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From the Journal of the Texas
Trophy Hunter Magazine
 High
Roller
Biggest Whitetail Buck in the World
By Horace Gore
If someone asked, “Where do you think the biggest whitetail buck is today,” what
would you say? South Texas? Saskatchewan? Minnesota—or Ohio? I know where he is,
because I was fortunate enough to get to score him in January of this year. The
world’s biggest buck IS in Ohio.
The monster buck had a huge rack of 44 points last year when he was 4-1/2 years
old and, by my score, grossed 377-2/8 Boone and Crockett (B&C). Of course, he
does not qualify for the Boone and Crockett Record Book because he is a
pen-reared buck. He is an amazing whitetail, as you can see by the photos,
because he is not just an old clubby-antlered buck like many big bucks are.
Instead, this buck, nicknamed “High Roller,” has a splendid 10-point rack
supplemented by 34 additional non-typical points that are substantial in length.
My net score for High Roller, which was taken while he was sedated for
laboratory work, was 366-4/8 B&C.
The emergence of this buck to the deer world came about last December when Sammy
Varnam of North Carolina sent a home video and a short note to the Texas Trophy
Hunters office in San Antonio. Sammy is a close friend of the buck’s owner, and
wanted Jerry Johnston to see the buck.
When I got to the office on Tuesday, the tape had been there for a day or two,
and the magazine staff was abuzz about the buck on the tape. The assistant
editor, Doug Patrick, suggested that I look at it in the video room. Glen
Schmidt, who puts our TV show together, put the tape in and we all stared in awe
at the bucks on the film.
Many were big, but one stood out from all the others. I could hardly believe my
eyes. “Think we should show this to Jerry?” queried Glen. “Yes, and soon,” I
replied. After Jerry saw the tape and the buck, he read the note that asked if
we wanted to come up to Ohio and see the buck. Anyone who knows Jerry Johnston
knows how crazy he is about big whitetails. He immediately made a phone call,
and plans were made to go to Ohio on a date set for the buck to be sedated to
collect semen.
On that proposed date, Jerry, Brian Hawkins (our TV show writer, photographer
and producer) and I were at the farm in Ohio. (Out of respect for the owner and
the location of High Roller, his name and address will remain anonymous.)
Our arrival in Cleveland on Friday was met with rain and snow. We rented a car
and traveled on to meet Sammy and High Roller’s owner. Upon arriving on the farm
to get our first view of High Roller, we excitedly watched the Monarch stroll
among his 15 or so does in a separate pasture from the other deer. His antlers
were very light colored because he had recently shed the velvet. His huge, white
antlers stood out on the green turf of the pasture like a full moon in October.
We all visited and talked about High Roller, while a decision was being made
whether or not to sedate him during the cold, wet weather. The decision was made
to delay the laboratory work until the weather got better, so that eliminated
the reason for my presence—scoring the buck while he was sedated. But all was
not lost.
We looked at a lot of other huge bucks. One buck, a basic 10-point with six
kickers that had been scored at 260 B&C gross, really caught our eyes. This buck
was huge in both body and antlers. We also observed a 2-year-old that grossed
244 B&C. Before we left the farm, Jerry made arrangements with Sammy and High
Roller’s owner for Brian Hawkins and I to return when High Roller would be
sedated in about 10 days. I could hardly wait to get back to Ohio and score the
buck.
As a wildlife biologist of 40-plus years, I have seen all kinds of whitetail
bucks. I’ve held the McCulloch buck (Texas’ biggest typical). I’ve had the
pleasure of helping a team of Boone and Crockett judges score the famous
“Hole-in-the-Horn” buck in Las Vegas in 1985.
That buck, which apparently died in Portage County, Ohio, in the l940s was
discovered and bought by a whitetail antler collector in 1983, and was thought
at the time to be the new world record B&C non-typical. The buck had been mis-scored
originally, but ended up with a final score of 328-2/8 net, second only to the
Missouri Monarch, the No.1 non-typical that nets 333-7/8. The Milo Hanson record
typical at 213-5/8 was a pleasure to score by our B&C panel in Dallas in 1995.
The Hole-in-the-Horn buck and the Missouri Monarch, along with “ Goliath,” a
pen-reared buck from Pennsylvania that gained notoriety after he was stolen at 2
years of age and recovered at 6 years old just last year, are three of the
biggest whitetails known to man, but they pale when compared to High Roller and
his 366-4/8 net score.
Incidentally, the Hole-in-the-Horn buck was found and bought about 60 air miles
(Portage County) from where High Roller was born. And, by all accounts, the
Missouri Monarch was reared in a pen near Bemidji, Minnesota (related article,
“Case of the Mistaken Monarch,” Journal of the Texas Trophy Hunters, March/April
2003). Is it possible that ALL of the biggest bucks in the world were
pen-raised? It is something to ponder.
I’m sure most of you are wondering how High Roller and all the other huge bucks
on the farm came to be. I, too, was curious about how such big bucks could be
grown on an Ohio farm. Was it the feed? Was it genetics? Was it the water? Sammy
Varnam supplied the answers.
In July of 1987, a buck fawn was purchased from a neighbor. That buck fawn was
named “Storm,” and he was led around on a leash like a puppy dog. After about
two weeks, a pen was needed for Storm. That was the beginning of the deer farm.
The following year, a doe was bought to go with this buck. The doe was named
“Weaver.” In four years, the doe had eight fawns, all bucks. An additional doe
was bought in ‘92. Two more does were bought in 1993. In 1994, all of the does
had buck fawns.
As the herd grew, so did the antlers. It was soon apparent that some magical
genetic formula had evolved from the breeding of these deer that had been
acquired. The better bucks came to the attention of local deer farmers.
As the bucks got older, some turned into 200-class bucks; then, others grew to
240 B&C. One buck with an enormous spread, 35 points and 80 inches of antler
mass topped 300 B&C. The deer farm was getting a lot of unwanted publicity and
attention. Deer breeders from far and wide came and tried to buy the best bucks.
The better bucks were sold, but the very best were not for sale. This superior
combination of breeding the best to the very best soon showed the potential of
this magical genetic bloodline. In the fall of 2000, a yearling buck on the farm
caught everyone’s eye. He had 12 points and grossed l30 B&C. Sammy named him
High Roller. As a 2-year-old, the buck had 21 points and grossed 218 B&C. High
offers were made when he produced 33 points as a 3-year-old and grossed 280 B&C,
but he was not for sale. Many top breeders across the country wanted High
Roller.
In the summer of 2003, it was obvious that High Roller had exploded in antlers.
He was on his way to becoming the largest whitetail buck in the world. By fall,
he had 44 points and antlers that were rapidly rough scored at about 367 B&C
when he was sedated for semen collection.
Upon realizing that High Roller might be the biggest antlered whitetail in the
world, Sammy made a tape of the buck and sent it to Texas Trophy Hunters for
advice and help in exposing the giant buck to the public. “It would be selfish
to keep secret such a marvelous success story of not only what Mother Nature
could produce, but what human nature could produce, as well,” Sammy said.
I didn’t believe any whitetail buck could have 367 gross B&C antlers. When I
scored him on Jan. 3, 2004, my score was 377-2/8 gross! High Roller WAS the
biggest whitetail buck in the world! As they say, the rest is history.
The huge buck dropped his antlers in March, and they were immediately retrieved
and sent to a master taxidermist in Wisconsin for reproduction. Several sets
will be made, and I’m sure that a limited number of the reproductions, as well
as other items related to High Roller will be for sale.
Sammy Varnam has assured Jerry Johnston that a set of antlers will be sent to
Texas Trophy Hunters for display at all three TTHA Extravaganzas® in Houston,
San Antonio and Fort Worth. Verrips Taxidermy will mount a full-body whitetail
sporting the reproduced antlers. No doubt, this exhibit will be a showstopper!
Sammy and I were visiting on the phone the other day and he expounded on the
virtues of High Roller’s coming antler growth for 2004. “I think he will break
400 this year,” Sammy projected. “His new antlers already look like two baseball
bats.”
My feeling about his antlers this year is not that strong. It is hard for me to
think of antlers grossing 400 or more, but High Roller is only 5 years old, and
he could surpass his 2003 world’s biggest score at 377-plus.
The five-month period of antler growth is a precarious time for a buck, so let’s
hope no harm comes to his 2004 antlers in the velvet. “You can almost see them
growing,” Sammy said in jest. “We’ll just have to wait and see.” And, so we
will.
The genetics books tell me that High Roller is the product of “line breeding”
for superior antlers from succeeding generations of white-tailed deer. This
means that the best males were bred to the best females to produce the best
(largest) antlers in male offspring. Up to now, High Roller is the best of such
a line breeding program.
 Any population of animals
will have specific physical qualities based on the classic “bell-shaped curve.”
The desired superiority of a physical characteristic, such as large antlers in
deer, will range from a few of the best to many of the average to a few of the
worst. High Roller would have to be classified as the very best of the few with
the largest antlers.
Deer in the wild do not exhibit the controlled line breeding that can be
conducted by a deer farmer. Therefore, wild deer tend to develop physical
characteristics that are best suited to the environment in which the deer lives.
Physical qualities that cause stress are eliminated through both natural and
unnatural losses of animals that are stressed by a hindering physical
characteristic.
Penned deer generally survive the stresses of line breeding that produce such
things as exceptionally large antlers or other unusual attributes. High Roller’s
antlers would be a physical hindrance in the wild, and he might or might not
survive as a wild animal.
The genetic potential of a sire such as High Roller to produce superior
offspring might be a gamble, but the odds are favorable that even his “average”
reproduction on the bell curve would be a very high average for antler quality.
Our purpose in giving readers this story and photos of High Roller is to show
what can be produced in white-tailed deer when Mother Nature gets a helping
hand. Should all of the 10 million whitetail bucks be like High Roller?
Whether your answer is yes or no, the chances of another High Roller are slim to
none. He’s truly one in 10 million (or more).
Well, that’s the story of High Roller—a story about commitment and the refusal
to sell out. The result: the biggest whitetail buck in the world! I’d say that
patience and the will to produce the best has paid off. Wouldn’t you? Editor’s
Note: Watch for a full TV special on High Roller on the Texas Trophy Hunters TV
show to be aired in July on Dish Network, Men’s Channel 218.
There will be semen, as well as pictures, reproductions and other items for sale
when High Roller is on display this summer. Any purchases and streaming video of
High Roller are available on the TTHA Web site: www.ttha.com.
Also, the progress of High Roller’s antler development in 2004 will be featured
in this magazine, along with other exciting photos and related stories about
this world-class buck. Stay tuned!
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