John Breen buck

[Sailfish]

The most famous buck I never heard of:
The Breen Buck
(202 0/8 typical)
 

(this pic does not do it justice)
 
Many still consider this Minnesota buck, bagged in 1918, to be the best typical ever.
In November 1918, Bemidji, Minnesota store clerk, John Breen, accepted an invitation to hunt with a customer who lived a 30 mile train ride north of town.  As the story goes, Breen was about to shoot a buck chasing several does when this monster suddenly appeared.  Breen felled the big buck with his 30/30 and began the task of transporting the deer home via train and then horse and wagon.  The rack was so wide (26 7/8" outside spread) it barely fit through the front door.  A taxidermist would later offer Breen $50 (a half month's wages) for the rack, but Breen turned him down.
It wasn't until after Breen's death in 1947 that Boone & Crockett introduced their scoring system.  When the family had the buck measured (it grossed 215 0/8 but had many deductions for non-typical points) it became the world record typical until the Jordan Buck emerged in 1964.

I had to do some research today to find out more about it.

Oh, and the new BP shops hunting catalog came in the mail today.
 

Here is a kewl story about one of the best non-typicals of all time:
Hole-In-The-Horn
(328 2/8 non-typical)
A massive spread and 45 points make this buck the #2 non-typical record-book buck.
 

 
This famous Ohio non-typical caused quite a stir in the early 1980's when it was "discovered" in an Ohio bar where it had hung since the early 1940's.
It has 45 points, a spread of 33 inches, and an official net non-typical score of 328 2/8 making it the second largest non-typical rack ever recorded.
Few people know that this deer was not killed by a hunter, but, rather, got its antlers entangled in a chain-link fence.  As it struggled to free itself, a sharp wire in the fence impaled the antler, leaving the hole for which the deer is best known.

[DeerCamp]

these are two hunters dream bucks.. i too have read a lot about theses 2 deer. infact i was so fasnated about the story with the hole in the horn buck that i had bought a sticker to throw on my truck. the breen buck  is so amazing aswell....what shocks me the most is the saying "records are ment to be broken." cant wait to see what will break these two record deer. just simply amazing deer!

[bckklr]

i was born in chillicothe ohio (ross county) not for sure but i was always told the hole in the horn buck was found in ross county ohio beside some railroad tracks where the deer had been hit by a train by no means am i trying to call you out but after reading your post it makes me question the origin of the buck & it seems like barb wire could not penatrate the horns of a buck but i did take one last year with a natural hole in its right main beem if anyone knows the hard facts about this buck please post it & let me know thanx in advance (maybe i could google it ? new @ this computer stuff ) i repeat im  not trying to doubt anyones word just curious

[howhill1]

i know this is d&dh's site and its the only deer mag i subscribe to and read. that being said i remeber an article in north american whitetail about 15yrs ago where dick idol was contacted by and interviewed
 a gentleman in florida i believe who claimed to have been present when the hole in the horn was killed by a train and thrown into a chain link fence with enough force to penetrate its antler indeed giving it the famous "hole". take that for what its worth.

[bckklr]

thanx howhill1 thats closure enough 4 me that would make my story & sailfishs stories both semi correct hey that how hill isnt short 4 howard hill is it ? i got an old buddy that has an old hand made howard hill recurve (he told me howard hill holds the world record for like the longest archery shot or something like that he11 i dont know ) i do know hes got the bow put on a shelf & it has the name howard hill on it

[howhill1]

thats awesome. yes howard hill was one of the greatest archers to ever live. get your hands on a copy of the book "hunting the hard way" by mr hill. and try to find the movie "tembo". i once spoke with byron ferguson who got to work with howards last tour manager. he told him that in all the years he followed him he never missed a shot. the movie robin hood with erol flynn, every archery shot in that movie was done by howard hill with real equipment. a truly remarkable man.

[bckklr]

thats cool ill try to find the book i always did like a good read but ya my bud fish hes an older man pushin 70 single lives in the mid of nothin deer & turkey galore but his house is like a museum of antiques with 6" of dust on every thing he has a set of elk horns that he said he got from the first museum of science in new york its like a 7x or 8x its taller than me 6'1" and prob 40" wide or so and mass like you wouldnt beleive from base to tip

[howhill1]

you should be able to find a copy on ebay or amazon. there was a book by jerry hill , howards nephew who took over the buisness after howards death that had alot of cool stories but i cant remember the title.