Was the Aiuppa Buck Poached? New Report Raises Troubling Questions

In November of 1991, a pheasant hunter in Illinois named Sam Auippa shot a massive typical whitetail, almost by chance, following an impromptu tree stand hunt. He stashed the enormous rack in his basement for 32 years until it was discovered by a friend and, eventually, sold to an antler collector.

That antler collector submitted it to Boone & Crockett, which announced last month that the rack had been verified as the #2 typical whitetail in the world—and the largest ever harvested in the United States. The rack grossed 233 7/8, and after deductions, the final score clocked in at 207 7/8 inches.

But one crucial piece of information was noticeably absent from Boone & Crockett’s announcement of this historic news: the kill date.

On the official entry for the Aiuppa Buck, Boone & Crockett lists the date of Auippa’s hunt as November 1, 1991. However, elsewhere on its website, the record-keeping organization indicates that the hunt occurred in “late November 1991.” When the news of this buck first emerged in hunting media, Aiuppa told several outlets that he killed the buck on November 28.

That's a strange discrepency, but there's an even bigger issue—the buck could not have been legally harvested in Illinois on November 28 or November 1, 1991.

We reached out to the Illinois DNR for clarification, and the Conservation Police launched an investigation. Now, that investigation has concluded—and it raises troubling questions about the veracity of Aiuppa’s story and whether it deserves a spot among legally harvested record-breakers.

Three Strikes

The 36-page report obtained by MeatEater raises three possible hunting violations during Sam Aiuppa’s now-famous hunt.

First, the Illinois Conservation Police confirmed that the only dates someone could legally harvest a deer in November of 1991 were the 15th, 16th, and 17th. If he shot the animal on November 1st or November 28th, the two dates that have been reported, he shot the deer out of season.

Second, while Aiuppa produced a hunting and fishing license from 1991, records indicate that he did not have the required permit to harvest a deer. He obtained that permit in 1988 and 1989, but he did not have one in 1991.

Finally, in his interview with police, Aiuppa admits to cutting the head off the deer and leaving the meat.

“When asked what he did with the meat Aiuppa said, ‘Left it.’ When asked if he remembers tagging it with a tag and Aiuppa said he doesn’t remember. When asked if he remembers going to a check station, he said he doesn’t remember that,” the report reads.

Police also interviewed a friend of Aiuppa’s who was with him the day he shot the animal. That friend confirmed that the pair cut off the head and left the meat, which, according to the report, could violate the state’s wanton waste laws.

The report concludes, “Although the investigation identified significant discrepancies concerning the reported harvest date, deer permit, and post-harvest handling, the actual date and year of harvest could not be established. The investigation could not establish that the deer was lawfully harvested under the applicable Illinois deer hunting regulations.”

A Faulty Memory?

Part of the reason the date of the hunt cannot be established is that Aiuppa claims not to remember it. According to the report, this was the first thing he said to the officer who knocked on his door.

“When Aiuppa opened the door, I explained who I was and that I would like to speak with him about the deer he shot. He said let me explain something to you. I am 87 years old and this happened 34 years ago. He continued saying the dates could have been screwed up. He doesn’t know,” the report reads.

This lack of clarity was never made public, but Boone & Crockett knew about Aiuppa’s faulty memory before allowing the deer into the record books.

They told the Illinois Conservation Police that the date of November 1st was assigned to the hunt as an administrative placeholder because Aiuppa couldn’t recall the exact date.

“The original score chart and Hunter, Guide, and Hunt Information Sheet listed the kill date as November 28, 1991. After Aiuppa subsequently stated that he could no longer recall the exact day in November, B&C revised the electronic record,” the report states.

James Martin, the antler collector who bought the rack from Aiuppa for $30,000, confirmed that the 86-year-old can’t remember the date—or even the year—of the harvest.

“To be honest, it can’t be confirmed it was in 1991, so it’s just a guess,” he said via email.

Boone & Crockett’s Response

Deer permit records aren’t available for 1990, so it’s possible Aiuppa shot it that year and—wanton waste laws aside—harvested it legally.

However, if it was harvested illegally, it would be disqualified from entry into Boone & Crockett record books. The organization requires that all hunter-taken trophies be taken in “fair chase,” which it defines as “the ethical, sportsmanlike, and lawful pursuit and taking of any free-ranging, wild big game animal.”

Boone & Crockett maintains that Aiuppa’s buck went through the same entry process as any other.

“The Boone and Crockett Club follows a standard process when reviewing any entry into the record book, including receiving the required signed affidavit by the hunter that an animal was hunted legally and ethically,” the organization said in a statement to MeatEater.

The Illinois Conservation Police report says that B&C tried to find a record of Aiuppa’s hunting license from 1991 but was incorrectly told that Aiuppa's electronic license purchase history extended only to 2006. B&C was not informed that records of deer permits went back to 1991 or that Aiuppa did not possess one during that year.

Record deer are sometimes removed from B&C books if they are found to be taken illegally, but the organization would not say whether they planned to do so with the Aiuppa Buck.

“We received the report from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Conservation Police yesterday evening and are following our procedures to review information contained within that report,” B&C said in a statement.

The Pheasant Hunter

We reached out to Sam Aiuppa, Jr., who asked us to sign a nondisclosure agreement to speak to his father. We declined, and multiple requests for comment have since gone unanswered.

Several sources we spoke to argued that someone on the wrong side of 85 shouldn’t be expected to know the date he killed a deer 30 years ago. One explanation for why he hung the rack in his basement is that he just didn’t care that much. He describes himself as a bird hunter who sometimes hunts deer–not the other way around.

“Aiuppa said, ‘I want to make this clear. We got the deer but I am not a deer hunter. We hunt pheasant and quail. It was a fluke. I didn’t know what I had. If I did it would have been on the news that year,’” Aiuppa said, according to the report.

Still, in Aiuppa’s telling of it, he had an inkling that the deer was special.

“He was talking about all the deer he’d shot, and I told him, ‘Have I got something to show you,’” Aiuppa told The Rack of a conversation he had with his friend.

This friend had to persuade Aiuppa to get the antlers measured, but Aiuppa took enough pride in the rack to show it off to a buddy. According to the report, Aiuppa also asked the Conservation Police officer if the buck would still be in the Illinois record books.

The statute of limitations for Aiuppa’s alleged hunting violations has long expired. But it remains to be seen whether it will remain atop the US record books, or be taken down as unanswered questions continue to swirl.

Feature image via Boone & Crockett Club YouTube.