck in our state, the results of the one-buck rule have begun to show. Have a safe and successful 2005 season!