Ohio Hunter Tags Crazy Local Legend, 228-Inch Buck With Antler Growing Out of His Eye
Author: Field and Stream
Published: November 8, 2022
We have definitely never seen anything like this!
“Davey Stuckey’s 228-inch mammoth buck was a well-known, but elusive, Buckeye State brute
We’ve profiled Davey Stuckey several times in this space; the Ohio expert whitetailer has taken several whopper bucks over the years, but perhaps none as impressive as this year’s mammoth whitetail. The 228-inch giant sports 18 scorable points, has two drop tines, a 2-½-inch tine protruding from below his eye socket, and circumference measurements over 9 inches. The gigantic buck was well known to area hunters and residents, and Stuckey was far from the only one pursuing the deer. Here’s his story.
It All Started With Two Sheds
Stuckey’s first encounter with the buck came four years ago when he was shed hunting. “I was actually looking for the antlers of another buck I’d hunted that fall,” he says. “I came up over this rise and there was a matched set from this buck. I was over three miles away from where I eventually killed the deer.”
Despite finding the great sheds, Stuckey had no contact with the deer that fall. He also had other deer to chase so he didn’t spend much time looking for him. “But the next summer I started seeing the buck again, and of course, he had my attention,” Stuckey says. “He was living on a big farm that I couldn’t hunt, but I had access to an adjacent property. I’d spot him once in a while, but he kept moving around. “
As the season approached, Stucky gained access to a property where he felt he had the best chance at a shot. He started seeing the buck regularly, but it was still hard to figure out the deer’s pattern.
“He was all over the place and not near huntable cover very much,” Stuckey says. “Finally, I just decided to do something dumb, and I stuck a camera in a random ditch on the property.” Stuckey’s gamble worked, and he started getting pictures of the buck in the daylight.”
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Photo Credit: Original Author
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