I've posted this opinion elsewhere but I'll do so here as well. I'll tell you the thing that has always perplexed me about it. If this is a fake, we are talking about an extraordinarily elaborate scheme. There is a supposed live video prior to the kill. We have this post kill video. Numerous pictures. Articles. The story which quite frankly is extraordinary. I mean really if this is a fake we are trully taking about a sociopathic mastermind who would have anticipated every iteration that would happen subsequent to the kill and who painstakingly took years to set this up and had the vision to know that all he had to do was to refuse to X-Ray the rack. Because if it is a fake he went to all this trouble to bring this attention to himself, so that what, he would dissappear?

And not to mention most people think the rack is real just think it is fake the way it is attached to the skull. If this is the case take away even 10" of the spread and you still have a typical that scores over 200" pretty impressive in it's own right.

It doesn't matter if its real or not, but one thing is definitely clear. If it was real, Rompo would have honored the animal by showing it in public. By not doing so, he clearly shows little respect to deer and to deer hunters everywhere............if it were real.[8D]

You realize the rigor mortis only lasts for a short period of time, right? Rigor mortis comes and then goes away. It normally doesn't last more than 24 hours. So the fact that the buck didn't have rigor mortis means absolutely nothing. Second, the time portion of pulling off a scam like this would have been making the horns. The rest would fall into place in very short order. Five minutes would be more than enough time!

It is so funny how we want to believe in Sasquatch, the Loch Ness monster, mermaids, aliens, etc., even though we have no real proof. I look at it like this. Why won't he have it x-rayed. That would end all of the controversy as well as end the bad talk he claims bothers him, plus, if he is trying to snub B&C, what bigger snub could there be than to have it x-rayed, proved geniune, and not enter it. Second, why on earth would he ever sign the contract with Hanson and ASC? ANYBODY worth their salt would have had it x-rayed and NEVER would have signed an agreement like that. Anyone who can't see past that just wants to believe too badly. Remember, its not anybody's responsibility to prove the deer geniune except one person and he doesn't seem to be able to. I would love it to be real but too much tells me it ain't.

I don't know whether to believe it or not. I am from Michigan not too far from where the deer was shot and there are a lot of variables that don't really fit for this deer. Rompola is quite shady when it comes to deer hunting. He has been in the spotlight before and there has been questions of many of his other bucks. Also the area where he killed this deer is not a quality deer area and he has also claimed to have killed big bucks there in the past. Anybody from michigan especially knows that due to pressure and other circumstances, even a good or awesome bowhunter doesn't kill monsters regularly with the exception of SE Michigan, again, I really don't know what to think besides that there is probably something fishy going on with him.

Yea I know rigor mortis doesn't last but the deer would still have been pretty stiff they don't get totaly limp. I also know that immediately after death enzimes in the digestive track start decomposition so the deer should have been bloated if it had not been gutted after a couple of warm days. I admit that the deer looks fake to me but I have seen a lot weirder. How is it being disrespectfull to the deer not to go public? As soon as word got out and the rumours started about it might be fake lawyers for arkansas seed company were all over it. The funny thing is no one calls them on the insinuation that their product had something to do with Hansons buck which is a blatant lie. Hopefully soon a real hunter will kill a buck bigger than both and we wont have to hear about Milo Hanson or Mitch Rompola any more

Real or not, I think Rampolla got exactly what he wanted. People will be talking about his deer for years to come. Honestly I hear more about his deer than Hansons, Beatty, Hole in the Horn, etc........ all added together!! The guy got exactly what he wanted, no if, and, or buts about it!!

You're right! If he was aiming to make people think that he was a sleezeball that pretended to shoot a fake deer, he got exactly what he wanted!!! Which is exactly what I think, as well as some of my hunting partners.

c'mon silent, nobody has prooved that is was fake

pretended to shoot an alleged fake deer....that would be much better![:-]