April - 2015

#1 JOE KONSWINSKI Top 100 Santa Rosa Island Mule Deer Bucks

#1 JOE KONSWINSKI Top 100 Santa Rosa Island Mule Deer Bucks # 1 is finally here. We started this countdown on November 24, 2014 Joe Konswinski of Michigan shot the biggest buck on Santa Rosa Island in our 33 year tenure out there. This buck of Joe's is a 210 buck as a typical 4x4, but when you add in all extra points, he had over 45" of nontypical points. What a buck! Joe gets the distinction of shooting the biggest buck. At the same time a misguided Dodger fan, Will Woolle

#2 STAN ATWOOD Top 100 Santa Rosa Island Mule Deer Bucks

#2 STAN ATWOOD Top 100 Santa Rosa Island Mule Deer Bucks This is such a quintessential Santa Rosa Island buck and photo! This monster was shot by Stan Atwood near dusk out at the end of Bee Canyon. Pocket Field is in the foreground and San Miguel Island in the background. If I keep staring at this photo, I might start crying. I can just relive that return trip over the Burma Road in the dark, knowing that a monster buck is in pieces in the back of the truck. Before long, th

#3 PAUL PRUDLER Top 100 Santa Rosa Island Bucks

#3 PAUL PRUDLER Top 100 Santa Rosa Island Bucks Does this buck actually look real? You dissect this buck, and there's something about that makes it appear almost mystical. When Chad brought this buck in from this hunt, we all just marveled at it's massiveness. Paul's buck has such huge bases and the mass all the way out to the tips is truly phenomenal. This buck doesn't have the huge webbing mass like yesterday's entry, but his thickness all the way out is unheard of. If thi

#4 JEFF MEYERL Top 100 Santa Rosa Island Mule Deer Bucks

#4 JEFF MEYERL Top 100 Santa Rosa Island Mule Deer Bucks This monster was the Island record from this date in 1999 until 2006. This buck has so much mass that it looks unnatural. Jeff can not even come close to wrapping his hands around the antlers above the eyeguards. I think this buck had over 50" in mass measurements. This buck of Jeff's is also the top scoring buck that is hard horned. The three remaining bucks are all in the velvet. This fact makes Tim Kelley the guide

#5 COLBY BETTIS Top 100 Santa Rosa Island Mule Deer Bucks

#5 COLBY BETTIS Top 100 Santa Rosa Island Mule Deer Bucks In many ways, this may be the most impressive mule deer ever shot on Santa Rosa Island. It has no eyeguards to speak of, and only two nontypical points (one only three inches long)-- yet it scored a whopping 237. As a typical this buck is a high 220's buck. His frame is just huge, with G2-4's extra long. One more thing-- this was Colby's first mule deer ever! Good luck improving on this one Mr. Bettis! If you notice th

#6 JIM TONKIN Top 100 Santa Rosa Island Mule Deer Bucks

#6 JIM TONKIN Top 100 Santa Rosa Island Mule Deer Bucks This was Jim's second big buck he shot on Santa Rosa Island. He was a crack shot with his scoped handgun. Andrew guided him on this hunt, but on his other trip I guided him and as we were stalking him, I asked him how close did we need to get for him to shoot the buck with his sidearm. He nonchalantly said, "We can stop here, I'm good". I was a little shocked since we were a good 300 yards out. True to his word, he sat d

# 7 ROBERT SERGI JR. Top 100 Santa Rosa Island Mule Deer Bucks

# 7 ROBERT SERGI JR. Top 100 Santa Rosa Island Mule Deer Bucks This is the exclamation bookend buck that goes along with Arthur Gutierrez's buck (#25). Robert, or Bobby as he likes to be called, is Arthur's grandson. They shot their two awesome bucks on the same fateful day in August of 2006. This tandem signifies the finest single day of hunting on Santa Rosa Island. Not only a Top 10 buck was taken that day, but Arthur's buck was the widest buck every shot out there. Fast f

# 8 MARK BUCHANAN Top 100 Santa Rosa Island Mule Deer Bucks

# 8 MARK BUCHANAN Top 100 Santa Rosa Island Mule Deer Bucks This has got to be one of the most unique bucks I have ever seen. This thing has 4 beams. Are you kidding?!?! This is a buck that might show up in your dreams. A good dream, of course, but can this buck actually exist with these malconformed antlers.Wayne guided on this hunt. As his story goes, he saw this buck the hunt before but the buck got wind of their evil intentions and got away from them before clients Bill o

#9 SCOTT MOONEYHAM Top 100 Santa Rosa Island Bucks

#9 SCOTT MOONEYHAM Top 100 Santa Rosa Island Bucks This is one photo that doesn't show off the trophy buck very well, but this particular photo has so much going on in it that I couldn't not publish this image. While my father Wayne guided Scott on this trophy buck, it's my older brother Greg who is packing it out along with Scott behind him making sure Greg doesn't fall over backwards (maybe not the best gun safety technique though). Do you think these two guys are happy? Th

#10 KEARNEY MARTINS Top 100 Santa Rosa Island Mule Deer Bucks

#10 KEARNEY MARTINS Top 100 Santa Rosa Island Mule Deer Bucks Kearney deserved a chance to shoot a buck of this caliber. If you remember, he also shot #22, which was the largest buck taken in 2009. Well, this buck of his was the largest of 2008. Think we should be going to Vegas to bet on the Final 4 this weekend with his kind of luck and ability.This is one of those photos that's quite easy to place on the Island. Chad also guided Kearney on that buck too. On the let backgro