Deer shot west of Sheboygan Falls may be record-setter

Sheboygan Press staff

If it wasn't for the unseasonably warm 70-degree weather, Michael Gregoire might have kept his monster buck another day or two — just to continue showing off the prize kill.

Instead, the possibly record-setting buck he shot with bow and arrow Thursday is already sitting on the taxidermist's bench, ready to be crafted into the ultimate trophy.

The 38-year-old Gregoire, of Sheboygan Falls, harvested the whitetail deer on his brother's 160-acre farm just west of Sheboygan Falls. The 12-point buck weighed 240 pounds and taped out at 217 5/8 inches, according to an unofficial score tallied Friday.

A buck is scored by measuring the inside spread of the antler rack, the length of each tine, around the base of each horn and around the main beam of the antlers.

A 60-day drying period must first pass before an official score, typical or non-typical, is granted.

The world record is 213 5/8 inches — shot with a rifle in Biggar, Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1993 — according to the Boone and Crocket Club Web site, on which hunting records are listed. The state record for a typical whitetail is 206 1/8 inches, taken in Burnett County in 1914.

"It's been pretty exciting," Gregoire said. "My phone hasn't stopped ringing."

In no time, word of the buck spread like wildfire, according to Gregoire's brother, Doug.

"We took it to get it scored in Elkhart Lake, and there were people coming from all over the place," Doug Gregoire said. "We told the taxidermist we were coming with a deer that we thought scored as high as it did, and when we got there, there were people waiting."

As much speculation as there is about the buck breaking records, there won't be a final verdict until another two months. Gregoire has to wait not only for the 60-day drying period to elapse, but also for the results from three licensed, random scorers.