A Michigan antler-scoring official yesterday broke his 25-year silence on what he knew about the infamous Mitch Rompola Buck at the time when the deer was allegedly examined. His comments shed unseen light on a subject which has captivated deer hunters for nearly three decades. Earlier today, Michigan’s Randy Rhoads spoke with Deer & Deer Hunting to further clear the air on details that have not previously been made public. Here are parts of that exclusive interview:

D&DH: Did you know Mitch Rompola?

Randy Rhoads: Yes. I had been to his place. We were both on Commemorative Bucks of Michigan (CBM). We scored deer together. We were all deer fanatics. We lived right next to each other.

D&DH: Do you think the Rompola Buck was real?

Rhoads: (Laughs. Pauses. Laughs again). I was the Regional Director for CBM (Commemorative Bucks of Michigan), and I saw all the official score sheets for more than 20 years. I never once put my hands on a Booner. Now, there have been some gross Booners, but not a legit 170-inch deer. We did have a few (170s) that later make it from nearby counties, but dang few. Every score sheet from the northwest side of Michigan – and that covers a huge area – came through me. We’re talking from the Mackinaw Bridge all the way down to Muskegon. I have a pretty good handle of what’s around.

What was your reaction when this typical 12-pointer with 38″ outside spread allegedly scored 220-6/8 inches?

Rhoads: Unbelievable. It just doesn’t happen. In Iowa … here … or anywhere else. Mitch was a fellow member of CBM. He always had stories. He always had sheds. He always had (laughs) stuff. His 182-inch buck from the 1980s … I sat in on that official scoring. The rack had weather checking and age as well. It wasn’t fresh. It went in the books. No one questioned it.

Why didn’t anyone question it?

Rhoads: I have no idea why no one questioned it. No one wanted to rattle the cage, I guess. You know with big deer, there’s always a story. Always a story. But is it ‘the’ story. You can only speculate.

You said previously that CBM had a protocol that wasn’t followed?

Rhoads: I was on the board then, regional director of Region 6, when this took place. We, as a board, decided at the meeting that when Mitch would ever want to get this deer measured there would need to be a Pope and Young Club measurer, a Boone and Crockett Club measurer, a member of the CBM board and myself – being the regional director of where this deer came from – all present. Well, that never happened!

Did the scorers contact you (the regional director) after scoring it?

Rhoads: Those guys never approached me. They know what they did. And I never approached them. I was ticked off. Pissed. I was on the board. I was the regional director. One of them was there (for the secret scoring meeting) and was on the board. He was a senior member. He knew exactly what he was supposed to do; we had been through the process with CBM. I never talked to him after that.

Why didn’t you say something?

Rhoads: I did, but I stayed within protocol. I pursued it at the next CBM board meeting. You can’t go against protocol on these things.  These other guys had to drive 45 minutes – some of them more than an hour – to get there (for the secret scoring session). I was regional director of the club, lived 20 minutes away, and he doesn’t call me?

So, do you think the buck’s rack was real, fake or something else?

Rhoads: When something like that comes around, everyone takes notice. I truly wished I would have been able to see it myself, but that didn’t happen. Probably for obvious reasons.

I never put my hands on it, so I don’t know for sure. I don’t know the particulars. I do know he did his own taxidermy. And he knew I did my own taxidermy as well. Let’s just say I knew enough about taxidermy to know what is fake and what isn’t. There’s no doubts when you’re a taxidermist. And I’m sure he didn’t want me to see the rack because he knew I would know.

So, was the rack — with a 30-inch inside spread — real or fabricated?

Rhoads: To this day I have a conundrum about that … what was the exact case. I still to this day can’t believe those guys thought that thing was real.

What about the stories of how he then proceeded to kill four more bucks with inside spreads of 25 inches or more (two with 27+ inch spreads)?

Rhoads: (Laughs) I don’t know, man. I’ve seen enough deer over the years. Held enough racks. Measured enough over the years. Honest to God, up here, even our 4-1/2 and 5-1/2 year olds are 110 inches to 130 inches, MAYBE. And those are our BIG deer. 140s and 150s are freaks of nature up here. We just don’t have high-scoring deer. I measured a 142-inch buck this year, and that is considered a giant. Heck, those deer (the ones attributed to Rompola’s streak) don’t even exist in Iowa.

Have you ever measured a deer with a 25-inch inside spread?

Rhoads: No. Never.

And Rompola killed five of them in a seven-year span in Grand Traverse County?

Rhoads: (Laughs) Yeah, by the airport on the edge of town. I guess that’s what they say. (Laughs again) Back in the day at the Lansing (Deer & Turkey Expo) show, we scored racks for 10 hours a day. Up here, if a buck has main beams that are 24 inches, that’s a freak of nature. And that’s just the beam lengths, not the inside spread.

(For reference, the current North American world record typical had 28-inch main beams and an inside spread of 27 inches.)

Have you kept in contact with Mitch Rompola?

Rhoads: I haven’t seen him in more than 20 years.

Why now? Why didn’t you come forward years ago?

Rhoads:  I have nothing to gain on this at all  — nothing. It’s just my take from my end from 25 years ago that no one (the public) ever knew until now.

After seeing John (Eberhart) talk about it (on the Deer Talk Now Podcast), I said, OK, dadgummit, I’m going to say my peace. You know we’re getting older. If John was willing to talk about, I’m ready to as well. Others didn’t know the situation. We did then and do now. If (one of the “shopped” CBM scorers) would have declined to measure the deer based on the CBM protocol, this wouldn’t be where it is today (an unsolved mystery). That’s my opinion. The story wouldn’t have taken on a life of its own. You have to remember, CBM is all volunteer. We don’t get paid to do this stuff. And I’ve been doing it since 1989.

Your final analysis of the Rompola Buck?

Rhoads: The whole thing smells. Did it bother me over the years? Yeah, in a way, but knowing that he put this on himself, and it went nowhere, it didn’t bother me. Because it went nowhere. If it would have gone somewhere (being declared a record) you would have definitely heard from me. But I figured I would leave a dead dog die and let it go. I guess that just added to the mystique. There are so many different made-up stories out there. It took on a life of its own. But enough is enough.

Editor’s note: D&DH has attempted to track down Rompola and the Rompola Buck scorers numerous times over the years, and those who remain have refused to talk about it.