In a recent Georgia study, approximately 100 radio-collared bucks (primarily 1 1/2- and 2 1/2-year-olds) were monitored for the purpose of collecting movement and mortality data. The county where the study took place was under quality buck regulations that included antler criteria to effectively protect all 1 1/2-year-old bucks and the majority of 2 1/2-year-olds. Even so, preliminary findings suggested a mortality rate approaching 50 percent, and while there was some illegal shooting, it was not considered a significant factor.

Deer-vehicle collisions on the state's roads and highways take an annual toll of whitetails, not to mention vehicle damage and driver injuries. Latest statistics from the Kentucky State Police shows that almost 15,000 deer were killed during the five-year period of 2003 to 2008. Since this figure only represents those incidents that were actually reported or investigated, the true number of deer killed by vehicles could easily be three to four times that figure.

Nearly half of the deer-vehicle collisions in the state occur during a three-month period running from October to December, with November being the peak month. Not surprisingly, this coincides with the rut when deer activity is at a peak. Anyone who has driven this time of year on the stretch of interstate between Kentucky Lake and Beaver Dam can certainly attest to the amazing numbers of deer that are hit.

Occasionally, a record-class buck gets struck on one of the state's roadways, and unfortunately, in most instances the antlers are damaged beyond repair. However, one exception occurred on a late August morning in 2006, when shortly before daybreak a giant whitetail stepped in front of an 18-wheeler as it traveled along the Double AA highway in Lewis County. The result was quite predictable, except that somehow the buck's huge antlers survived the collision, receiving only a couple of minor scrapes. The massive 17-point rack, covered in dried blood and velvet, required a great deal of tedious cleaning by local taxidermist Floyd Bolander, but the outstanding trophy was well worth all of the effort.

The rack's 6x5 typical frame includes main beams that measure 26 and 25 inches, brow tines (G-1s) that tape 7 and 6 inches, foot-long back tines, and paired G-3s that exceed 9 inches. Antler mass is exceptional, with four of the eight circumference measurements exceeding 5 inches and the remaining four exceeding 4 inches.

The 11-point typical frame grosses 180 2/8 and nets 175 5/8. The additional six abnormal points total 9 6/8 inches, which must either be subtracted or added, depending on whether the antlers go into the typical or non-typical category. Interestingly, this puts the rack into a very unusual and unique situation. By subtracting, the final typical score drops to 165 7/8, and by adding, the final non-typical score climbs to 185 3/8; either way, the rack qualifies for B&C's Awards record book! Very few sets of antlers can make this amazing transition between two distinct classifications of antler growth.

It would be both surprising and frustrating to know exactly how many record-class bucks have lived and died in Kentucky without anyone knowing that they ever even existed. Occasionally, huge shed antlers are found in remote sections of the state; however, in many cases, the bucks that dropped the sheds never materialize . . . these ghost-like deer are truly the state's ultimate "lost" trophies!