Thanks for all the replies everyone!! Yup those weights are indeed field dressed. Can' t say for sure if the buck I speak of will top 300, but I' ll bet he wouldn' t be far from it. The rubs are most definitely from a deer - we spooked him away in the pre-dawn while he was making them, and got a brief look at his massive body as he bounded away.His tracks as well as his rubs could easily make someone think it was actually a moose! Bucks that dress over 300 pounds are fairly rare, and they are surely hard ones to get a shot at!! They do exist though..... in fact I believe the state record is over 350 pounds (if not I know it' s close). Some impressive racks have been coming out of the north woods also. Two years ago I had the privelege to see the Marquis buck (do a search on it, it' s impressive!!) up close and personal. The main beams are too thick for a full grown man to wrap his hands around them!! Not sure what it scored, but it was one monstrous non-typical.....weighing in at 265 pounds field dressed.

Oh yeah...... I hunt mostly with an old 30-.06 FN that was custom made in Belgium for King Leupold (no joke!). I also like the late season muzzleloader season, and have taken one nice 200 pound eight pointer with my smokepole. Traditional archery interests me a lot and I would like to get a new bow and do some practicing, so maybe I could do some bow hunting next year.

Thanks for the welcome everyone and good luck this year!!