14-point with 28 inch main beams and 22 inches wide…
For the last several years, there have been extraordinary bucks coming out of southern Michigan and the trend continues into 2011. Twenty-three year old crossbow hunter Clinton Goyings took a buck that actually exceeds the dreams of many sportsmen.
Clinton is a second-shift Production Supervisor at Prairie Farms in Battle Creek.On the morning of Monday, October 24, the young hunter awoke early to go hunting. The weather was rather mild for this late in October with temperatures in the high 40s that were accurately predicted to hit 65 by the afternoon. Goyings chose to hunt out of a grounded box blind that brought him success the previous year. In 2010, the young hunter took a 140-class 10-pointer which until currently was his best buck. This “lucky” blind is located in Barry County on a family farm that spans over 800 acres. Neighboring properties include the Lux Arbor Preserve and according to Goyings, “a 1000 acre farm that no longer allows hunting ever since a duck hunter shot one of his companions.” These neighboring properties provide a natural sanctuary which allows a safe haven for deer to mature and grow trophy headgear that only older bucks are capable of growing in the wild.
Shortly after sunrise, Clinton saw four does running towards him in the soybean field that he was observing. Goyings commented, “While the four does came at me I could hear snorting and then I saw a big buck chasing after the does. He came in running towards me real fast and then slowed down and turned broadside. I had to switch to a different shooting window. The buck quickly got downwind of me and stopped at 20 yards. When the does had reached my wind they spooked and ran off but the big buck stood still long enough for me to place an arrow through his lungs.”
The monster whitetail ran off towards an orchard and Clinton anxiously waited an hour before taking up the blood trail. Clinton commented, “I was really happy when I saw that bloody arrow lying on the ground.”
Surprisingly, the blood trail was sparse and Goyings lost it after covering about 100 yards. Eventually a search of the orchard brought the desired results and the young hunter found his trophy buck in the same spot that his 10-point had died just the
year before. Clinton walked up on a 14-point giant! Great mass is carried throughout the massive rack and the main beams measure 28.5 and 27.5. The longest tine is 10 inches.
Goyings knew that he couldn’t drag this heavyweight himself and sought help from his dad. When dad arrived with the truck and saw the huge buck, Clinton commented “he went nuts.” Even though the family annually takes trophy bucks this particular one is in a league of its own.
The excited hunter next took the buck to Backwoods Bargain Outfitters in Battle Creek to register it in the Q1 Buck Pole contest. As of this writing, the trophy whitetail holds the number one position in the state-wide contest. After a 60 day drying period it could challenge the state’s number one position for crossbow kills as well. Goyings buck received a gross green score of around 188 Boone and Crockett points. The current NT crossbow state record was shot last year by George (Ike) Swan in Calhoun County and it scores 188 7/8 B & C points. The typical state record crossbow buck was shot in 2009 by Bruce T. Edelberg and scored 167 6/8 B & C points.
Clinton’s buck should become the new overall biggest buck for Barry County, which currently is a non-typical buck that scores 181 5/8 and was shot by Robert Maloney in 1989 with a gun. What really stands out with Goyings’ buck is its exceptional width. The inside-spread is an astonishing 22 ΒΌ inches. Clinton stated that they have pictures of this buck from the previous year and that the deer had 18-points then. From the excitement in this man’s voice, I am sure that he is quite pleased with the 14-points that grew this year!
