OFFICIAL STATEMENT: Tennessee's Super Non-typical Whitetail Deer

Not a season goes by that word doesn't circulate on yet another tremendous big game animal having been taken in fair chase by a hunter. Some years we're talking about more than one record-breaker, and this year is no exception. Thus far, two such animals stand out; a typical American elk taken with a bow in Montana that has been verified to be the largest of its kind recorded in the last 48 years, and a outstanding non-typical whitetail deer, that is still pending its final entry score.

On this particular deer, the Boone and Crockett Club has not yet received all the information required to certify the official entry score, making media reports of its ranking premature, however the Club can confirm that the score reported in the media does not surpass the current World's Record non-typical whitetail deer from Missouri, which scored 333 7/8.

The process for scoring a harvested animal begins with the trophy's owner contacting a Boone and Crockett Club Official Measurer to evaluate the rack after the required 60-day drying period. The Official Measurer then scores the rack and sends the entry materials to the Club's headquarters in Missoula, Montana for review. Although this deer has been initially scored, the Club's Records Department has not yet completed its review with the original measurers. Once this review process is complete, the Club will post the official accepted entry score.

While we haven't arrived at an entry score or potential ranking of this particular deer, it is clearly one of the largest ever taken, a trophy of a lifetime, and cause for celebration. A wild deer of this caliber does not happen by chance. It represents a healthy ecosystem and a yet another conservation success story.  Our hats are off to the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency for their efforts in managing our public resources, and to the hunter for his fair chase pursuit that resulted in this deer.