Greensburg, Indiana – Dustin Huff, 28, of Greensburg, Indiana, went deer hunting on the afternoon of November 4, 2021, at a hog farm in the southeastern region of the state, where he has been hunting since he was 10 years elderly.
As daylight faded, a giant bald eagle jumped out and came within 40 yards of Huff’s tree stand. He fired a shot with his used crossbow, and the unusual buck – which Huff calls a “moose” – came into view after traveling about 55 yards. Huff’s Buck currently ranks second in the Boone and Crockett Club record book for the highest-scoring whitetail. The stand will be officially judged in 2025 at the club’s 32nd Big Game Awards ceremony.
Huff, a singer-songwriter who regularly works in Nashville and tours with country music stars such as Luke Combs, remains modest about his second-best money ranking. B&C Certified Shooters recorded the Huff dollar as a typical 211 4/8 inch, just 2 inches shy of the world record 213 5/8 inch whitetail that Milo Hanson of Biggar, Saskatchewan shot with his lever action .308 Model 88 Winchester-action on November 23, 1993 r.
Like Hanson, Huff considers himself an ordinary hunter and does not pretend to be a great guru. This means he doesn’t obsessively scout throughout the year or concern himself with the nuances of antler scoring.
In fact, Huff had rarely used trail cameras since high school, and he could count all the kills on two hands. Despite this, he is a stern hunter and game eater for whom deer hunting is his greatest pastime. He killed his first squirrel at the age of 10 and his first deer at the age of 12. He also estimates he has killed 75 does, mostly while hunting on the 185-acre farm where he killed his record buck.
Huff sat down with Outdoor news to discuss his money and how it began to change his life within hours of hitting the ground. His responses have been edited for length.
ON: What equipment did you operate to make money?
Irritation: I shot him with a BowTech Stryker crossbow. I bought it from a friend for $300. I have been shooting this bow for four years. BowTech doesn’t even do that anymore. It probably needs a modern string, but I wax it almost every time I shoot it.
The Broadhead was a two-blade, expandable Rage. My scope has three range points. I practice out to 70 yards, but my farthest shot on a deer was a doe from 46 yards.
ON: How much did your dollar weigh?
Irritation: We never obtained an official weight, but based on a deer we had killed in the past, we determined it weighed 300 pounds on the hoof and 230 to 240 pounds dressed. I had six friends lend a hand me get him out. I found out how bad shape I was in.
ON: How many deer did you see that night before you shot?
Irritation: He was the only deer I saw. I was about to give up. I have four positions on the farm. I went back and forth between them, hunting most of every day after October 29th. On the morning of November 4, I saw many deer. I thought about returning to this area, but then I went hiking for an afternoon of hunting and walked about 400 yards to the oak mesa I had hunted in high school.
I didn’t see a deer for 3.5 hours. I doubted myself and wondered what I was doing here. My dad and my girlfriend were texting asking how it was going. I was just about to reply that there was no deer and I was going downstairs. And then I saw movement and this huge buck 70 meters away. I never heard him before he came out. It was so huge it looked like a moose.
ON: Were you hoping for a buck with a certain size or number of antlers?
Irritation: No, I just wanted to break my previous record, which was a 134-inch 10-point score that my buddy scored for me in 2020. I had heard of the Boone and Crockett Club and the Pope and Young Club, but had no idea about it. about their scoring systems. I didn’t know what a G-2 or any other tooth was. When I got it, I just knew it was the biggest money that had ever come into this property. My dad killed a really huge one 13 years ago when I was 15. This one scored 153 points, so I thought mine might score between 170 and 180.
ON: Did you know that this particular dollar or a dollar of this size was in your area?
Irritation: NO. In high school, I had three or four trail cameras on constantly. Then I was able to let one out for about 10 days, but I haven’t done that in years. Once I shot “Moose” and word got out, everyone in the area started showing up with trail camera photos. The furthest came two days later from a distance of eight miles. The guy said he chased this bad guy almost into the next county.
ON: Do you feel regret shooting a crossbow?
Irritation: I have a lot of bullshit on this subject. Some people don’t even want to talk to me because I used a crossbow. This is entertaining to me because I didn’t realize it was “anti-crossbows”. This makes me smile. Why this is significant to anyone makes no sense. If you don’t hunt with a rock or a stick, you don’t have room to talk.
I’ve killed a lot of deer with a compound bow, but many people assume that one day last year I took a crossbow and shot this giant buck. I simply enjoy deer hunting, whether I’m using a compound gun, a crossbow, or a .30-30.
ON: Are you getting affluent the demanding way?
Irritation: I don’t know what “rich” is, but it changed my life. New opportunities are emerging. I bought a modern guitar that I always dreamed of – a Gibson J-45. I also knew my dad needed stem cell therapy, and it wasn’t low-cost.
But at first I wasn’t interested in selling the stand. I ignored some people who contacted us earlier. I didn’t know that some people actually pay for deer antlers (from bucks harvested by someone else) or that others organize deer shows and book appearances. This was all modern to me. I knew nothing about deer shows, fairs and national banquets, and now next year I will probably do 15 of them, maybe more.
This is also the huge breakthrough that I have been praying for through my music. When people hear about what I make, they often check out my music.
ON: Have you sold deer antlers?
Irritation: An antler collector in Ohio now owns the rack. People started calling me with questions about purchasing the stand, but only two made actual offers to purchase it.
The collector who bought it (Keith Snider) is a good guy. He is warm and basic to work with. I had two antler replicas, and soon there will probably be three or four.
I would like to buy a mount for the entire body, so I will need a replica for that too.
