A 207 7/8-Inch Whitetail Rack Hidden in a Basement for Decades Is Now the No. 2 Typical Buck Ever

# What happened On a late November afternoon in 1991, Sam Aiuppa shot a large typical whitetail in LaSalle County, Illinois, during a pheasant outing. He mounted the antlers on a skull cap and stored the display in his basement for 32 years. The rack remained out of the wider hunting community's view until an electrician working at Aiuppa's house noticed the unusually large antlers and spread word of what he'd seen.

# How the rack entered the record books An antler collector, James Martin, traveled to Illinois, bought the antlers, and began the process of submitting them to the Boone and Crockett Club. Martin also searched for the buck's sheds and found one single shed plus a matched set that show the deer's antler progression across years.

The sheds were recorded as follows: a single shed that scored 98-6/8 inches, and a matched set that measured 95 inches (left) and 104-6/8 inches (right). These finds helped document the animal's development but the mounted antlers were the primary submission for the Club's typical whitetail records.

# What the new score means The 207 7/8-inch final score places this animal, now referred to as the Aiuppa Buck, as the No. 2 all-time typical whitetail in Boone and Crockett records. It ranks ahead of the Jordan Buck (206 1/8 inches) by 1 6/8 inches and behind the Hanson Buck (213 5/8 inches). The Aiuppa Buck is the largest typical whitetail recorded as taken by a hunter in the United States.

# Top 5 typical whitetails (as reported)

• Hanson Buck — 213 5/8 inches — Milo Hanson — Biggar, Saskatchewan — 1992
• Aiuppa Buck — 207 7/8 inches — Sam Aiuppa — LaSalle County, Illinois — 1991
• Jordan Buck — 206 1/8 inches — James Jordan — Danbury, Wisconsin — 1914
• Huff Buck — 205 6/8 inches — Dustin Huff — Indiana — 2021
• Gibson Buck — 205 inches — Larry Gibson — Missouri — 1991

# Why this story matters to hunters and collectors The Aiuppa Buck's late discovery and subsequent verification echo other historical finds where notable antlers surfaced after decades out of public view. The case shows how private mounts can change historical rankings when brought through the formal scoring and verification system, and it demonstrates the Boone and Crockett Club's multi-step verification for high-ranking entries.

# Practical takeaway If a hunter or collector suspects they have a high-scoring rack, the path to record consideration is established: retain documentation, locate any associated sheds if possible, and submit the mount to an official measurer. High-potential submissions receive multiple independent measurements and committee review before placement in the official books.