November - 2014

#96 Santa Rosa Island Mule Deer Buck-- Ken Lund

When Ken shot this buck he had no idea what he had shot. It was the last night of the hunt, and we are getting pretty anxious to shoot something. We were actually lined up to shoot a different buck, but then this buck showed itself. I suddenly pointed to this monster to Ken and said, "Shoot that buck!". And he did. The buck fell behind some thick shrubbery, so he couldn't tell how big it was. As a joke, when I first got to the buck, I yelled back to Ken, " Well, at least you

#97 Santa Rosa Island Mule Deer Buck-- Joe Surprenant

Since this hunt, Joe has become a good friend. We don't have too many clients within a 100 mile radius of Calaveras County, and he happens to be one of them. When Joe shot this buck, that kicker his left hand is on, actually broke off when it fell down, but between he and his guide Will, they found it. Joe's hunting partner Mike Saiers also shot a buck that made the Top 100. Suffice to say that Will was the hot guide that hunt! #santarosaisland #sribigbucks #santarosaislandbu

#98 Santa Rosa Island Mule Deer Buck-- Jay Brasher

On the previous hunt, I had another client on this buck. Somehow he mistook this nontypical buck in velvet for a 170 class hard-horned buck. I remember watching this buck run off after that client shot and saying to him" You missed, put another shell in for the next shot at him". When I dropped my binoculars, I suddenly saw a different buck was laying in the canyon, dead as can be. To say the least, Jay was the lucky recepient of that client's misfortune. Jay hunted several y

#99 Santa Rosa Island Mule Deer Buck-- Frank Beltrame

Frank was a real character in camp. Being from Chicago, he definitely brought with him his uppermid-west attitude . To say the least, he was quite excited about this 7x8 buck. Every buck has his own particular confirmation. The way this buck splays out, all his points really stand out. Notice that this buck was shot in 2000, at the very beginning of the golden age of buck hunting on the Island. #santarosaislandbuck99bucksribigbucks

#100 Santa Rosa Island Mule Deer Buck-- John DeFalco

Anyone who ever experienced Santa Rosa Island knows about the winds out there. This hunt was extremely tough due to 30-40 MPH winds. This buck was hiding behind the largest scrub tree in all of Wire Field. This buck was also shot during the last hour of that hunt. I don't think John even had time to change clothes before he hopped on the plane. Number 100, 99 to go! #santarosaisland #santarosaislandbucks #sribigbucks

The 101st Biggest Buck on Santa Rosa Island

Starting November 24th, 2014, we are going to start highlighting the biggest bucks harvested on Santa Rosa Island over our 33 year history. We will run through the top 100 top scoring bucks. To pique your interest, here is the 101th largest buck shot. This buck was shot by Jon Smith of Virginia. Maybe you ask yourself, " How could this be the 101 biggest buck-- it's huge?!" Well, that was the beauty of Santa Rosa Island. This buck scored 205.375 SCI and had 7 pts on the left