Giant Buck Could Become Ontario’s New No. 1 Hunter-Killed Whitetail
In November 2021, hunter Dearl Hill bagged what could be Ontario’s new record-breaking typical whitetail deer. The record has yet to be officially confirmed by the Foundation for the Recognition of Ontario’s Wildlife, as reported by Ontario Out of Doors. The group, responsible for maintaining the Big Game Records of Ontario, will evaluate the buck’s antlers to determine its official status.
However, panel-scoring is merely a formality at this point. Hill’s buck has already secured a spot in the Boone & Crockett book as Ontario’s top hunter-killed typical whitetail, with a final score of 190 4/8 inches. (This score is only surpassed by a 194 2/8-inch whitetail discovered by an official from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources in 2009.) Hill’s buck boasts 14 points and a gross score of 204 4/8 inches on the B&C’s score chart.
Ontario’s Out of Doors quotes one of Hill’s friends, who describes the buck as the “king of the Oil Springs area” and laments the loss of its crown.
Hill kept the buck’s head in his freezer for six months before having it evaluated by a Boone & Crockett scorer in April 2022, according to Ontario Out of Doors. The scorer measured a total of 194 3/8 inches of antler, which doesn’t align with the Club’s score sheet showing a final score of 190 4/8 inches. Nonetheless, even the lower number will surpass the current No. 1 typical whitetail in the Firearms category of FROW’s big game records book: a 190 1/8-inch whitetail harvested by hunter Harry Brown in 2009.
In an email to Outdoor Life, Assistant Director of B&C Big Game Records Kyle Lehr confirmed the buck’s final score of 190 4/8. Lehr also clarified that the head and/or antlers must be kept at room temperature for 60 consecutive days before measurement, and it was revealed that Hill had frozen the buck’s cape, not its head.
Editor’s note: This article was updated on Sept. 7 to include input from the Boone & Crockett Club.
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