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For the Record
Stories of amazing hunting trophies
past and present

A Red Stag to Roar About

Mideastern red deer (Cervus elaphus maral), a heavy-antlered relative of American elk and European red deer, roam Asian Turkey, the Caucasus region of Russia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, northern Iran, and southwestern Turkmenistan. Globetrotting hunter Soudy Golabchi shattered the record for this magnificent animal while hunting in Turkey in September 2006.

Golabchi had heard about a particular area in Turkey that he wanted to hunt, and he specified this when he booked the hunt with outfitter Kaan Karakaya of Shikar Safaris. Upon arrival in Ankara, he met by the outfitter, who began driving him to the hunting area. When they continued past a sign for the area he had requested, Golabchi questioned the outfitter, who explained that he had spotted a huge stag in another area and wanted the hunter to look at it first. After he was assured that he would be taken to his original destination if he wasn’t satisfied, Golabchi agreed to the suggestion.

When they arrived at the mountain camp around midnight, it was raining. As soon as the engine was shut off, the hunters could hear red deer roaring all around them, and the roaring continued all night.

Leaving camp around 5:30 the next morning, they drove for twenty minutes, parked, and walked into the forest. Hearing an earsplitting roar, they froze and crouched in the cover of the trees. Finally they spotted a huge stag on the ridgeline and stalked closer.

“When I took a look at him I got very excited,” Golabchi said. He made a 200-yard shot and dropped the deer.

The deer was green-scored in the field at 395 3/8. The outfitter was so excited that he called SCI headquarters in Tucson from the top of the mountain on his cell phone, and was told that the current number-one Mideastern red stag listed in the record book  scored 371 2/8. It’s a pretty safe bet that even after the required drying period, this will be the new number-one Mideastern red stag in the world.

New Record Desert Mule Deer

High expectations were the order of the day as veteran hunter Jason Gisi arrived at the airport in Hermosillo, Mexico, in January 2005. He was hunting for a trophy desert mule deer with outfitter Agustin Hurtado; his guide would be Chad Smith, an old friend and also a well-known Arizona outfitter.

There was reason to be upbeat: They had found the sheds of a huge buck on the ranch for the past two years, and Chad had seen the buck at the close of last year's season. He had been scouting and knew just where he wanted to take Jason.

The two made a steep climb up a small mountain in the dark on the morning of January 8 and got to a vantage point before it got light. As day broke, both were glassing the desert floor beyond. In short order, Chad broke the silence by saying, "There he is." A huge typical mule deer was feeding below them about 700 yards, right on the edge of the desert floor. It had a harem of does with it and was moving toward thick brush.

The hunters quickly put a plan together and headed down the mountain. Chad and Jason had hunted together many times and both knew what to do, so few words were spoken. They closed the distance quickly. Upon locating the deer again, they got a break. The big buck had dropped into a small depression and was out of sight. This gave Jason a chance to catch hhis breath and set up for the shot. Once the buck came out and was clear of the brush, he would take the 250-yard shot.

"Don't look at the antlers; focus only on making a good shot," Chad advised. A few minutes passed and the buck came out. It had just cleared the brush when Jason's .270 Winchester cracked. The big buck fell to the ground--a perfect shot.

As they walked up to the buck, they could hardly believe what a monster it was. After the required drying period, it scored 221 3/8 SCI, with a typical 4x4 frame, heavy beams, deep forks, and six inches of various antler points in addition to the eye guards. The buck is the new Safari Club International world-record typical desert mule deer.--Buck Pope