Have you guys seen this yet...
http://www.amnews.com/articles/2002/...rts/news04.txt
By MIKE MARSEE
Staff Writer
Ben Brogle wasn't looking for a trophy deer when he went hunting last week. But what he found in the woods of northern Garrard County was a bigger buck than most hunters will ever see.
Brogle shot a 36-point buck that has made his Chenault Bridge Road home a temporary tourist attraction for fellow hunters and just might earn him a place in the state record book.
"I'm not sure what the state record is, but I think he's pretty close to that," Brogle said. "It's better than what I ever figured I'd kill."
Brogle is in the process of verifying his find, which will take a couple of months. But the attention he has gotten since he shot the deer on Thursday proves this is no ordinary buck.
It began when he called his brother-in-law to help him bring the buck out of the woods.
"He said, 'How big is he?' and I said, 'He looks like he's 37 or 38 points,' and he laughed," Brogle said. "He said, 'No, really, how big is he?'
"He's a pretty impressive deer. Everybody who's seen him seems to think so, too."
And that's been more than a few people.
"At least 200 people have been by here," Brogle said. "I've let people take pictures of him. I don't want to be selfish with him."
Brogle said the deer's body wasn't that large, only 185 pounds. But he said the inside spread of the antlers measured 24 to 24 1/2 inches.
"He wasn't overly large, but he was a good-sized deer," he said. "His rack was bigger than what his body was."
60-day waiting period before antlers scored
For purposes of the records kept by the Boone and Crockett Club, the official record keepers for big game hunters, Brogle must wait out a 60-day period during which the skull and antlers must dry out before the antlers can be officially scored.
The score is essentially a measurement of the circumference, width of spread and tine length of the rack. Brogle said this buck will be scored as non-typical, meaning the antlers have a large number of points that are in an abnormal shape or position.
In the meantime, he plans take the head to a taxidermist -- who will eventually mount the deer to hang on Brogle's wall -- for "green scoring," a sort of unofficial measurement that will give him an idea of what to expect.
And with the help of his brother-in-law, a cousin and some do-it-yourself scoring instructions found on the Internet, he took his own measurements and got a score of 241 inches, well above the minimum non-typical score of 195 required for listing among Boone and Crockett's all-time records.
"But we don't know what we're doing," Brogle said.
According to ESPN.com, the state non-typical record is 243 3/8, but Brogle's buck would rate among the state's all-time top 10 if the measurement is at or near his self-scored mark of 241.
"Whether he's anything of that caliber or not, he's a nice deer," Brogle said.
Largest deer last year measured just over 205
According to information on the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources' Web site, the largest non-typical deer taken in Kentucky last year, which came from Trimble County, measured 205 6/8 in the Boone and Crockett system for gauging antlers.
A large number of trophy deer have been taken in Kentucky, with 13 last year making Boone and Crockett's all-time list. But Brogle said he isn't looking for those big boys when he hunts.
"When I hunt, I don't hunt for a state record," he said. "I just enjoy nature and the outdoors and God's creation."
Brogle, 35, said he has hunted for 21 years, killing about 30 deer in that time. He said he once saw a large deer that might have been this one or a relative in the same area where he killed this one, but he can't be sure.
"I don't think I've ever seen anything this good, but I've seen some real good deer," he said.
Not that he was looking for anything like this.
He said the support of a number of understanding people allow him to enjoy it as often as he can, including landowners who let him use their land, his father, who helps with the work on his dairy farm when Brogle spends time in the field, and his wife and sons.
Brogle called this kill "a humbling experience."
"I sure am thankful the Lord let me be part of it," he said.
This story ran in the Nov. 19 issue of The Advocate Messenger.
"If you can't change your circumstances then you need to change your perspective."