The Wisconsin man who submitted a 300-plus inch nontypical buck as a potential state record admitted his story of harvesting the buck during the 2024 muzzleloader season was a lie.

A Department of Natural Resources investigation found that Richard Waters of Markesan purchased the antlers of a farm-raised deer and tried to pass them off as a wild whitetail. He also had the 49-point rack mounted by a taxidermist. While purchasing farm-raised antlers is not illegal, it is illegal to register a captive deer as a wild deer.

“I’m stupid, yes,” Waters, 62, said when confronted by DNR conservation wardens with evidence proving the antlers were from a pen-raised deer, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Deer & Deer Hunting was the first to break the story after the 49-point buck mount was displayed at the Open Season Deer and Turkey Expo in Wisconsin Dells in March. The shoulder mount was presented to Wisconsin Buck & Bear Club (WBBC) officials on March 29 at the expo for scoring. WBBC officials measured the deer at 312-plus inches nontypical gross, with a net score exceeding 306 inches. The measurements would have shattered the Wisconsin nontypical state record, which is held by a 253-inch, 30-point whitetail from Buffalo County (1973). Waters presented an affidavit of the landowner of where the buck was allegedly killed. According to sources close to the WBBC, Waters did not present a photograph of the deer after it was killed. The documents claimed the buck came from Marquette County. Waters also had two individuals corroborate his story by either signing papers or appearing at the deer expo in person.

A photo of a large nontypical farm-raised buck in velvet began to circulate after the Deer and Turkey Expo, which raised suspicion as the buck looked strikingly similar to Waters’ buck. The ivory-white rack was also unlike any other wild deer killed and entered into the record books during recent memory. The antlers appeared nearly unblemished — no broken tines and no signs of staining from rubbing on trees and native shrubs. At the time, a source close to the situation told D&DH that none of the neighbors knew the deer existed. 

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, DNR wardens interviewed Waters on April 2. He maintained that he legally harvested the deer and shared the written account he gave to the WBBC as well as a copy of his 2024 Wisconsin deer hunting license and registration confirmation number. However, the DNR discovered evidence that the buck was from the Yoder White Tails deer farm in Dalton, Wisconsin, and had died several years ago after being gored by another buck. The rack was legally sold to Richard Klemm, who was an acquaintance of Waters’, who then legally purchased the skull plate and antlers from Klemm for $600. Waters used a cape from a different deer for the mount. 

On April 8, DNR wardens presented evidence to Waters that the buck was from a deer farm, sales of the rack, and the unnatural appearance of the antlers. Waters then confessed that he did not kill the buck. He admitted that after he bought the antlers he hid them above his shop where they sat for several years before he tried to submit the rack as a state record.

The wardens confiscated the mounted antlers and cited Waters for false registration of a deer. The citation had a potential forfeiture of $1,147.50. The charge against Waters was filed May 15 with the Green Lake District Attorney’s office.

Read our initial coverage of this story below:

• 2 Wisconsin Bucks Look Strikingly Similar
• 49-Point Buck Submitted as Fair-Chase Kill
• Hunter Provided Location for 49-Pointer
• Big Buck Club Officials to Review 49-Point Buck
• Update: 49-Point Wisconsin Buck