1962 buck nicknamed “Old MossyHorns,” which scored 2797/8.

O’Brien’s buck was shot with a .270Weatherby Magnum a few minutesbefore the end of legal shooting timeon the opening Saturday of last year’sNovember firearm season. He and twohunting partners, Brandon Rhodus ofLexington, Texas, and Dave Haveman

of Louisville, Nebraska, were scoutingfor Sunday’s hunt when they saw thebuck about 250 yards away.

O’Brien worked his way through apatch of timber to get a shot within 100 yards. The deer ran 30 yards anddropped. “I’m just lucky,” he said. “Agood hunter doesn’t kill that deer. Alucky one does.” ■

Because Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium isbetween where I hunt and where Ilive, I frequently stop during the

November firearm season to see whatbig Nebraska bucks have been checkedin. If any are really big, I snap a coupleof photos for the Nebraska Game andParks Commission and possibleNEBRASKAland use. When I stoppedby on opening day last year, two menstood beside their pickup, nice 4-by-4’sin the back.

“You guys mind if I get a couple ofphotos of your deer?” I asked.

“You can,” one of them said, “but the one you really want to see is in thattruck over there.”

I walked to the camper-coveredtruck, shielded light out from bothsides of my face with my hands, theway a six-year old might look througha candy shop window, and turned backto the two men. “Yeah, I think I’ll passon your deer,” I said. We all laughed.

Inside the truck was a deer unlikeany animal I had seen before. All youcould see was points.

A few moments later, the shooter ofthe deer, Wesley O’Brien of Lexington,Texas, emerged from the aquariumwith a throng of people at his sides aseven more people waited in the parkinglot. “You guys waiting on me?” he saidwith a smile, then opened the tailgate.A barrage of camera phones came fromnowhere, taking as many photos asthey could of what was quickly namedthe “O’Brien buck.”

This massive and gnarly whitetail,taken in the southeastern part of thestate on private land in RichardsonCounty, became one of the most talkedabout whitetails across the country lastyear. Rack, Great Plains Game & Fish,Deer & Deer Hunting, Texas Fish &Game, as well as both the OmahaWorld Herald and the Lincoln JournalStar either have either already run

articles or will do so in the near futureabout this buck. “It’s a remarkable deer,”said Tony Korth, Ak-Sar-Ben aquariumdirector and certified antler scorer.

A March 19 posting on Boone &Crockett’s web site stated, “We havereceived the entry materials for WesO’Brien’s buck. It has an official entryscore of 284 and has 1343/8 inches of

abnormal points. This still has to beverified before it becomes official.” Ifthis measurement stands, it will eclipsenot only Nebraska’s current state recordfor a nontypical firearm of 2425/8, takenby Robert Snyder in 1961, but alsoNebraska’s state record for any weapon(as well as the former non-typicalworld record archery buck), Del Austin’s

NOVEMBER 2010 • NEBRASKALAND 43

By Jeff Kurrus

42 NEBRASKALAND • NOVEMBER 2010

How important is it to hunt deer during theirrutting season? Certainly it is to a hunter’sadvantage to have bucks on the move andmore reckless than they behave the rest ofthe year. Back in the old days, when therewas one firearm deer hunting season, it wastraditionally set for about the second week ofNovember, when biologists calculated the rutwould peak. In those days a rifle hunter hadtwo concerns – will the bucks be in rut andwill most of the corn be harvested. Even now therifle season still falls in mid-November, yet with somany season options today, over such a longperiod of time, hunting the rut probably assumesless importance than it once did for many deerhunters. That said, deer hunters are like everyother variety of hunters in formulating theories toimprove their chances of bringing home freezermeat.

If you are a hunter with a mathematical bent, youcan count backwards from when most deer areborn in Nebraska, the peak usually being in early-June. Both white-tailed deer and mule deer have agestation period of about 61/2 months (200 daysplus or minus 12 days), so back counting gets youto the peak of mating in mid-November. There is,of course, a range in when does mate and howlong they carry fawns. Deer in southern statestypically have a broader breeding-season window,but in our latitude it is to the species’ advantage tohave fawns self-sufficient before the onset of theirfirst winter, but not born before the last of springsnow storms.

What triggers the rut in deer has been attributedto many factors – moon phase, weather, herd age-structure and sex ratio, to name a few. Believewhat you will of the various theories to narrow thetime of rut to a certain hour of a certain day if youwant, but there is no doubt photoperiod – the ratioof daylight hours to nighttime hours – triggers thetiming, and that is consistent from year to year. Asthe days shorten in late-summer and early fall, thepineal gland in the brain (often called the mastergland, as it regulates the release of hormones byother glands in the body) secretes a hormone

called melatonin. Testosterone levels in bucks rise,leading to the shedding of velvet on antlers,increased aggression and sperm production, andan increased interest in does. The necks of thebucks swell to strengthen them for sparring withother bucks, and they seem to be constantly onthe move, scanning for competition for does,noses sampling the wind for the scent of receptivedoes (often called the “seeking” phase). Whendoes are entering estrus the bucks begin followingand chasing them. Bucks are most vulnerable tohunters during the seeking and chasing phases ofthe rut. A similar transformation is occurring indoes as a result of increasing levels of estrogenand progesterone that will dictate estrus and ovulation.So, the pineal gland can be thought of as a deer’schemical clock, a clock that runs on solar energy.

While the bulk of deer breeding occurs in arelatively short period, perhaps two weeks, bucksare occupied with mating for as long as two monthsor more, during which they exhibit pre-ruttingbehavior (rubbing small trees with their antlers,pawing scrapes with their feet and marking themwith scent, sparring with other bucks and followingdoes) and post-rutting behavior as theyincrementally back off from all the behaviorsleading to and exhibited through the rutting period.

While photoperiod triggers the timing of the peakof the rut, weather can play a role in when thepeak actually occurs; and the physiological state ofindividual bucks and does determines the level ofmating activity within that time frame. All variablesconsidered, though, look for the deer rut inNebraska to be in November and peak about themiddle of the month.

Probably the best time of year to harvest a nice buck is during therut, when deer are on the move a lot more and are less cautious.

O’Brien’s massive buck was shot in Richardson County on private land. It is easy tosee why photos of this rack have been viewed from coast to coast.

To purchase a deer permit, goto www.OutdoorNebraska.org andclick on Buy a Permit. Permitsfor November’s firearm seasonare still available for most unitsand statewide buck permits areunlimited.

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The 38-point Buck In a Rut?By Jon Farrar

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