Pennsylvania Public Land Hunter Kills Massive 205-Inch Drop-Tine Buck
John Raubenstrauch took a gang of kids to help recover Spoons.
Four years ago, John Raubenstrauch spotted a 10-point buck on a field edge near his home in Elk County, Pennsylvania. He knew the buck was destined to be a dandy and continued to see it over the next few years.
“Two years ago he blew up to being huge,” the 51-year-old hunter told Outdoor Life. “I put out trail cameras to learn his patterns. It was tough because he was a loner, but I stayed with him using my cameras and got lots of photos.”
Raubenstrauch and his hunting buddies involve their kids as much as possible. When the kids saw photos of the huge buck, they named it “Soup” because of the two big drop-tines on its nontypical rack.
Spring came and Raubenstrauch began scouting Soup in earnest. He focused on an area where a friend had found the buck’s sheds. Raubenstrauch learned where the buck lived, bedded, fed, and traveled by walking the woods and observing.
Raubenstrauch finally pinpointed the buck’s activity on public ground. The buck was living on a hilltop in an impenetrable laurel thicket. He only came out once every four days to feed on acorns, which Raubenstrauch learned from his trail cameras.
Raubenstrauch decided the afternoon of October 25 was his best opportunity to catch Soup outside the laurel thicket. He tried to get the son of a friend to hunt with him, but the boy had other plans.
So Raubenstrauch hunted alone that afternoon. He sat near the laurel tangles, watching acorns raining on the nearby hilltop. A bit after 6 p.m., Soup stepped cautiously from the laurel jungle and Raubenstrauch noticed that he was even bigger than expected. After looking at Raubenstrauch for a moment, Soup dropped his head to eat nuts. Raubenstrauch then took the shot with his CenterPoint crossbow from inside 30 yards.
“The arrow looked like a good hit, but I was afraid to check the spot where Soup was standing when he jumped back into the laurels. So I headed home,” Raubenstrauch says.
Raubenstrauch returned 30 minutes later with five buddies and six kids. They found Soup almost immediately where he had been hit. The deer had only gone 50 yards before dropping after a double-lung shot.
“Everyone knew it was Soup and they were excited to see and touch the buck,” Raubenstrauch says.
Soup weighed 240 pounds field dressed. He has 16 scorable points and members of Raubenstrauch’s archery club collectively scored the buck as a nontypical at 205 6/8 inches. Raubenstrauch has contacted Pennsylvania game officials about the buck, and they think it will score even bigger, landing high in the state record book. Soup will officially be scored after the 60-day drying period.
“He’s a massive buck, and we think he’s 7.5 years old,” Raubenstrauch says. “It looks like Soup ruptured something in his antlers when he was in velvet, which gives the right side a large circumference.”
“He’s a massive buck, and we think he’s 7.5 years old,” Raubenstrauch says. “It looks like Soup ruptured something in his antlers when he was in velvet, which gives the right side a large circumference.”
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