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ROMPOLA BUCK

I dont think you would be intrested in my biggest buck,but it did come from nebraska.
Randy
 
Being from Michigan it's hard not to have an opinion about this buck. I was hunting in KS when the news broke and I had called my wife and she says, "Did you hear about the world record that was shot?" I hadn't, so I asked her what state and she said Michigan. I was like, WHAT! Ok, I might believe her if if she says 1 of about 10 counties. When she said near Traverse City all I could think was no way in the world.

That was even before I heard another "fact" about the deer. There are many reason I believe it's a fake but the location where it was "shot" is the clincher for me. Northern Michigan is so far from what I would call a trophy area it's a joke. Most of our trophy bucks come from the southern farm counties. I guess nothing is impossible but Florida probably has a better chance of producing the next world record than Grand Traverse County, Michigan. I think the next biggest buck shot in the county only scores in the 160's and there's only a few above 140. Now he claims to have shot another 190 class buck. NO WAY!!

Tim
 
Thought I would had one more thing about the one person, Craig Caldarone (sp), offering $10,000 to Mitch just to have the rack X-rayed.

At one time Mitch had the state record buck. Craig shot a 14 point in Jackson County and it became the new state record. It was later turned-up that Craig had been busted for shinning after 11:00 pm (illegal in MI) about 7 years earlier. Not sure who brought this up. So Craig's buck was removed from the Michigan record book (CBM) and Mitch had the state record back. But P&Y wouldn't remove Craig's buck and Mitch was ticked. So Mitch has always contended that there are poached bucks in the P&Y book and stopped scoring for them. Mitch and Craig aren't exactly hunting buddies.

FYI: Craig's buck was shot in one of the top two or three counties in MI. The current state record, which scores about 198 was shot (shotgun) only a couple miles from where Craigs buck was killed. Craig has since bought the rack and has a whitetail museum that is awesome. He even has a replica of Mitch's buck in it.

Tim
 
It has been scored by 7 different scorers from B&C, P&Y and CBM.

http://www.record-eagle.com/sports/archive/08rompol.htm

It's also been inspected by more then one gamewarden and countless other people. Now if it was fake don't you think even 1 of these people would have said so??? The only people crying are Caldarone, Huffman,Hanson and the seed company all people standing to lose money. IF you read everything you will see the money offered to have it xrayed would not go in Mitches pocket. It was to be donated to another org.

If someone told me you can hunt my farm but if you kill the WR I want the rack I would go for it. Aslong as non of it was going to waste the memorie of the hunt would be enough in the end thats the best part anyway...It last alot longer then the meat. Plus you could always have a replica made for a mount of your own as part of the deal....Joe
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Hey PYBucks. I was wondering if you've seen the D&DH article? If you have what do you think of the map that shows the counties where he killed all these big deer. That is one part of the story that I thought a local could clarify for us. Is it possible to take these big deer in those counties or is this just a continuation of the "big conspiracy"? I do have to agree that there will always be doubts until he decides to have it x-rayed and scored publicly. If it is real it's a darn shame that such a magnificent animal was killed and never given the credit it deserves. Maggs
 
I find myself getting mad at these type stories because it all revolves around notariety and money! Hunting is slowly changing into a money sport and I personally don't want any part of it. I love to read about and see pictures of big deer thus my frequent visits to this site. I often talk to people who shoot a buck and then downplay it, saying it suffered ground shrinkage or it happened so fast, or some other lame excuse for not killing a booner. I feel some people just are never happy unless they kill extremely large bucks, and never will be, it's really kind of sad.

As far as hunting a world record buck and having to give the rack away, I'm with Shovelbuck, I'd rather shoot a doe! I am a believer in record books although I refuse to enter my deer. Something about it just makes me feel like I'm bragging but have nothing against people who decide to.

If I ever was in a position where I did kill such an animal I would instantly call a game warden and an attorney.

What I enjoy is looking at the racks my uncles and grandpa have just collecting dust in their barns, they are by no means little racks either but you know what, they shot them for the meat not the racks and enjoyed every kill as if it were their first.

Sorry if this got a little
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I will get off of my
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now.
Pupster
 
I think I have read everything you can find on the internet about this buck and will be buying the D & D hunting magizine soon. All the different speculations about this man and this great deer is very interesting. Both sides have laid out many interesting theories about this being "Real or Fake".

I went to the "Bowsite" and went the the Michigan forum. There are 135 posts going back and forth with a couple of gentlemen claiming to know Mitch and the truth about all this.

The one thing I struggle with is the spread between the burrs on this buck. It is said they are 1.5 inches farther apart than any record book buck ever killed. The "bondo" material on the skull plate has been said to have been a rag wrapped around the skull plate to keep the borax on for skull plate cleaning. I don't know what to believe at this point, every story has a new twist.

Would anyone in Iowa believe that the next World Record Buck could come from any county in Iowa?

If you down a monster this year I think good advise would be to take a DNR officer, a good reporter, and a priest with you on your recovery.

If the Rompola buck is real, what a buck it is!
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Ghostwalker, That's why I asked PYBucks about the map. I don't think it would surprise me to find the next world record in ANY county in Iowa. Yet I've read and heard many times that this particular county will never produce a buck of this size! Is it ever possible to say that about anywhere. As adaptive as the whitetail is I would think a smart old "booner" could turn up anywhere. Still a potentially great buck and a never-ending debate. Maggs
 
Rompola hunting area is not thought of as real trophy hunting area,on the other hand Iam chaseing around a 170 class buck in my county that shouldnt be here also.
 
Maggs, I haven't seen the article but I would like to see the map you're referring to.

The northern half of the lower penisula is very poor habitat. A few people try and farm but the soil is either sandy or a swamp. It also gets hunted very hard do to the large amount of public land. MI isn't like Iowa where a monster could come from anywhere in the state. The guys that hunt northern MI do it more out of tradition than anything else. The Southern 1/3 of MI is like Iowa, great farm county and almost all private. I have only hunted northern MI for turkey's. I would never think of hunting up there for deer, thus I go to KS, NE, IA every year. I know guys that hunt up there and the upper penisula and anything over a 6 point is big.

Mitch claims to have shot it on private property. I don't know how big the piece is, how many food plots they have planted, does it have a fence on any of the sides, etc. The general area is not a natural big buck producing area like a lot of the mid-west. The deer in that area would need a lot more than just age.

Tim
 
I just got home and did a quick ckeck of the P&Y 5th edition. For Non-typicals (over 150), the southern lower peninsula of MI has about 25 entries, the upper peninsula has 2 and the northern lower where Mitch killed his buck has ZERO.

The state record non-typical from southern MI is 211 0/8 or about 5 inches less than Mitch's buck. Only two more bucks score above 200 inches and there both from southern MI as well.

Tim
 
hi Tim,
Iam just outside muskegon.
your in one of the top counties in m.i. Randy
 
Here is something to think about. Do any of you believe in bucks that roam. For whatever reason they end up leaving there homeland and stomping grounds. I can remember over the years that we would have some moose or elk and also muledeer end up around our area hear in northwest corner of iowa. So who is to say that that buck didn't do that. Maybe that buck was from the southwest corner of michigan and made is way up there. You never know. There is only one man who know and he isn't telling.
 
DOUBLE lUNG. THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. EVERYONE KNOWS AT LEAST BUCKS ARE TERRITORIAL AND TEND TO NOT RANGE OUT MUCH PAST THIER STOMPING GROUNDS. BUT IF THEY DO JUST TAKE OFF AND GO A 100 MILES..............WHO THE HECK WOULD KNOW. IF I HAD ONE THAT I WAS WATCHING FOR SAY 2 OR 3 YEARS AND ALL OF A SUDDEN HE'S NO WHERE TO BE FOUND I WOULD THINK HE GOT HIT ON THE ROAD OR POACHED OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. I GUESS I NEVER THOUGHT OF HIM TAKING OFF AND LEAVING. A BIG MATURE DOMINATE BUCK WITH PLENTY OF DOES, FOOD AND COVER HAS NO REASON TO GO ANY WHERE BUT WHAT IF THEY DO JUST PACK UP AND LEAVE...........
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Maybe he is real,dont make no never mind to me any way.I hunt Keokuk county,which is not known for any real monsters.Im happy just taken a decent 10 pointer and all the doe tags i can fill.I had the chance to hunt van buren county on private farms and have turned down the chance.I just perfer to hunt my old stompen grounds.I took a decent 11 pointer with my bow last year that net scored 142.thats about the average for this county for big deer.i just injoy the hunt and the time in the woods.
if i ever saw one under my tree like the one mitch took i would most likly die of a heart attack on the spot.
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They sold me a magazine. There are some people that can't be bought, I don't know if it is real or fake. Seems to have put himself in a real bind for nothing if it is fake and he is not cashing in on it.
 
Just to reply to Double lung about the wandering. Most of the time when animals like elk, moose and mule deer wander out of thier range and go a hundred plus miles, it usually is not due to boredom but a parasite. The parasite (paralephastrongylus tenuis) is the Meningeal Worm of Whitetailed deer. In Whitetails, is rarely causes clinical disease (encephalitis/meningitis) but when it gets into elk, mulies, moose and camelids (llamas, alpacas, and camels) it can cause diffuse or local encephalitis/menigitis signs which include altered mentation, recumbancy, aimless wandering etc, and eventual death. There may be other reasonsfor animals to roam but in these sort of cases, it can usually be attributed to the parasite. I know, that was a little off the subject but had to put my education to work.
 
This one wasn't a wanderer. He claims he video taped it the previous year and missed an opportunity on it prior to the alleged harvest.
 
A 200" typ is a freak and can turn up anywere. Look how long the Jordon back was #1 close to 90 years. In all that time
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how many other 200"+ typ were killed in that same county????Joe
 
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