What Is The Biggest Typical Whitetail Of All Time?

Out of all the hunting records, setting a world record for taking the biggest whitetail would still be the most coveted one. For over three decades now, Milo Hanson’s record of 213 5/8-inch monster is still unbeaten. While there has been plenty of close contenders over the years, most of them, including Johnny King buck, had been ruled out due to technicalities.

On the other hand, there are many trophy deer that have remained elusive to every hunter out there throughout their lifespan. Many whitetails have become monster-sized beasts and then simply vanished into thin air, without leaving any trace except some shed antlers that made the hunting community even more curious about them. The world of deer hunting is full of “what ifs”. And one of the biggest stories of all time is of the King buck from the Sunflower State.

This buck is even bigger than the world record holder Hanson’s buck by a whopping 4 inches. However, as fate would have it, nobody knows the exact measurements of the deer due to a broken tine. Existing measurements have been taken from the two sets of sheds. We are also aware that many hunters wanted to take this prized animal, but he kept eluding them before getting mysteriously disappeared.

A Brief History of Kansas King

The story of the legendary King buck started in the fall of 1992. During that time, the world record holder was James Jordan's buck before Milo Hanson’s buck made its way to become number one in November of that year. No one knows the exact story in full detail, one thing that most hunters know for sure is that a bow hunter pursued King Buck in 1992. The hunter also made several attempts, but the monstrous buck never gave a clear shot. This is often the case with most big bucks.

Now, in 1993, the story got a bit interesting.

Till then, most people used to believe that the sheds were discovered by the hunter who was after the King buck. But, if you scratch the surface a bit, it reveals another story altogether about the discovery of the buck’s crown. The story goes something along the lines that a rancher first discovered the antlers while checking his stock tanks. And the fact that he didn’t take antlers along with him proved that he was not a hunter. According to rumors, after realizing the significance of these antlers, it was actually the son of a rancher who retrieved these sheds later on.

This way, the hunting world has got a glimpse of king Buck that could have been the biggest catch in the history of whitetail hunting. And, it was certainly a dream buck for every whitetail hunter out here. The two sides of the buck matched perfectly. And even though two of his left tines G1 and G2 were missing, it was later redeveloped by a taxidermist by considering the description given by the hunter.

The two main beams of this buck were 27 4/8 inches as well and 28 inches long. Most of the tines measured over 12 inches. And the length of G2’s was nearly 14 inches. The right antler that was still intact was a whopping 98 4/8 inches alone. Experts could only predict how long the broken tines were. But as per many whitetail historians, if King Buck was discovered fully intact, it would’ve easily measured a staggering 217 inches. The rack was also free of any abnormalities. So, there’s a high chance that it would have easily surpassed Hanson's record 213 5/8 inches.

Discovery of More Sheds

While the discovery of King Buck was enough to start a buzz in the hunting community, it didn’t stop there. Interestingly, some hunters also found another set of antlers near the same spot. They named it “Kansas Prince”. While the size of these sheds was noticeably smaller than the King's, it still measured nearly 201 inches. For the uninitiated, it’s extremely rare for whitetails to cross the 200-inch limit. Finding the sheds of two of the largest whitetails within proximity to each other was a mind-boggling discovery. That being said – some hunters didn’t accept the story of Kansas Prince. In their opinion, it might simply be King Buck’s sheds from some earlier time.

By far, what we know for sure is that the King buck of Kansas was never found after 1992 and might have died of natural causes. Hanson took his buck in 1993 and with this trophy shot; he finally managed to dethrone the Jordan buck and occupied the top slot in whitetail hunting. Some might be wondering about the hunters who had pursued the king buck for a long time and how they must have when the buck vanished without a trace. But, this is what hunting is all about. It is a unique combination of tradition, mystique, and amazing stories.

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