"Wyoming State Record Whitetail"

Bob Beeman's Wyoming whitetail officially scored 262 1/8 Boone & Crockett. It is the new Wyoming state record non-typical. It is also SCI's World Record overall at 281 1/8.

In July 1997, Bob Beeman, an Arizona resident, was driving through Wyoming with his family. As dusk approached, they began looking for deer out feeding. It was only a few minutes later when Bob saw a huge non-typical whitetail disappearing into some tules. He was really excited because this deer had more antler than any whitetail he had previously seen.

Bob is a deer nut. I've known him for a few years now, and he has killed some great mule deer. When he saw this whitetail it was all he could think about. Bob even put the family vacation on hold for a bit while he chased the buck around trying to get some video footage of it. He ended up capturing the buck on film and I'm sure he just about wore the tape out during the following 14 months.
     Back in Arizona, Bob put together a plan of attack. He contacted the rancher that owned the property and got permission to hunt the following year. Wyoming is on a drawing for all permits, so Bob did his research and applied, hoping to beat the odds. Most of Wyoming has special archery seasons that open September 1st and a crossbow may be used.

He decided to try his luck with archery tackle and purchased a Magnum Extreme crossbow. Bob is primarily a rifle hunter, but if this would give him a crack at the monster buck early, it would be worth it.

Bob was notified in July that he had drawn the permit. He started scouting in early August. Bob scoured the area and couldn't turn the big buck up. None of the locals had even seen the deer. He hoped the buck wasn't dead and planned to return the first of September for the hunt.

The first day of the hunt, Bob saw 10 bucks and one was a 150-class typical. A day like this would be terrific by anyone else's standards, but he had been spoiled by what was in there the year before.

The next morning found Bob in the same treestand. He felt like he should give this location one more try. It paid off. At daybreak he heard a click some distance behind him. When he turned to look, there was the whitetail of his dreams. The buck was still alive and looked even better than he remembered.

Drop tines are about thirteen inches long and each have three points coming off of them.

It took about 10 minutes before the animal worked his way within 64 yards. Then, the buck walked behind a tree and disappeared into the willows. The hunt was on!

As the morning past, Bob methodically scrutinized the area surrounding where the buck had disappeared. Eventually, he made out the buck's antlers in the thick cover. Using his glasses, he could see the buck was bedded down.

Finally, the buck stood up. Bob watched as the animal began rubbing his rack on the tameracks. He inched a little higher in the tree and began filming the deer. Bob lost him again as the buck moved into thicker cover. Moving higher still in the treestand, he saw a beautiful 160-class typical. As he was taping this buck, the big non-typical suddenly blew out of the brush and ran through a clearing. He jumped a fence and was gone.

Bob knew the area and the trail the animal would take, so he left the tree and carefully made his way to where he thought he could intercept the buck. Once there, he could hear the animal in the distance, thrashing his antlers on the 6-foot cattails. The buck emerged from the brush after a bit, and Bob filmed him until he disappeared again.

Bob also acquired the shed antlers of the buck from the year before. The mounts were done by master taxidermist and sculptor, Dennis Behn on a Mckenzie forms.

Bob decided to break for lunch. First, through, he moved his stand closer to the trail where he had seen the monster buck that morning. Bob hoped the buck would return the same way. Then, he went to town and called his wife to tell her he had found the buck again. He was prepared to stay in Wyoming for the whole 30-day season if needed.

He returned to his newly positioned stand early that evening. At 6:30 PM, the deer appeared 150 yards away and began moving toward him. The buck stopped 80 yards away and rubbed nearly all of his remaining velvet off. By 7:30 PM, he walked onto the trail a mere 30 yards away. Bob had to grunt twice before the buck stopped, broadside, and laid its ears back. Bob leveled his Magnum, breathed in and then out. He prayed silently for a killing shot and slowly touched the trigger.

The crossbow did its job, and the arrow nailed the buck right behind the shoulder. The buck bolted for the fence and jumped it into an open field. Seconds later, he slowed to a walk, staggered, and then went down.

After 20 minutes or so, Bob left his stand and walked toward his buck. Once there, he knelt next to the animal and cried tears of joy and thanked the lord for allowing him to harvest this "buck of faith." What had started out as a dream 14 months ago, was now a reality.

Written by Rusty Hall (Trophy Hunter Magazine)