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Wisconsin’s Richard Waters was recently fined in relation to a deer he didn’t even harvest, Why? Because he claimed he did harvest it when he tried entering it into the record books. A DNR investigation revealed that the antlers were purchased, and that the buck grew up and died on a high-fence deer farm. Photo courtesy of Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

A set of deer antlers sporting 49 points recently stirred quite a ruckus across the media and the hunting community after an article published by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Richard Waters, 62, of Markesan, Wisconsin, alleged that the antlers were from a wild buck he had taken legally with his muzzleloader during December 2024 in Marquette County. He presented them to Wisconsin Buck and Bear Club measurers earlier this year. However, the truth came out, and Waters admitted his story was bogus.

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The rack, which netted just more than 306 inches, would have bested Wisconsin’s existing state record nontypical buck, which scored 253 inches, by a landslide. That created some suspicions, and so did the rack’s bleached-white appearance and lack of wear, sources say. By December in Wisconsin, most wild deer antlers feature more brownish tones and are polished because bucks have rubbed them on trees and even fought with other bucks. Those were red flags.

Wisconsin Buck and Bear Club scorers were suspicious almost immediately and got the Wisconsin DNR involved. When initially confronted by wardens, Waters lied, claiming that his harvest was legitimate. When law enforcement presented Waters with evidence that the antlers were from a farm-raised deer, he caved, admitting that he purchased the antlers for $600 from a friend, saying, “I’m stupid, yes.” The sale was legal.

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The buck in question is shown here, clearly living on a high-fence deer farm known as Yoder Whitetails. Photo courtesy of Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Interestingly, the antlers had changed hands previously. Sources say that a friend of Waters had legally purchased them from Yoder Whitetails, a high-fence deer farm in Dalton, Wisconsin, where the 49-point buck lived and eventually died in 2021.

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Before presenting the antlers to be scored by the Wisconsin Buck and Bear Club, Waters had a taxidermist mount the rack with the cape of another buck, yielding a shoulder mount that seemingly made his fraudulent story more believable. Fortunately, scorers saw through the smoke and mirrors, which halted Waters’ efforts to have the antlers entered into the record books and landed him in trouble.

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The fiasco netted Waters more than $500 in fines, and his hunting and fishing privileges are revoked for one year. Law enforcement also confiscated the antlers.