A hunter in Tennessee is in line for a huge payday after bagging a deer with incredible antlers.
Stephen Tucker of Gallatin took down the buck that had a massive 47-point, non-typical rack, the Tennessean reported.
“He pretty much won the lottery,” said Josh West of Wildlife Taxidermy in Madison. “He will have all kinds of opportunities to make a lot of money off endorsements, public appearances and things like that.”
The rack itself could be worth more than $100,000, said Jared Steele, owner of Great Basin Antler Buyers in Utah, who is among the nation’s top antler buyers.
“It’s hard to put an exact number on it, but to the right buyer it could be worth a hundred grand,” Steele said. “Especially if it turns out to be a world record because there are people who collect stuff like that who are millionaires. To them it might be worth more than $100,000. You never know.”
The 26-year-old Tucker will have to wait to find out was in store for him as the antlers are currently in a 60-day drying out period. That began on Nov. 7, the day he killed the deer.
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency District 21 captain Dale Grandstaff, an official Boone and Crockett scorer, measured the rack at 313 2/8 inches gross and 308 3/8 net.
The current state record buck killed by a hunter in 2000 grossed 256 points (244 3/8 net), and the world record killed by a hunter in 2003 had 38 points and scored 307 5/8 net.
Tucker told Tennessean.com he has been flooded with inquiries since the story first appeared Nov. 8 from people wanting to know what he intends to do with the rack.
"I don’t have any plans for it right now,” Tucker said Tuesday. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I'm just going to go with the flow. I just feel very blessed.”
