North American Whitetail

North American Whitetail North American Whitetail is the premier source for deer hunting tips, habitat management, gear reviews, and trophy buck stories. www.northamericanwhitetail.com

Subscription Customer Service:
[email protected]

Imagine this monster showed up on your trail camera in late summer. Could you even sleep? Western Kentucky bowhunter Tha...
09/08/2026

Imagine this monster showed up on your trail camera in late summer. Could you even sleep? Western Kentucky bowhunter Thad Cartwright lived out the fantasy of chasing such a giant, and on Sept 3, 2012, he ended up arrowing the crazy non-typical. The deer had been much smaller and relatively normal in 2011, when Thad sent an arrow over his back, but he "blew up" over the following summer, perhaps as a result of injury. Thad shot him at 18 yards with his compound bow. Even with the rack's inside spread of well under a foot, Pope & Young judges awarded it a final net score of 252 2/8, certifying Kentucky as home of the world's all-time No. 2 velvet non-typical taken by vertical bow. Bill Cooper wrote the story for North American Whitetail's Spring 2013 issue, and Thad provided the photos.

ON THIS DATE: Sept. 6, 2020Whitetail seasons limited to youth hunters can be wins for everyone. They're valuable learnin...
09/06/2026

ON THIS DATE: Sept. 6, 2020

Whitetail seasons limited to youth hunters can be wins for everyone. They're valuable learning experiences for kids, teaching opportunities for adults and great memories for all.

A classic example comes to us from this day in 2020. That's when 14-year-old Paslie Werth of Cimarron, Kansas, teamed up with her dad, Kurt, for what would prove a red-hot deer hunt in more ways than one.

Their target was a huge buck that had been seen on trail camera over several years, always drawing a pass from the family of hunters. He now was a fully mature monster, and the Werths were aiming for him.

But the weather wasn't helping. High temperatures in the area average 93 degrees on Sept. 6, and that day in 2020 the mercury touched 102. That's tough under any circumstances, but especially for two people who'd be walking a mile to their blind.

Of course, even a slim chance at this deer would be worth a few hours of major discomfort. Fresh photos showed the non-typical still was visiting the spot. He'd just shed his velvet and was largely nocturnal, but perhaps he'd come into view before legal shooting hours ended.

No deer showed early. But as the light faded, the stifling sit turned in a much better direction. The buck suddenly appeared in front of the blind!

Paslie had begun hunting at age 11, and in her three seasons had taken progressively bigger bucks. No doubt that helped her settle her scoped .270 Win. on the giant and make a good shot. In short order, the family celebration was on.

The rack was even bigger than the Werths had imagined. In fact, some beam circumferences surpassed 7 inches, and a quick count revealed 40-plus points of at least at inch in length. The final tally after official B&C panel measuring was 43 points, with a net score of 273 3/8.

That made the Werth buck by far the world's No. 1 ever taken by a female hunter, blowing past the 257 1/8-incher Jamie Remmers got with a rifle in Kansas in 1997. A span of just under 200 miles separates the locations of those historic hunts.

Lynn Burkhead wrote the original Werth buck story for North American Whitetail, and Kurt Werth graciously provided the photos of his daughter's special trophy. Paslie now is enjoying life as a student at Kansas State University.

Have you ever shot a whitetail on Sept. 6? If so, please post a photo and details in the comments.

09/06/2026

Promo code NAW for20% off your MaxCam!

Throughout North American Whitetail's 44-year history, parts of Alabama have featured some of the continent's highest nu...
09/04/2026

Throughout North American Whitetail's 44-year history, parts of Alabama have featured some of the continent's highest numbers of deer per square mile. That abundance famously led to the state's buck-per-day bag limit, which remained in effect for decades before being reduced. But even with such extreme longterm pressure on bucks, some managed to reach maturity. Birmingham's Randall Shrewsbury got one of those, a late-season 8-pointer taken with a .270 Win. firing 130-grain handloads. This hunter-submitted photo appeared in the August 1985 issue's "Whitetail Hall of Fame" department.

The Henry Repeating Arms H23 Lever Action Supreme chambered in .450 Bushmaster promises excellent handling, solid straig...
09/02/2026

The Henry Repeating Arms H23 Lever Action Supreme chambered in .450 Bushmaster promises excellent handling, solid straight-wall accuracy, and a match-grade trigger.

ON THIS DATE: Lying an hour east of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming's Park County isn't where you'd expect whitetail ...
09/02/2026

ON THIS DATE: Lying an hour east of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming's Park County isn't where you'd expect whitetail history to be made. But it happened on Sept. 2, 1998, when Arizona's Bobby Beeman eclipsed not only the state record but also the world crossbow mark.

In July 1997, Bobby and his family visited the popular "Wild West" town of Cody. While driving a highway near a local river, the veteran hunter briefly glimpsed a huge velvet whitetail. Recognizing the deer as world-class, Bobby began dreaming of how to get a crack at him.

All nonresident permits for 1997 had by then been issued, so the hunter used the following months to seek landowner permission and apply for a 1998 tag. Upon receiving both, he made an August scouting trip. While that week yielded no sightings, there were rumors the beast was still around.

When archery season opened on Sept. 1, Bobby was hopeful but not exactly confident. Amazingly, though, the deer gave him a confirming look that first afternoon. Although the giant stayed out of range, the encounter told Bobby his dream was still very much alive. And the next afternoon it came true, as the buck — his heavy crown by then almost fully free of velvet — offered a 30-yard shot. The arrow flew true, and Bobby recovered his prize at the end of a short blood trail.

With a final net B&C score of 261 5/8, the 31-point rack shattered the world record for crossbow whitetails and remains the biggest ever from Wyoming, no matter the type of gear used. It's also among the heaviest, by actual weight, ever documented on a wild buck from anywhere: roughly 10 pounds on the skull plate!

And as if that weren't enough of a load to tote home to Arizona, two locals who'd separately picked up the buck's previous sheds — the antlers that had caught Bobby's eye 14 months earlier — gave them to the grateful nonresident. They were the sweet cherry on top of one of the most unlikely deer hunts ever documented and part of the exciting cover story Bobby authored for North American Whitetail's October 1999 issue.

Have you ever shot a whitetail on Sept. 2? If so, please post a photo and provide some details in the comments!

09/01/2026

OPENING DAY - LET’S GO!! The NAW TV crew is in the field in Wyoming at Trophy Ridge Outfitters to kick off bow season 2K26. Good luck to all and be safe! Xpedition Archery

Some whitetail racks have been made smaller to make them bigger. . . at least, in terms of net typical score. It happene...
08/31/2026

Some whitetail racks have been made smaller to make them bigger. . . at least, in terms of net typical score. It happened with this huge central Minnesota rack. As discussed in the new Sept-Oct. issue of North American Whitetail, years ago someone removed sticker points to make the deer seem a world record. Rumor holds that Stearns County meat hunter Sal Ahrens shot the buck shortly before Minnesota's 1956 gun opener and then left the rack behind. Only upon its eventual retrieval did anyone besides the hunter or his brother know one of the greatest typicals of all time had been shot. The rack's unfortunate alteration came many years later, after the trophy had entered the world of antler collecting. Once the deception was revealed, the buck was ruled ineligible for B&C entry at any score, relegating him to the shadows of history. This photo of the altered rack was provided by Tom Brown and John Morgan.

After years of bowhunting a 50-acre tract in southern Ohio's Scioto County, Josh Barnard was sure he knew it well. But t...
08/28/2026

After years of bowhunting a 50-acre tract in southern Ohio's Scioto County, Josh Barnard was sure he knew it well. But then he branched out in his scouting and realized he needed to tweak his early-season approach to take advantage of some previously unknown acorn-laden oaks near a known buck bedding area. The shift paid off in 2011, when he downed a great deer he'd actually missed as a 150-class trophy several years prior. The 19-pointer somehow had dodged all of Josh's trail cameras for the past 2 1/2 years, but he finally offered the compound hunter a 25-yard shot on the morning of Oct. 9. When Dave Haynes officially measured the non-typical rack, he came up with a gross score of 198 6/8 inches and a net of 192 4/8. Josh wrote a detailed story of his success for North American Whitetail's Dec.-Jan. 2013 issue.

Address

Springfield, MO
65804

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when North American Whitetail posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category