Kent County was the home of the highest-scoring typical bow kill known taken in our state last fall, and it was an 8-pointer. The massive rack is among the top 8-pointers on record in Michigan. The antlers grossed 171 7/8 inches and netted 168 7/8 inches. Specifics about how Jim Powell arrowed this monster buck can be found on page 17 of this issue.

Another of our state's top bucks from 2006 was also killed with bow and arrow. This one was a non-typical from Livingston County bagged by Jeanie Flannery from Fenton. She was heading for her bow stand on the morning of Oct. 7 when she heard a pair of bucks sparring. Flannery sneaked toward the sound, putting herself in position for a killing shot at one of the combatants after the fight broke up. The 16-pointer grossed 188 3/8 inches and netted 185 5/8, but Flannery said the deer she arrowed was the smaller of the two bucks that had been fighting. The antlers on her trophy have a typical 10-point frame, with three stickers over an inch long near the base of each antler. The buck was 4 1/2 or 5 1/2 years old.

Another female bowhunter arrowed a trophy non-typical from Washtenaw County on that very same day, but Kelly Hatch stuck her 16-pointer in the evening. Her deer netted 164 1/8 inches and had a gross score of 172. She was hunting from a tree stand when the buck came along. She started counting points, and when she got up to five and realized there were still more, she decided she'd better shoot the deer and finish counting later, so she did. A second buck with a rack similar in size to the one she killed was with her deer and could still be out there because she didn't hear about one that size taken by anybody else.

A high-scoring non-typical taken with bow and arrow also came from Cass County last year. The 15-pointer had a green gross score of 186 3/8 inches. Joe Tone from Marcellus was the lucky hunter who killed that deer. The rack had not been officially scored when this was going to press, but it probably nets in the 170s. The trophy buck was 4 1/2 years old when Tone shot it. One of Joe's brothers could have shot the whitetail the year before during gun season, but didn't because the deer only had one antler. Assuming the missing antler was similar in size to the one that was intact and later recovered after it was shed, Tone figured the rack would have grossed in the 140s during 2005. If that is accurate, the deer's antlers grew by 40 inches in one year's time. That is a clear example of the value of passing up bucks that are young or have damaged antlers, if you are interested in deer with big racks.

The trophy buck from Marquette County mentioned earlier was not the only one that ended up as road kill last fall. A huge Oakland County whitetail was killed along Woodward Avenue by a vehicle last November. Like the U.P. buck, it was hit after dark. I saw photos of the Oakland County monster and guess it would score in the 160s, if not higher. The rack from that deer had not been measured as of press time.

So, where do the bulk of Michigan's record-book bucks come from? Since all of the entries from 2006 are not yet available from CBM, it is necessary to look at those from the 2005 season to see the trend. To qualify for state records, typical antlered whitetails have to score at least 125 inches if taken with firearms, and 100 inches for bow kills. Non-typical bow kills must measure at least 125 inches to qualify, and gun kills have to be at least 150 inches. Not all hunters who kill bucks that would qualify for CBM records enter them into the record book.

The top 11 counties for Region 3 in 2005 based on the number of CBM entries were Jackson (28), Branch (27), Van Buren (26), Calhoun (23), Clinton (23), Hillsdale (21), Ingham (19), Shiawassee (19), Allegan (18), Cass (18) and Washtenaw (17). Four counties tied with 13 book bucks in 2005.

The top counties for CBM entries in Region 2 were Mason (9), Saginaw (9), Tuscola (9), Newaygo (5), Leelanau (5), Manistee (4), Grand Traverse (4), Osceola (3), Mecosta (3), Clare (2) and Alcona (2).

It is interesting to note that one of the two counties with the most stringent antler restrictions in our state -- Leelanau -- is tied for second place in Region 2 for book-buck entries. Bucks in Leelanau are required to have at least one antler with 3 points an inch long in order to be legal. If those restrictions work, that county may produce even more trophy whitetails in the future.