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Story: The Barton Buck: World Record Muzzleloader
 Utah’s blackpowder season was almost over in November 1993.
Only four days remained. I hoped a storm would move in to improve tracking conditions. A
big storm did roll in, leaving a blanket of snow, so I headed for the back country.
My first day out, I found another big track, and chased that deer all day long. I reached
an area where another hunter was located and he said he sighted the buck of his dreams. He
asked me if I wanted to help him track this big buck out. I agreed and we made our plans.
The next morning there was a new skiff of snow. This was a perfect day except the other
hunter found the big buck’s track first. After 100 yards of tracking the buck, the
other hunter jumped it. Standing broadside 75 yards away, the hunter saw the buck and got
buck fever so badly his knees knocked. He shot at the deer as it ran away and missed. He
told me his story and left the area that night because he was called to jury duty.
The next morning I went out on my own in perfect weather conditions. A new skiff of snow
covered the ground, making my efforts to locate the big buck’s tracks easy. After
half an hour of tracking, I spotted it. The buck was a nice 36-inch willow-horned buck. A
trophy in someone’s eyes, but not mine.
I slowly went down another draw where I spotted a doe across a little canyon. I made a 400
yard sneak towards her. I knew there was good chance a buck was near her. When I reached
the area where I thought the doe stood, I saw a huge buck behind the doe. I caught sight
of one side of its huge rack. The pair caught wind of me and ran. I stepped to the side of
a tree, and waited for an opening between the trees as the buck quartered away from me.
The moment arrived for which every hunter waits. I leveled my muzzleloader and shot. The
buck jumped and disappeared. I reloaded and walked to where the deer ran. I found its
tracks and started following them. There wasn’t any blood the first 30 yards. The
farther I went, the sicker I got. I was afraid I missed.
Dusk arrived so I knew I needed to quickly find a blood trail. Fifty to 80 yards away lay
the trophy of a lifetime. I hit the heart so it never bled. As I stopped to examine its
antlers, I found the buck’s biggest and longest cheater as well as two other tines
were shot off the previous day by the other hunter. This buck still had 12 points on one
side and 17 on the other, making this deer the new World’s Record blackpowder buck!
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