05/25/2026
Among the enduring mysteries in whitetail history is this huge buck's identity. We know the hunter was Harold Smith. We know the location was Ta Ta Creek, near the Kootenay River in southeastern British Columbia. We know the hunt date was Dec. 1, 1951. But what we still don't know is whether this was a pure whitetail, a pure mule deer or a hybrid. Harold died in a work accident in 1956, apparently leaving behind no field photos of his trophy. In addition, it's unknown if the whitetail cape used on the earliest mount was the original. But Boone & Crockett accepted the deer into its record book as a 279 3/8-jnch non-typical whitetail, so we made him the star of a "Big Buck Profile" on North American Whitetail TV. We also featured him on the cover of our December 2000 magazine. Whatever the truth about the Smith buck might be, his wide, tall and heavy 32-point rack is genuinely elite.
