Nebraska State Record: 202 6/8-inch Typical
Kevin Petrzilka never thought of himself as lucky, until he found himself staring down the barrel at a buck that would challenge the typical world record.
By Kevin Petrzilka
Kevin Petrzilka's staggering Saunders County, Nebraska, buck racked up a net green score of 203 4/8 inches. If the score stands, it will place the buck among the largest typical bucks ever killed and topple the Nebraska state record.
Such was the case on Nov. 19, 2010. The day began like so many others at our home in Brainard, Nebraska, with my sons, 20-year-old Dillon and 17-year-old Mason, heading afield in different directions to spend a few hours hunting trophy whitetails. I had driven Mason about a quarter of a mile down the road from our home so that he could more easily access a deer stand we had set up
The spot was one of Mason's favorites. Two years ago, he had killed a 169 3/8-inch buck from that very stand, and this year, he was hoping to get a shot at a nice 5x5 that we had captured on our trail
cameras
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Meanwhile, Dillon had decided to drive six miles south of the house to my father's farm, but as he approached the farm, he spotted a bull in the road. Dillon called me to let me know that deer had once again torn down our electric fence and that he needed my help getting the bull back inside the fence.
As the call came through, my wife, Donna, and I were just pulling out of the driveway, where we had been watching a small 4x4 buck breed a doe in the pasture next to our house. I told Dillon to stay put, that we would be there shortly to help put the bull back in and fix the fence.
As Donna and I drove towards Dillon's location, Mason's hunt was heating up. As he walked toward the stand location, he spotted five deer -- four does and one unbelievable buck. Mason estimated the shot on the buck at at least 250 yards. He shouldered his rifle and carefully squeezed off a shot, but it was a clean miss.
Mason quickly ejected the spent cartridge from his Weatherby bolt-action .22-250, but as he did so, part of the cartridge tore off and remained in the chamber. When he jacked another shell into the chamber, the gun jammed, rendering a second shot impossible as the massive buck disappeared into a draw behind the four does.
The Petrzilka buck will likely be panel scored by Boone & Crockett measurers. If the net green score of 203 4/8 inches stands, the buck would easily rank among the top 10 typical whitetails ever killed, according to B&C records. Photo courtesy of Kevin Petrzilka.
Mason headed back to the road where I had dropped him off and called me on his cell phone.
Donna and I were within a couple miles of Dillon's location when Mason's call came through. He said he seen a big buck but his gun had jammed. "Get home now!" he told me, as Dillon drove past us on his way back to the house.
Killed with a single shot from a '60s-era .22-250 Remington bolt-action rifle, Kevin Petrzilka's buck carried a typical 7x7 main frame with main beams taping 26 3/8 and 24 7/8 inches, respectively. Photo courtesy of Kevin Petrzilka. |
Once Mason, Dillon and I met at the house, we went over the details of what had happened. Mason told us what he had seen and explained that the buck had entered the draw on its southwestern side. There was never any question about whether the buck was a trophy. My boys know good deer, and we've passed up a lot of 140-class bucks in an effort to kill mature, heavy-racked bucks. We took Mason at his word.
Based on Mason's version of the events, we came up with a plan for locating and getting a shot at the buck. Our land has a lot of rolling hills and draws, both small and large. The draw we were targeting basically runs south, but it has a finger from the west and east on its northern side, and it's thick with cedar trees. Based on our past experience, we've learned that deer like to follow the draw south and emerge along a fence line headed southeast. Pastures border all four sides of the draw, each of which are either on my land or my father's.
We decided that Mason would walk back towards the draw from the west side, and Dillon would drive around to the south and enter the draw from my father's bean field following the fence line. I would drive to the northeast side and walk the draw headed south.
I set out with my
Remington Model 788 bolt-action .22-250 loaded with four 55-grain ballistic-tip bullets. The four does emerged right away, but there was no sign of the buck. As I continued walking, I saw a deer, but I didn't see any antlers, so I assumed it was a doe. The body didn't look that big, but I kept watching the deer in the distance. The deer was walking west, but it suddenly stopped and turned back to the east. It was then that I knew it was a buck, but I couldn't tell how large it was. The buck picked up its pace, weaving through cedar trees and thick cover. Finally, I got another glimpse of the rack, and I decided that it must be the buck Mason had described.
I would like to thank the Nebraska Hunting Company for his help in getting me a Merriam's turkey. Scott is totally committed to getting you a turkey. He is focused on hunting and will put you on birds. For me this is the third leg of a Grand slam, now only needing the Osceola. Another group hunting while I was in Nebraska completed 3 grand slams! One needed a Merriam's, the other two needed a Merriam's and a Rio!
