Crossbow Hunter Tags 240-Inch Buck, One of the Biggest in Ohio Buckmasters Records
In Ashland County, Ohio, a hunter tagged a trophy buck last weekend while hunting on private land with a crossbow. Abraham Yoder killed the buck on Oct. 8 and had it scored by Daryl Miller, a certified Buckmasters scorer approximately an hour away in Baltic. Miller gave the deer a final score of 239 and 7/8 inches. With 29 scoreable points and significant mass, he believes it could be the largest rack he’s ever encountered. The score would make it the fourth largest Ohio buck in the Buckmasters records.
Miller grew up hunting and scoring whitetails with his father, who has been a certified Buckmaster scorer for over 20 years. Miller obtained his certification himself last winter and feels honored to follow in his father’s footsteps.
“I’ve accompanied my father on almost every deer he’s scored. I’ve sat beside him and observed,” Miller tells Outdoor Life. “In my father’s two decades of experience, I don’t think he’s ever scored a buck this large. I’m now 30 years old, and this is honestly the largest one I’ve ever handled.”
The rack has 29 scoreable points. Daryl Miller
Miller, who works as a lumber salesman and conducts a lot of business in Ashland County, which has a sizable Amish population, notes that Abraham Yoder has been a loyal client of his. When Miller heard rumors that a hunter with that name had tagged a massive whitetail buck, he knew he had to see it in person. Coincidentally, he was already planning to visit Yoder’s property, so he brought his scoring equipment and arrived the following day.
After measuring the rack, Miller received permission to take a few photos and include it in the Buckmasters Trophy Records Book. Details about the hunt are limited, and Miller explains that it is impossible to contact Yoder without visiting him in person due to his Amish background.
“Coming from an Amish background, he prefers not to attract a lot of attention,” Miller says. “But he was thrilled to have that buck, and I was thrilled to be there to score it.”
Miller describes the rack as a typical 6×6 frame with numerous abnormal points. With a total of 29 scoreable points, it measures 239 and 7/8 inches. This final score is determined immediately under the Buckmasters’ scoring system, which does not require a drying period. Unlike other scoring systems, Buckmasters does not penalize racks for irregular growth or make deductions. Instead, it measures every inch of antler and classifies the rack accordingly.
“It’s an incredibly unique, heavily massed buck and absolutely a once-in-a-lifetime buck,” Miller says. “While I always hope for larger ones, there’s a good chance this will be the biggest one I ever score.”
“It’s an incredibly unique, heavily massed buck and absolutely a once-in-a-lifetime buck,” Miller says. “While I always hope for larger ones, there’s a good chance this will be the biggest one I ever score.”
A skilled hunter, dedicated conservationist, and advocate for ethical practices. Respected in the hunting community, he balances human activity with environmental preservation.