A teenage hunter could soon hold the new Oklahoma state record whitetail deer, but the potential to be a world record is realistic as well.
When 18-year-old Guner Womack headed out to his treestand Tuesday morning, he certainly never anticipated harvesting a potential state record buck.
But according to NewsOn6.com, he stands the chance to be the new record-holding hunter after the big buck's measurement and verification process is complete.
The 8x8 typical whitetail buck was killed with archery equipment in Pawnee County. Womack said the deer first appeared about 40 yards away from where he sat, but eventually got within 25 yards and presented the Oklahoma hunter with an ideal broadside shot.
An official scorer measured Guner's buck at a gross green score of 209 4/8 inches.
The current Oklahoma state record for a typical whitetail deer holds a net score 194 0/8 inches.
Even more notably, the standing world record for a typical whitetail deer taken with a bow sits at 204 4/8 inches. Guner's buck will record a lower number than its initial measurement after the required 60-day waiting period (deer antlers always shrink slightly after a harvest), but it could approach the world record.
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The big deer had appeared on trail camera photos in years past, but didn't show signs of becoming a new state record. He showed potential, just not as much as it turned out to be.
"I didn't think it was gonna be that big a difference," Guner said. "The pictures don't do him justice."
Womack told News On 6 that deer hunting, for him, isn't even about trophy bucks or record potential, but instead about conservation and meat. He said his family doesn't waste anything, and they eat everything they harvest.
This was Guner's first hunting season in which he used a bow, and the Oklahoma State University student said whether he has entered the state record books or not, he's proud to have ethically harvested a buck of a lifetime.
NEXT: DOES GUTTING A DEER NEAR YOUR TREESTAND ACTUALLY MATTER?
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