One of the things we love about some of the largest bucks to ever walk the Earth is the assortment of wild stories that seem to go with them. You've got animals such as the Hole-in-the-Horn, a buck with a mysterious hole in his rack and more theories than answers about what caused it. There's the mystery of the Minnesota Monarch, which made grand appearances in a backyard, eventually shedding his massive antlers and disappearing forever. Or there's the Knifehandle buck, whose massive sheds were cut up for a crafts project.
There just always seems to be a cool story behind the names of these deer. Today, Exodus Outdoor Gear shares the story of the "Sweetie buck" from northeastern Ohio. This buck got his name because he was found dead by a German shepherd of the same name! It's a wild story about how this stray dog found a home and then found a 29-point, 270-inch monster that's one of the largest non-typicals to ever come out of that part of the Buckeye State.
It was in 2010 when Rich Ewing was first clued in that a large dead deer was in the area when Sweetie brought back two hooves from this buck. The moral of the story here is that sometimes it's worth paying attention when your dog has its attention drawn to something it found in the brush.
According to North American Whitetail, a hunter named Art Kroepel had seen this buck several times in the past on his Ashtabula County property. He also filmed the buck just prior to the 2010 season. However, like far too many big bucks, the Sweetie buck pulled a disappearing act in the fall, and Kroepel never saw him again. He might never have known what ultimately became of the deer had Sweetie not found the animal. It seems likely the big buck had his sanctuary in a 200-acre piece of woods adjacent to the Ewing property that was off-limits to hunting.
With a final score of 263 4/8 inches, the Sweetie buck is a true giant. Additionally, NAW notes that other than a short piece of video shot by Kroepel, there were no other photos or video of the animal. It just goes to show that the truly big bucks are extremely good at avoiding detection.
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