Now that's a nice trophy! Mike Mettler from Eureka, SD is the talk of the county. His patience in trailing a huge 13 point buck paid off last November when he nabbed this beauty.

The score: 194 1/8, which appears to set a new record for the largest Whitetail ever brought in by a hunter in South Dakota!

I caught up with Mike on the phone. He and his neighbors have been talking about this buck for awhile, catching glimpses on trail cameras. While it was bedding down at the neighbors place often, it would make it onto Mike's property to a food plot too.

I'm just excited to get the mount back and I'm gonna keep on hunting.  I don't think that I'll ever top this one, but it'll be fun trying anyway.  There's not too many of these guys running around.  I'm 39 years old and I've never been after anything even close to this.  I knew he was a nice deer.  Any kind records didn't even cross my mind until people started looking at him.

 

The neighbor had a possibility of getting the buck awhile ago, but couldn't get quite close enough.

Mike's advice if you'd like to land a nice trophy like this:

Patience and persistence.  Don't give up on them and stick with them.  I've taken some nice deer in the past and I don't give up on them if I see them.  Eventually a lot of times it will work out, not always but it will at least get you an opportunity.

Congratulations Mike!  Enjoy your freezer full of venison too.

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