Classic Photo
Whitetail Deer
Is there a backstory with that pic?
Matt
Fred Goodwin buck from Maine 1949. Gross non typ 255-4, Net Non typ 239-4, nearly 210 typical.
The link has a little info.
DanaC, the article (incomplete) says he missed the deer with his .33 caliber Model…….., but Id bet a dollar it was a Savage 99 in .303 Savage.
Great buck, if he killed it with a screwdriver !
Edwin his brother missed it previous with .33 caliber according to article.
It was probably a Winchester Model 86 in .33WCF.
Great buck. Maine has some big deer and a lot of forested land. Drycreek, his brother Edwin missed the deer in 1946 with his .33 cal. Fred was using a .300 cal. Savage 99. See link with a little backstory. Apparently the skull was split and could not be entered for B&C. Cool that he lived to almost 103 years old.
EDIT: Huntcell, we must have been typing at the same time.
tobywon, thanks for the clarification. My reading or comprehension skills are degrading…..:-)
I received info from B&C Club newsletter...
After reviewing, I did some internet searching and tobywon's links has the best account of the hunt I could find:
https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Silver+ridge%3A+Fred+Goodwin%3A+Northern+Maine.-a0183042064
Shame it couldn't be entered into B&C because of split skull plate... Likely was world record at the time of kill...
Gun was a "Model 99 .300 Savage"
Another link, this one more on the hunter who lived to be 103 years old:
https://www.skinnymoose.com/bbb/2009/01/10/fred-goodwin-and-his-silver-ridge-buck/
Funny thing, his brother missed it 3 years earlier and described it as having a "three foot outside spread"....whether that was true or not, it was a big deer 3 years prior. Makes you wonder how old that deer was and was it a big typical? I'm sure it added a lot of trash as well. Either way, outstanding buck.
I remember that pic from yrs ago, I liked the rig, can't remember if it had rear dualies but I do remember chains on the tires!
Incredible deer and one cool looking hunter! What a shame he didn't qualify for the record book. Obviously, this deer is pretty well known, but I always wonder in there isn't a world record set of antlers stuck up in some old barn somewhere. Thanks for sharing!
What kind of boots is ole Fred wearing...
Zbone, It looks like he's wearing mukluks. I wore them in Alaska, and they are great as long as the weather is cold enough for the snow to be dry as they were made with canvas back in the day.
Look like possibly Canadian military issue mukluks
I like everything about this...from the buck, the era, the rifle, to the chained up rig...and any guy that wears mukluks hunting is for real in my book! Cool story all around, thanks for posting it!
Me too, South Farm, reminds me of some old hunting pics of my father, although he never shot a whitetail that big.
Whenever I see old pics like this, it makes me wonder how many world class bucks were killed back in the day that were never scored and didn't receive any publicity like they do in today's horn porn obsessed hunting community. I know of one mule deer rack, that would likely score in the top 3 typical, that's just collecting dust in an old rancher's barn. I bet there are many more like it.
Matt
My dad shot a big bull elk down near Antonito back in the 60's. It was across a steep canyon. Took them all day to pack it out. He hung the antlers in a tree & left them there. They were too tired & his boots crapped out. He had to borrow a smaller size from his hunting partner. He never went back for them. He just said you can't eat antlers. Surprising he was always taking pictures, but hauling the camera over wasn't worth the weight. Sure wish he would have gotten at least a picture. Seeing some pretty large racks, he says the one he shot was bigger than that. That was just how dad felt, never a trophy hunter, always a meat hunter.
Grew up hunting and fly fishing not to awful far from Silver lake. Up in the Azicohos Richarson and Unbagog region. I 95 really made it more populated. Deer was killed many years before the record snowfalls of 68-69 which decimated the deer populations of central, East and West central Maine. They had 24 ft on the low ground with back to back storms that hunt season and the monster 69 storm in Feb. Was bigger that the 93 storm. That Feb they received 15ft of more snow. Back then and prior it was all about deer's body weight not so much inches of horn and this deer was not a big buck for Maine by any stretch. Heard that a bunch in camp in the early and mid 70's.
He missed it a 348 Win Model 71. The HH buck was the deer most spoken of. As hew was 350+ filed dressed.
Bh
Is that cool or what great picture I remember reading and checking on Larry Benoit when I was young and the 760 pump Remington he always carried and Remington made a L Benoit commemorate 760 I think he shot a 270 or 308 .anyway thanks co much for sharing Good luck Lewis
Hey Lewis I got to meet Lanny Benoit 20 years ago. Got an autographed picture and chatted with him a bit. Very down to earth guy. He seemed a bit bewildered at being famous. Just a passionate hunter. I'm pretty sure the Benoits favored the .30-06 in the Remington 760s . One of their tracking tips was to focus on deer tracks as long as a .30-06 cartridge
Looks pretty staged to me, no way you’re wearing that hat up there in late November.
Plus, where’s the bow?
Anyone think they scored it wrong? 3rd mass measurements?
The Gould buck is one that was passed around and was one with the scoring issue for years. Maine did it different than BC. Bh
Knew some of you guys would like this thread...
I grew up reading Outdoor Life during the 60s and 70s and the Benoits tracking/chasing brute whitetails in the Northeast... At 18 went to hunting guide school in Montana in 1978, secured a job with an outfitter for that fall and bought me a Remington 760, 30-06 as my guide gun...8^) Oh the memories, thanks for the reminiscing
"The HH buck was the deer most spoken of. As he was 350+ filed dressed"
Since Horn Hustler mentioned it, this was always the deer that I used to hear about. They used to list the all time largest deer (weight) for the New England states in the Game and Fish Magazine and this one stuck out to me ever year they woulkd do their annual hunting forecast. Not only that, but another neat, old time photo from 1955. Horace Hinckley buck field dressed at 355 lbs.
Sorry, I don't know where that photo above came from. Not mine or one that I even have on my computer.
:)
Thats the HH deer of lore. He is standing between his legs. A massive whitetail. Have seen a handful of 300+ lb whitetail dressed from Maine over the years. I have a color slide of camp at Upper Dam with one hanging next to a260lber it dwarfs him. Use to go in by boat. I can remember on cold windy days busting ice off the bow and gunnels of boat as it was lowering the boat to low in water. Still some giants in the Rangely Mooselook area but they never came back where they were after winter 68-69.
Bh Bh
That HH is massive but doesn't really look overly "fat" to me. Huge chest and long frame and sure makes the hunter look pretty small.
I'm guessing the guy in Tobywon's pic is about 5'-3" tall. Still a pig whitetail, tho.
Matt
That hanging buck I think I read somewhere dressed out around 350 pounds if I remember correctly...
Ah, No he was not a small guy. The barn floor is 4” below jam, barn doors were 80” or there about. Those big central Maine Whitetails are just very large. The rear hooves are touching gravel. Unless you have seen a few 300 lb dressed whitetails its hard to describe. Like a young steer but longer.
Bh
No social media per say back then... they didn't need to lie or long arm for a pic... thats a recent phenomenon.
Here is the scoop on the hanging buck, it weighed 355 pounds dressed, second heaviest on record:
https://www.sportingjournal.com/maines-record-buck-the-whole-story/
One of the pics The rifle look like a Salvage Lever Action Rifle. I have a 308 Salvage Lever Action and looks a lot like.
Any guesses on the rig? Jeep? My uncle hade I believe a '48 Dodge, stake bed, diamond plate, with dualies! Love them old rigs! Oh, yea the buck is nice ;0) lol!
“Makes you wonder how old that deer was and was it a big typical? I'm sure it added a lot of trash as well.”
I guess I just don’t understand the concept of “trash”. The truly freakish racks from the antler factories where every deer has a tag in its ear, yeah, those are grotesque. But a little honest asymmetry? Bring it on. Those Old Dudes have earned it….
GG - I think Mr. Hinckley is taller than 5'3"...8^)
big deer hanging but i just don't see 488 pounds there. how about others?
The idea that 'live' weight is 1/3+ more than 'dressed' is a bit off, imo. No substitute for a calibrated scale. Still a heckuva buck.
Well over 440 either way. We took a giant outta Mooselook area in 79. Had to come out whole to check station off dry ground. Took 4-5 guys to get him out. Was a shade under 300lbs dressed. After 3 miles i sure thought he was 400. We thought he was a 300club deer. Bh
