A ridiculously large whitetail buck was killed this season on a game farm in Pennsylvania. The buck is being touted as the “New World Record Whitetail” after being officially panel scored.Â
How big was it?Â
The buck was scored at 1,011″ inches. Yes, that’s right, 1,000+ inches of antler.Â
How is that possible? As you’ll see in the photo, the buck is a true freak. Obviously not a freak of nature, but a freak grown by the deer farms, Rocky Ridge Whitetails and Quest Haven Lodge in Pennsylvania.Â
On their Facebook page, the crew at Quest Haven Lodge congratulated Brian Bailey on accomplishing what most thought was impossible, shattering the the SCI Estate overall world record for whitetail deer.
The post stated, “Rocky Ridge Whitetails and Quest Haven Lodge have come together to raise and harvest the largest whitetail to ever walk the planet earth. We give all the glory and praise to Jesus for allowing us to be a part of a harvesting this magnificent animal.”
As you might imagine, a recurring question following the release of such a deer being harvested is, “why?”
Why grow such an animal? The deer’s antlers have truly grown beyond a thing of beauty. It honestly looks a bit ridiculous. And consider the weight of 1,000 inches of bone! Was that even healthy for a buck to be packin’ that much antler around?Â
Is it just a numbers game? A drive to see just how big these game farm freaks can be grown? Â
But also, why shoot an animal like this? What motivates someone to pay the big bucks to shoot such a farm-raised critter? Surely he wasn’t thinking, “Man, that’ll look beautiful hanging on the wall!” Maybe so. To each his own. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, they say.Â
And I seriously mean no disrespect for Brian Bailey. I hope he continues to find success in whatever he pursues. These are just some of the “why” questions that tend to loom around high-fence hunting operations.Â
I reached out to Quest Haven Lodge by phone for some of these answers, as well as the age of the buck, but did not receive a reply. Â
What about you? Would you shoot a buck like this? Are you driven by the numbers game when it comes to antler inches?Â
How does a high fence divide the hunting experience received on each side?Â
Comment below, and let us know what you think.Â
