Ehrhardt Hunter Dan Wynne Bags Unusual Non-Typical Whitetail, Community Shares Photos

Dan Wynne of the Ehrhardt area arrowed an unusually large non-typical whitetail on Oct. 19 that has become a local talking point after photos circulated on hunting forums and in regional outdoors coverage. Measured at New Life Taxidermy in Ehrhardt, the buck green-scores an estimated 155 5/8 non-typical points while presenting 14 scorable points, a combination that has drawn extra attention from area hunters.

The rack presents what local taxidermy and the hunter describe as a four-beam appearance. Wynne’s buck has a fairly typical left beam with five points. The right side produces three different beams from the base: the first grows upward and includes a brown tine plus three additional points, the second is a long beam split in half that Wynne calls a "crab claw," and the third, just below it, is also split in half with the longest part stretching to 14 inches. A 7-inch drop tine jutting downward from the base completes the rack.

Wynne invested two years pursuing this animal after trail-camera photos first identified it. He tracked the deer with shed searches, hung stands, looked for rubs and waited for favorable winds, saying he "knew where he was bedding based on the big rubs, and where I found his shed last year." Wynne splits his time between a farm in Ehrhardt and his job in Jacksonville, Fla., and he credited patient, methodical work on the property for producing the opportunity.

Wynne hunts with a club that has focused on trophy whitetail management for 25 years and enforces a two-buck-per-season rule with a size provision. "Your second buck must be larger than your first one," Wynne said, noting that the rule produces difficult choices in the stand. That management context helps explain why Wynne left the deer alone until he felt the timing was right.

Christie Checefsky of New Life Taxidermy in Ehrhardt praised the hunting approach, saying, "This guy truly understands the practices of let 'em go let 'em grow." Wynne said he was initially reluctant to publicize the kill—"When I first killed this buck, I didn't really want to tell anybody about it, because I didn't want to make it like I was this great hunter"—but added that "this deer deserves (the publicity). It's just so special."

Local hunters and hobbyist forums continue to share photos and discuss the buck's unusual configuration and high green-score estimate. New Life Taxidermy handled the measurement in Ehrhardt; anyone seeking measurement details or photos should contact New Life and Christie Checefsky for confirmation and permission to reproduce images.