The Eleventh Hour

The last thing Scott Dexter of Macomb, Illinois, expected to see on that November Sunday in 2004 was a heartstopping nontypical record-book buck. In fact, having gotten into the woods late on the last day of Illinois' first gun season, Dexter would have been happy bagging a doe.

He spent most of the morning toting his .50-caliber Traditions Pursuit muzzleloader around the edge of a large food plot. At about 1 p.m. he sat down with his back against a tree to watch a far hillside and enjoy the warmth of the afternoon sun. Forty-five minutes later he caught movement in the distance.

Dexter knew it was a deer. As it moved closer, he got his scope on the animal. A large buck with a massive non-typical rack loomed into view. The rack had tines going everywhere, and Dexter suddenly had difficulty breathing. He got his gun up--when the buck offered a tricky opening at sixty yards, he squeezed the trigger.

After the smoke cleared, Dexter found himself staring down at a world-class, 47-point whitetail that would end up being the largest nontypical buck taken in North American during the 2004 season. It would later officially score an incredible 294 points and rank as a top ten non-typical buck of all time.

Not bad for a guy who would have been happy shooting a doe.

Antler Vitals (B&C method)

Total Points: 47 (25R, 22L)

Greatest Spread: 26 0/8

Inside Spread: 18 6/8

Main beams: 21 7/8, 24 3/8

Longest Tine: 10 5/8

Antler Bases: 6 5/8, 6 6/8

Abnormal Points: 127 6/8

Gross Typical Score: 174 1/8

Deductions: 7 7/8

Net Score: 294 0/8