William “Dusty” Gerrits, of Waupun, Wis., climbed into his stand in southwestern Fond du Lac County on the morning of Nov. 6, 2012, looking for a specific buck — a deer he had named “Tiny.”

By Jake Edson

The buck had shown up on Gerrits’ trail camera the day before, and Gerrits knew his best chance was to attack the area while the deer was still active.

At first light, a smaller 8-point buck appeared and began to work a scrape near Gerrits’ stand. Then he spotted a much larger buck approaching from the south. As the deer neared, Gerrits realized this buck was much bigger than the one he had initially focused on.

While Gerrits watched, the bucks postured and circled before the 8-pointer realized he was out of his league and retreated from the wide 12-pointer.  When the smaller buck high-tailed it away, the giant buck presented a 22-yard, broadside shot. Gerrits settled his pin, exhaled and shot. He heard a crash, and then silence.

Gerrits waited 45 minutes before taking up the blood trail. Just 50 yards from his stand, he found a giant that would rewrite the Wisconsin record book.

The buck, which Garrets aptly named Big Surprise, had 12 scoreable points and an inside spread of 20 2/8 inches.

After the required drying period, the Fond du Lac county monster would score 189 3⁄8 inches, breaking the state’s typical archery record of 187 5/8 inches.

With Gerrits’ kill, Fond du Lac County is now home to the top archery typical and non-typical bucks in the state. Deer & Deer Hunting was there when Wayne Schumacher first measured his nontypical record in 2009. That buck scored 243 6/8 inches.