B&C Dethrones Hopes for King Buck

Johnny King Buck
In the eyes of Boone and Crockett, Johnny King’s 6-by-6 is a 180-inch deer. King shot the buck in Grant County, Wis., in 2006. (photo courtesy of Johnny King)

 

 

It’s over. The Johnny King Buck will not be a new world record in the Boone and Crockett Record Book.

Earlier today, the club panel-scored the deer and, as predicted on this blog Friday, stood by the originally revised score of 180-0/8 that Wisconsin scorer John Ramsey gave the deer after receiving instructions by B&C’s Jack Reneau on how to score the buck.

Critics of today’s panel-scoring session claim B&C stacked the deck and relied on new scoring rules that were instituted specifically to keep the buck out of the world-record spot. B&C, which has refused requests for interviews, could not be reached for comment.

Ramsey initially came up with a score of 215-5/8 typical. That score would have shattered the longtime record held by the Milo Hanson Buck.

According to a press release issued by the club, “Boone and Crockett Club called a special judges panel to make the final determination. The panel consisted of two, 2-man teams of senior official measurers who had not seen nor scored the rack previously.

“The teams independently scored the buck using the Boone and Crockett scoring manual plus updated directives and processes outlined in other Club literature. Each team completed a score chart. The teams then resolved any differences and finalized a score.”

In short, it appears B&C stuck to its guns in denying the King Buck a chance at the world record, relying on four revisions to its rulebook that were added since the buck was killed in 2006.

The details of the panel score were not available at press time, however, it appears the four-man team of measurers decided not to include shrinkage on the final score. The score of 180-/08 was determined in early 2007 at the same time the score of 215-5/8 was determined. When scored as a typical 6-by-6, the score had come down to 213-6/8 of three years of drying. Hence, the 180-0/8 score should have shrunk to something in the 176-inch range, according to antler experts.

Deer & Deer Hunting will report more on this story as details become available.

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