These are some of the most balanced racks in the record books.
When it comes to typical whitetails, it's hard to find perfection. Once a buck gets to a certain point, it usually starts to grow a few stickers or extra points that throw off the balance of the antlers.
However, in a handful of rare instances, there are big bucks in both the Boone and Crockett and Pope and Young record books that grew beautifully balanced, symmetrical sets of antlers. These are the complete opposite of non-typicals. For today's #WhitetailWednesday, here are 10 of the most symmetrical bucks of all time.
The Glen Johnstone Buck
This buck's past is a great deer hunting mystery. All anyone really knows is that it was shot in Minnesota in the 1920s by an unknown hunter. But, the buck wasn't in the spotlight until someone found it at a garage sale. It subsequently scored at 198 7/8 inches.
Just look at this thing, though. It's as close to a perfect 12-pointer as you can get. What a majestic deer!
The Jordan Buck
One of the most legendary and beloved bucks in deer hunting history had to make the list. Jason Jordan's 206-1/8-inch monster is the perfect 10-pointer. This buck has no stickers or abnormal points of any kind. For further proof of that, the right antler scores 93 5/8 inches and the left antler scores 95 2/8 inches.
That's only 3 2/8 inches of difference between the two sides! For a buck to be this big and this balanced makes this a once-in-a-lifetime deer.
The Lloyd Goad Buck
This spectacular Iowa whitetail is an extremely rare, typical 14-pointer. Yes, that's right. It's a perfect 7X7, something almost unheard of in whitetail deer. Taken in 1962, this buck scored 197 6/8 inches and held the Pope and Young world record for an archery-killed whitetail for three years. The Mel Johnson buck dethroned it in 1965.
It's hard enough to find a 10- or 12-point buck with perfect symmetry. But, to find a buck with 14 antler points, none of which are abnormal? That simply doesn't happen. Goad's buck may never be equaled.
The Hubert Collins Buck
This Canadian monster scored 203 3/8 inches, and would likely be much better-known had it not fallen 1 1/8 inches short of tying Mel Johnson's typical bow record. This buck has a perfectly balanced 12-point rack. The beautiful deep-chocolate-brown color of the deer antlers only adds to this perfect whitetail's appeal.
The Mark Hordeski Buck
Canada seems to be home to a lot of these "perfect" bucks. This particular buck is another beautiful 12-pointer that came out of Saskatchewan in 1999. This buck just missed out on the magical 200-inch mark for a typical, coming in at 198 inches even.
The Vic Bulliner Buck
You'll be hard-pressed to find larger antlers on an 8-pointer. This 180-3/8-inch monster is as perfect as it gets when it comes to big bucks, and it's currently tied for the world record when it comes to 8-point whitetail bucks. Antlers like these make it easy for officials to score. The Hillsdale County, Michigan, monster has no abnormal points and only has 4 inches of side-to-side differences, making this truly a one-of-a-kind buck.
The Peter Swistun Buck
No antler asymmetry here. Another relatively unknown Canadian monster, Peter Swistun harvested this 200-2/8-inch Saskatchewan beast back in 1983. This buck actually bears a striking resemblance to the Hubert Collins buck in a lot of ways. Very rarely are the left antlers and the right antlers basically mirror copies of each other like this. I guess if you want a perfect monster, head to Canada!
Swistun's buck is another beautiful 12-point with high sweeping tines and main beams.
The Thomas Dellwo Buck
Antler development is rarely this perfect. Hailing out of the big-sky country of Montana, Thomas Dellwo's beautiful 12-point from 1974 still ranks in the top 20 all time for hunter-killed whitetails. At 199 3/8 inches, it's one of the largest bucks in Montana deer hunting history, but just missed out on the 200-inch club.
The Brad Jerman Buck
This buck has a few tiny kickers, but that's the only antler asymmetry you'll find here. The buck is otherwise perfectly balanced. Very few whitetail bucks grow such towering brow tines or a near-perfect, 10-point frame. And, this buck currently holds the world record for a typical crossbow kill. It scores 201 2/8 net, losing only about 6 inches in deductions side-to-side.
The Kent Petry Buck
Sporting some of the largest antlers ever on a 10-pointer, this 199-2/8-inch monster came out of Flathead County, Montana, in 1966. This one manages to be both perfectly balanced and retain some character at the same time, with its main beams sweeping upward like regular tines at the ends.
NEXT: #WHITETAILWEDNESDAY: 8 OF THE COOLEST DROP TINE BUCKS EVER
