Ohio Hunter Arrows Indiana State-Record Buck

Crowell first heard about the buck in November 2025, when a photograph taken by a UPS driver started making the local rounds. He didn’t know the photographer, but had a general idea of the area where the photo was allegedly taken.

“I nicknamed the buck Rumor because it was a local legend,” Crowell told MeatEater. “But in today’s world, with AI and everything, nobody knew if the picture was even real.”

Real or not, that photo was enough to send Crowell on a mission. Every night for nearly a month, he crossed state lines, driving his truck around and glassing for evidence that the buck in the photo was real.

He finally spotted the buck through his binos in late December, when the season was practically over. The buck was indeed real, but Crowell would have to wait for another season to get a chance at him. In 2025, Crowell killed a 208-inch net non-typical in Ohio, so his bar was set pretty high. The buck he called Rumor would give him something even bigger to chase.

“I spent the entire spring and summer trying to figure out how to gain access to the area I needed to hunt,” Crowell said.

Photo via Paul Lyle's Creations

He finally gained access on September 21 and headed to scout the property and hang trail cameras. Around 3:30, Crowell spotted the buck less than 150 yards away, looking straight at him. Crowell immediately dropped down and waited about five minutes. When he stood back up, the buck was gone. He hung five trail cameras in the area but never got a single photo of Rumor.

Crowell had a walleye trip lined up on October 2, but wet weather and a cold front caused the clients to cancel at the last minute. Since Crowell had already arranged for his dad to watch his two young kids, he took the opportunity to head back to the property and set a stand. He wasn’t planning to make an aggressive move on the buck, just hoping to lay eyes on it again. He grabbed his Mathews Halon 32, a Lone Wolf treestand, and some climbing sticks and headed for Indiana.

The only tree that made sense was covered in poison ivy. Despite usually being sensitive to the plant, Crowell decided the buck was worth the risk. He took his time, trying not to make any extra noise as he hung the stand. It took him almost an hour to get set.

“I didn’t even have a little hand saw with me,” Crowell said. “I used the threads on my screw-in bow hanger to saw through the vines so I could sit with my back against the tree. It took me 20 minutes, but I finally whittled away the vine.”

The tree was on a fence row overlooking a late-planted beanfield that was still vibrant green. Crowell noticed the deer were still hammering it and hadn't been sitting long when three does worked into the field. They seemed a little uneasy, despite the wind favoring Crowell’s position. The does eventually worked out of sight.

At 6:30, Crowell caught a glimpse of a much smaller buck through an opening in a thicket. Then at 6:50, the smaller buck entered the field 80 yards from his stand with Rumor right behind him. Crowell watched as the giant buck slowly worked his way out into the field.

“It took him 30 minutes to go 30 yards,” Crowell said. “He would take a bite of beans and then pick his head up and observe like a statue. He was being super cautious.”

The buck eventually worked his way to around 50 yards, feeding roughly parallel instead of heading straight toward him. When the buck angled slightly, like he was getting ready to work away, Crowell says he realized he should probably get ready to shoot. Crowell had been shaking like crazy when the buck first stepped out into the field, but watching him feed for that long helped settle Crowell’s nerves.

Photo via Paul Lyle's Creations

“He turned away from me to scratch his side. That’s when I drew my bow and settled my pin on him.”

He released an arrow tipped with a QAD Exodus fixed-blade from 51 yards. The arrow struck the deer’s spine, dropping the buck in its tracks.

“That’s a long shot. I’m not going to lie to you,” Crowell said. “Sometimes you have to shoot your shot, and I definitely did.”

Crowell immediately lowered his bow and got out of the stand. He wanted to get another arrow in quickly, but when he approached the buck, he realized it wasn’t necessary.

“I just took a minute to let it all sink in,” Crowell said. “It’s hard to describe the emotions. It’s unbelievable. I never thought this would happen to me.”

His first phone call was to his dad, who was watching his children.

Photo via Paul Lyle's Creations

Rick Busse scored the buck at 266 4/8 inches, which sets a new Buckmasters Indiana state record for a compound bow in the irregular category.

The buck was also green-scored before the 60-day mandatory drying period by Tony Wright, a certified scorer for Boone & Crockett. The net score was 251 3/8 inches.

“There was so much more luck involved with killing this deer than skill,” he said. “I tried to strategize, but I also had luck playing a part for sure.”

Still, without that first photograph, Crowell would never have gone looking. “The picture that the UPS driver took is what killed that deer, because it made me a madman with a mission.”