Buck Magnet

Has anyone been to www.zaftbuck.com I was just there and I can't believe it. Talk about milking a buck for all it is worth. What does this show to the PETA people? It shows that some hunters have a lack of respect for the animal. Why in the world should there be a website ENTIRELY DEDICATED to the Zaft buck.

COME ON, I clicked on the merchandise section and you can buy a replica of that deer. I, as a hunter, would not want ANYONE but myself to have a mount of the deer. What is the point of having it? Showing off that you have a mount of a buck that you didn't even harvest. RIDICULOUS. I wonder how much money this guy is making off that buck.

Am I missing something here, they are making Zaft out to be the GREATEST ARCHER of all time. Look at the pics. They show him at full draw, like he is the greatest archer of all time.

Sure, the buck is a monster, don't get me wrong, but is this the way that I would want a monster buck to be portrayed? NO.

He took a marginal shot at the buck just because his shot window was closing fast? Is that what I want young archers to read? No, they are going to think that they should take any shot because they might not get another chance. All he recovered was the head, because scavangers had at the rest. He didn't find the deer, a farmer did.

I am not jealous of this guy. His buck shouldn't be a record book buck in my opinion. He didn't find the buck, someone else did. Who knows if this is even the buck that he had hit? He said it was but it might not have been. This just ticked me off, sorry for the long post everyone.

Good Luck This Season: Buck Magnet
P.S. Only Chuck Adams can sit at home and see deer so get into the woods. =;^)

wimp

money does a lot of things, good and bad (mostly bad) to people.

buckhunter3

Buck Magnet,My own opinion is I don't think any hunter should be able to make money on a deer they have shot.Here in Pa you can't even sell the meat.The problem is to say that the zaft buck is any different then the jorden buck,or any trophy buck that becomes big news would be a lie.Fred bear shot many big bucks and he also sold many products from that.I am not comparing zaft to fred bear by any means,but untill they have a law that says you can not receive money from displaying a deer or selling a replica he is doing no more then anyone before him.Some of the deer heads on display at sporting shows are replicas sad but true.I will give him credit for looking as long as he did for the buck.I don't disagree with you BM, but he is doing what every hunter does that shoots a world record.Get what he can before it gets broken again.

Buck Magnet

I know that he is doing what everyone who shoots a world record buck does, and that is what disgusts me. Don't these people get enough joy from shooting one of these animals. God, if someone said that they would give me 1000 dollars or a chance to see on of those bucks in the woods, not shooting, just seeing, I would much rather see the buck. I am just thinking about what I would do if I ever shot a world record. I guarentee that my mount would be the only mount.

Good Luck This Season: Buck Magnet
P.S. Only Chuck Adams can sit at home and see deer so get into the woods. =;^)

TxCowboy

Hey a man kills a buck that big, I don't blame him if he wants to make a dollar off of it. Heck everyone else is; you don't think that there is a reason all the hunting magazines want to put his deer on their cover do you? Sorry but I have to disagree 100%. Sure the guy got lucky, no way is he the best archer in the world, but never the less he did legally kill one of the biggest bucks ever with his bow.


I know you say your aren't jealous but from your post it is very hard to believe. Heck you don't even think the deer should be accepted in the book. I won't go go on any longer because I'm getting more upset the longer I type, we'll just have to agree to disagree.

Buck Magnet

See Tx, my whole point is that this is disrespectful to the animal. Shouldn't the BUCK be the one that is recognized, not the guy who shot it. I am not jealous at all. I really am not. I just don't see how people could care more about money than the fact that they killed one of the most wary, beautiful, dominant creatures in the woods. The extent that these people go to to make money just amuses me. Building a website dedicated to a monster buck just so you can make money ISN'T WHAT HUNTING IS ALL ABOUT. And, from what I understand, the HUNTER must find the deer. In this case the HUNTER didn't find the deer, the FARMER did. The hunter just claimed the deer after he heard the farmer had found it. I believe that this should be a pick-up, not a bow kill buck. I am sorry that this upsets you, I don't mean to offend you, but that isn't why hunting is around. Hunting isn't about making money. Hunting IS about relaxing, spending time outdoors, getting in touch with mother nature, seeing animals in their natural enviroment, sharing good times with your hunting buddies, pitting your skills against the animal instinct. Not killing a buck then thinking that the most important thing to do is make money as fast as you can. I am sorry, but that is just ignorant to me.

Good Luck This Season: Buck Magnet
P.S. Only Chuck Adams can sit at home and see deer so get into the woods. =;^)

Charlie P

My problem with this situation is that the Buck could have been brought down by Coyotes.Maybe that is why it was found in an open field.

If I shot a world record I'd take the money.No problem with that.If you have a problem with Zaft making money from shooting a huge animal,you should also have problem with Chuck Adams,Bill Jordan and and anyone else that has made money by shooting trophy animals,right? At least Zaft shot this Buck on his own without guides or paying to hunt.

He should wait to see if P&Y will except the buck.

bwizard91

I agree with Buck Magnet on the fact that Zaft didn't find the deer. There is no way to prove that he shot this animal, we have to go on his word and there hasn't been anyone that I know of saying he didn't. I know from my experience as a bowhunter that when I see a big buck that might come into shooting range that I DO NOT FOCUS ON THE RACK!! Three years ago I harvested a big buck that scored 185 3/8" and if you would have asked me what the rack looked like before I found it, I just would have said BIG! I couldn't have told you details about it. If Zaft shot this buck and recovered it still in tact, then I believe he should do whatever he wants, but the way he found it I think it should be entered as a pickup.

TxCowboy

The debate of whether he found the deer or whether the farmer found the deer is a whole other debate. I'm not going to try to argue two topics here. I'm addressing the fact that BuckMagnet is mad that Zaft is trying to make money from it. Charlie P made the comment before I could; if you have a problem with people making money from hunting then you have a problem with every "pro hunter" who has a tv show or makes videos, heck you should be mad a the bow companies for trying to make a profit off hunters. If you read the North American Whitetail magazine with Zaft's story in it, you'll see that he mentioned his Mathews bow. You don't think that he did that just because he wanted to do you? Heck no, Mathews is paying him to do it. So who is to blame there, the guy who says he shot the deer with his Brand X bow or the company who paid him to say it?

Ok here is the way I see it, if I go out and kill a world class buck it will surly be by luck or accident, much like this guy or Mike Beatty (who killed the monster non-typical). That being said, when you kill a deer of this caliber, you are immediatly bombarded by magazines, reporters, and probably many hunting product companies. So you have to decide which magazine to be in since 15 of them want the story and they are all offering you money. What do you do, not accept any money? Then you happen to shoot a Brand X bow and they call and offer you $5,000 to mention their name in every interview you do. What do you do? Then Knight & Hale finds out you used their call to call in the buck, and they want to give you $10,000 and a conrtact to be on their TV show telling your story and how you used thier call. What do you do? Look I can go on forever here. I think I know what most people including myself are going to do. I'm going to take my 15 min. of fame and be glad I got it. Times are tight and if I can legally and ethically make a large amount of money because of a huge deer that I've been blessed to kill, then I'm going to do it.

The replica mounts and all that seem like too much for me to stomach but hey I didn't kill the deer. HOWEVER if this really is all about the deer, why wouldn't you want museums and big sporting good stores to have a replica of this great animal for everyone to see?

I agree that hunting is everyone of those great things you named but it is also about money and if you don't think it is, then go to the SHOT show or the AMO show sometime, or go to BassPro or Cabellas. The guy is just cashing in on some good fortune that he has been blessed with. I bet if the truth was know Zaft hasn't solicted the money making opportunities that he has, I bet they knocked on his door. Just my opinion.

6ptsika

I agree, they came begging him for endorsements. I have a very difficult time believing any working man like myself wouldn't take any legal avenue to make a better life for their family. If you'd turn down the hundreds of thousands offered, I'd have to wonder where your priorities are.
Now, I agree he went and made a damn fool of himself with that website. It's hilarious. You'd think a grown man with the sense to succesfully harvest mature whitetails would know better than to alienate himself with so many hunters. I haven't met anyone who hasn't laughed at, or like BM, been angered by the site. Most laugh, however.
I'd also agree it was a pickup. The coyotes should be recognized for killing the deer. However, as in the case of the Beatty buck, P&Y do not set the "world record", only the "P&Y club world record". Their club, their rules. If someone wants to spend allthe time and money making a new record book, they can do whatever they please. The biggest bucks killed are the world records, the particular record book, as well as the particular hunter doesn't really matter, and it's not worth getting upset over.