NoDak Hunter Bags Giant Drop-Tined Buck

After letting the buck reach maturity, Cody Bratlie anchored the monster on the second morning of North Dakota’s rifle season. Images courtesy of Cody Bratlie.

In 2023, the Bratlie family took note of a really nice up-and-coming whitetail on their North Dakota hunting grounds. At the time, the buck’s most distinguishing feature was that its main-beam tips nearly touched. The family had other, more mature deer to hunt that season, and so the buck got a free pass to grow up.

The following season, the deer had reached “shooter” status, packing 150-some inches of antler on its head. It was frequently on the trail cameras, but went missing around rifle season. Cody Bratlie said that he wondered if the buck had wandered onto a neighboring property and been shot by another hunter.

DON’T MISS: Realtree Unveils 40th Anniversary Heritage Turkey Vest

Thankfully, trail cameras turned up the outstanding buck in summer of 2025. The deer now sported about 40 extra inches of antler and a drop tine — a world-class buck by all standards. Bratlie said that it was a good thing the deer hadn’t walked in front of him the previous deer season, because he surely would’ve shot it.

Although the buck was on the trail cameras all summer, its movements were inconsistent. “He was working a big river bottom,” Bratlie explained. “We’d get some pictures of him, and then he’d go missing for seven to 10 days. The only common denominator is that he always came back, which made me hopeful that we’d get a crack at him.

The buck added about 40 inches and a cool drop tine from 2024 to 2025.

“I try to bowhunt, but with kids and work, I rarely get to bowhunt until late season,” he continued. “My brother, Matt, hunts a lot more than I do, and he’d been hoping for a chance at the buck, but he bow-killed a different big buck that was a lot more consistent.”

In the weeks leading up to rifle season, the buck’s movements became a little more consistent, with the deer coming around every three to four days.

“By that time, other people knew about the deer,” Bratlie said. “On opening day, I went out right away on the quarter section that he was using the most frequently. I didn’t see much. But my brother was out driving around, and he spotted the buck with a doe on the other quarter that afternoon.”

DON’T MISS: 5 Great Places to Look for Big Buck Sheds

With his brother’s intel, Bratlie shifted gears to the other section for the morning hunt. The night before, he couldn’t sleep, knowing the world-class buck was likely in the area. When it was finally time to get ready, he grabbed his son’s rifle, a Savage 6.5 PRC, because it had been shot more recently than his gun, and he had more confidence in it. Then, he headed for a Redneck blind overlooking a river bottom where Matt had seen the buck the previous day, arriving early and napping while waiting for legal shooting light.

Although the buck was regularly on the trail cameras, it wasn’t on any real pattern.

“As soon as the sun came up,” he said, “I saw the buck with two does across the river. I had buck fever and was trying to range him, but I couldn’t get my rangefinder to work. It was hard to tell for sure, but he seemed to be out there pretty far. I waited, and within about 10 minutes, he followed the does about 100 yards in my direction. I figured that he was about 250 yards out when I took the shot. I was almost positive that I hit him, but he was walking in a circle in the tall grass, so I shot again. That time, I heard the impact, and he went down.”

With a river separating Bratlie from the downed buck and given the tall grass in which it expired, he stayed put and called his brother, who came in from the opposite side of the river.

“I was guiding him toward where I thought the buck was,” he said. “When he found the deer, he was doing jumping-jacks! He texted me a picture of the buck, and when he did, I couldn’t get to the other side of the river fast enough.”

Check Out Our Latest Camo Pattern: Realtree APX

Bratlie’s world-class whitetail has 15 scorable points, seven on one side, eight on the other. Although the frame is fairly tight, it has exceptional mass throughout and an awesome drop tine. The gross score is 199 6/8 inches.

Bratlie largely attributes the success to his brother. “Matt is the diehard hunter in our family, and he does a lot of the work related to deer hunting around here,” he explained. “He runs the trail cameras and puts up stands. I’m always willing to help when I can, but I was pretty much the trigger guy on this hunt.”