Pulaski County buck wins top honor
A Pulaski County buck took top honors for the first time among a record number of entries Sunday at the Arkansas Big Buck Classic at Barton Coliseum.
Scotty Allen of Bauxite bagged the typical buck, which netted a score of 171 4/8 on the Boone and Crockett scale, on Dec. 7, 2023. He shot the buck with a Browning A-Bolt rifle chambered in 270 Winchester.
Allen’s buck was the only rack entered in the show that met the minimum requirements for inclusion in Boone and Crockett’s all-time awards recognition. A typical rack requires a minimum score of 170 and a non-typical rack requires a minimum score of 195. The rack that exceeds the minimum score in its respective category is named Best of Show.
The buck also netted an impressive prize package, including a commemorative coat, a trophy and a Tacker all-terrain utility vehicle from Bradford Marine & ATV.
Allen said he didn’t expect to encounter the buck when he arrived on the property. He arrived late, and his fortunes appeared to take a bad turn when he spooked a buck while walking to his stand.
“It wasn’t nearly as good a buck as this one, but I thought I blew my hunt,” Allen said. “I thought that was going to be my only chance. I hadn’t seen this one out in the daylight. About an hour later, here he come walking out.”
Allen said he was not aware of the buck’s presence in the area until his remote camera photographed the deer in late 2023.
“You know what I was thinking,” Allen said, laughing. “I’m going to get you!”
His remote camera had photographed the buck many times, but only at night. He saw it once before in daylight during archery season, but the
buck caught Allen’s scent and evaded him.
“I had to wait on gun season,” Allen said. “He was too smart to come in close enough for bow season. All the stars aligned.”
Allen, 44, said he has been hunting since he was a child. His biggest buck previously scored about 130.
“It’s a little bit different now,” Allen said. “I can’t kill the little ones anymore.”
Allen said his Boone and Crockett buck illustrates what can happen with time, patience and time in the stand.
“Just hang in there. Enjoy yourself and have fun,” Allen said. “You’ll eventually come across a big one.”
Tommy Murchison, co-founder and promoter of the Big Buck Classic, said that hunters entered 530 racks in the show, eclipsing the previous single-season record of 337. Hunters entered more than 400 racks in the 2022 Classic, which also honored deer taken during the 2021 season. The 2021 Big Buck Classic was cancelled because of covid-19. To accommodate the additional mounts, Murchison said his staff had to build an additional panel to the Wall of Honor upon which all deer mounts entered in the show are displayed. The Wall of Honor is one of the show’s major attractions.