Texas Hunter Shoots Huge 35-Point Buck

Near San Angelo, Texas, a hunter shot and killed a massive buck that has roughly 35 points on its antlers. Chron.com says that it’s hard to get a consistent count since any way you turn the buck’s head results in an “optical illusion” of sorts, but 35 is the most generous count.

But was this deer found naturally in the wild? Not exactly. The buck was shot at J’s Wild Game Processing in San Angelo, Texas. This ranch is enclosed with 10-foot-high fences, and the deer are well-fed and purposely bred to have trophy appeal to hunters. And it’s not a cheap experience. Bucks with good, strong genes can be sold for upwards of $500,000!

The investment pays off for these hunting ranches where many people can come to hunt, driving up rewards for ranch owners and those looking for a taxidermy trophy. Like Grant Evridge of The Evridges’ Heart of Texas Trophy Whitetails told Chron.com over 10 years ago, “Would you rather get paid $10,000 for one year or $10,000 for one day?”

Some photos of the huge 35ish-point whitetail buck can be seen here. If you’re not squeamish, see if you can spot all 35 or if you come up with a different count.