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Rompola Buck Update

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Jammintree said:
This sounds like a great opportunity for some real investigative journalism. What a great story to research and present as a book or documentary.
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You know that’s a good point what’s the status of his other bucks? Why didn’t CBM and other organizations conduct an investigation? What is the protocol if a a person has several bucks listed then evidence comes out on one or more bucks that they were obtained illegally or in some other unscrupulous manner? Are all listed bucks then qualified? I would think they should be for certain. Again, I’m not anti Mitch but I just wish he’d come out with the truth.
 
woodsdog2 said:
Who

Who?
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Lemme guess, you're in your 20s? (Lol that sounded way more disparaging than it was meant, more of a "it's internet history, not surprised as the world has moved on somewhat") it was an internet forum/imageboard, birthplace of lots of early memes. Also Conspiracy theories, the alt right and purposeful lack of moderation led to the creation of a cesspool or one of the last bastions of free speech on the internet in the earlier internet era, depending on what extreme you listen to.
 
I don't know anything about them except they were able to do some pretty wild stuff with very little info. Weren't they solving cold cases? I don't do social media or have any accounts on anything other than SH...I tried to follow along with the capture the flag drama
 
1simplemann said:
More fuel to the fire. The numbers don't add up. Also That link to the article about the secret scoring panel says a lot. Very, very skeptical. He hand picked the scoring panel. A world record buck is killed and the scorers don't follow protocol? The scorers didn't even call the regional director of the CBM who lived 20 minutes away who just happened to be a taxidermist? Also his state record bowkill had weather checking? No one says a word? I wanted to believe this buck was real for many years. Looks like this one and many of his others were fake. Too bad.
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I don't see anything saying regional director Randy Rhodes is/was a taxidermist, per se. According to the article, he did his own taxidermy. (like Mitch?). I'm not sure how good of a qualifier that is, or isn't. But it is something to note. Lets say he knew his stuff.

So Randy was in on the official scoring of Mitch's 1985, 181 &7/8" State Record buck. He now claims the rack was aged, weather checked and not fresh, suggesting Mitch pulled a switcheroo. It will be interesting if any of the other panel scorers come forward and say they thought so too, if any are still around (it's been like 30years).

But, if we assume this is true, may we also assume the rack was legit from a deer, or else Randy Rhodes with his keen taxidermy eye would have pointed out some arts and crafts related issues? I see no mention of an altered skull plate, plastic tines, epoxy repairs, etc.

It is notable that the 1985 buck (pictured below) didn't have the unusual characteristics of Mitch's buck from 1998, which seem to carry over thereafter. (So unusual that it is suspected all these subsequent racks are faked.)

EE024A57-134C-43B9-BEAF-2FBCB8182E84.png

Now, I must say Mitch's post '98 bucks are extremely unique. Unique enough to raise an eyebrow, certainly. Unique enough to be fakes, possibly.

But there are counterpoints to keep it all a bit more mysterious and fun.

The burr to brow separation in particular has played suspect. It's sort of mule deer like. For sure I can't find another quite like Mitch's buck(s).

But, this one is pretty neat to look at (https://bigdeerblog.com/2019/12/virginias-widest-deer-rack-ever-32-inches/#post/0):

85357C68-0523-4114-8512-006E377B7997.png
 
Plebe said:
I don't see anything saying regional director Randy Rhodes is/was a taxidermist, per se. According to the article, he did his own taxidermy. (like Mitch?). I'm not sure how good of a qualifier that is, or isn't. But it is something to note. Lets say he knew his stuff.

So Randy was in on the official scoring of Mitch's 1985, 181 &7/8" State Record buck. He now claims the rack was aged, weather checked and not fresh, suggesting Mitch pulled a switcheroo. It will be interesting if any of the other panel scorers come forward and say they thought so too, if any are still around (it's been like 30years).

But, if we assume this is true, may we also assume the rack was legit from a deer, or else Randy Rhodes with his keen taxidermy eye would have pointed out some arts and crafts related issues? I see no mention of an altered skull plate, plastic tines, epoxy repairs, etc.

It is notable that the 1985 buck (pictured below) didn't have the unusual characteristics of Mitch's buck from 1998, which seem to carry over thereafter. (So unusual that it is suspected all these subsequent racks are faked.)

View attachment 81630

Now, I must say Mitch's post '98 bucks are extremely unique. Unique enough to raise an eyebrow, certainly. Unique enough to be fakes, possibly.

But there are counterpoints to keep it all a bit more mysterious and fun.

The burr to brow separation in particular has played suspect. It's sort of mule deer like. For sure I can't find another quite like Mitch's buck(s).

But, this one is pretty neat to look at (https://bigdeerblog.com/2019/12/virginias-widest-deer-rack-ever-32-inches/#post/0):

View attachment 81633
Click to expand...

I'm in the camp that thinks that Mitch probably was a really good bowhunter, but over time could have started faking deer. We see that pattern often in society, even amongst hunting celebrities. Some people get the taste of success/money and will compromise their integrity in order to get more money and success.
 
Plebe said:
I don't see anything saying regional director Randy Rhodes is/was a taxidermist, per se. According to the article, he did his own taxidermy. (like Mitch?). I'm not sure how good of a qualifier that is, or isn't. But it is something to note. Lets say he knew his stuff.

So Randy was in on the official scoring of Mitch's 1985, 181 &7/8" State Record buck. He now claims the rack was aged, weather checked and not fresh, suggesting Mitch pulled a switcheroo. It will be interesting if any of the other panel scorers come forward and say they thought so too, if any are still around (it's been like 30years).

But, if we assume this is true, may we also assume the rack was legit from a deer, or else Randy Rhodes with his keen taxidermy eye would have pointed out some arts and crafts related issues? I see no mention of an altered skull plate, plastic tines, epoxy repairs, etc.

It is notable that the 1985 buck (pictured below) didn't have the unusual characteristics of Mitch's buck from 1998, which seem to carry over thereafter. (So unusual that it is suspected all these subsequent racks are faked.)

View attachment 81630

Now, I must say Mitch's post '98 bucks are extremely unique. Unique enough to raise an eyebrow, certainly. Unique enough to be fakes, possibly.

But there are counterpoints to keep it all a bit more mysterious and fun.

The burr to brow separation in particular has played suspect. It's sort of mule deer like. For sure I can't find another quite like Mitch's buck(s).

But, this one is pretty neat to look at (https://bigdeerblog.com/2019/12/virginias-widest-deer-rack-ever-32-inches/#post/0):

View attachment 81633
Click to expand...

Plebe said:
I don't see anything saying regional director Randy Rhodes is/was a taxidermist, per se. According to the article, he did his own taxidermy. (like Mitch?). I'm not sure how good of a qualifier that is, or isn't. But it is something to note. Lets say he knew his stuff.

So Randy was in on the official scoring of Mitch's 1985, 181 &7/8" State Record buck. He now claims the rack was aged, weather checked and not fresh, suggesting Mitch pulled a switcheroo. It will be interesting if any of the other panel scorers come forward and say they thought so too, if any are still around (it's been like 30years).

But, if we assume this is true, may we also assume the rack was legit from a deer, or else Randy Rhodes with his keen taxidermy eye would have pointed out some arts and crafts related issues? I see no mention of an altered skull plate, plastic tines, epoxy repairs, etc.

It is notable that the 1985 buck (pictured below) didn't have the unusual characteristics of Mitch's buck from 1998, which seem to carry over thereafter. (So unusual that it is suspected all these subsequent racks are faked.)

View attachment 81630

Now, I must say Mitch's post '98 bucks are extremely unique. Unique enough to raise an eyebrow, certainly. Unique enough to be fakes, possibly.

But there are counterpoints to keep it all a bit more mysterious and fun.

The burr to brow separation in particular has played suspect. It's sort of mule deer like. For sure I can't find another quite like Mitch's buck(s).

But, this one is pretty neat to look at (https://bigdeerblog.com/2019/12/virginias-widest-deer-rack-ever-32-inches/#post/0):

View attachment 81633
Click to expand...
I'm not a scorer or a taxidermist. Since Randy Rhodes has no dog in the hunt and nothing to gain, I will will take his word and assume he is qualified at both. IMO you don't have to do either professionally to be considered qualified. Based on this quote I would say that he considers himself to be a taxidermist.
Randy Rhoads "I do know he did his own taxidermy. And he knew I did my own taxidermy as well. Let's just say I knew enough about taxidermy to know what is fake and what isn't. There's no doubts when you're a taxidermist. And I'm sure he didn't want me to see the rack because he knew I would know"

So lets think about this. A qualified scorer who is the regional director of the CBM who has handled many big bucks AND he's a taxidermist or least has experience in the field. He was supposed to be there for the scoring. This was agreed upon by the board of the CBM. The guy doesn't even get a call? They do the scoring in secret? I'm sorry but that is extremely suspicious. A deer of this caliber deserves everything to be done above board and transparent. The lack of transparency screams "bogus" and can't be explained away when factor in all the other inconsistencies.

I talked to my taxidermist and I showed him the pics. Immediately he's like " that's weird, that's wrong, that's tilted, etc. Also he said scoring is never done on a mounted animal or it will not be considered official. The reason it it is not done is because skull plate has to be inspected. From the pics that I saw, they were measuring the buck mounted on the pedestal.
 
HaunSolo said:
@Topdog - I like your airport theory. That isn't something I've heard before.

Look at these other pictures of bucks Rompola killed. To me they are all odd. Just the way they are positioned - the fact that you never see an entry/exit wound, how perfectly symmetrical they are, and how some of the ears really droop back - just odd to me.

View attachment 81336
No entry or exit wound and it looks to be perfectly symmetrical
View attachment 81337
This one is very odd looking with a very round head and small neck. Also, the base on the right side of the photo appears to be located further forward on the head than the base on the left side.

View attachment 81338
Look at the ear droop on this buck - it is worse than the supposed world record! Almost perfectly symmetrical and no entry/exit wound showing. Very Odd.
View attachment 81339
Another buck with near perfect symmetry and no exit/entrance wound showing.

Maybe I'm a conspiracy theorist but these are all odd to me.
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Fake, fake, fake, and fake.

There has never been a net B&C buck taken within a 50 mile radius of Traverse City. Probably 100 miles. Never.

There was no one impartial on that “panel” that “handled” that fake. They all knew each other well…

Such a pathetic scam.
 
1simplemann said:
I'm not a scorer or a taxidermist. Since Randy Rhodes has no dog in the hunt and nothing to gain, I will will take his word and assume he is qualified at both. IMO you don't have to do either professionally to be considered qualified. Based on this quote I would say that he considers himself to be a taxidermist.
Randy Rhoads "I do know he did his own taxidermy. And he knew I did my own taxidermy as well. Let's just say I knew enough about taxidermy to know what is fake and what isn't. There's no doubts when you're a taxidermist. And I'm sure he didn't want me to see the rack because he knew I would know"

So lets think about this. A qualified scorer who is the regional director of the CBM who has handled many big bucks AND he's a taxidermist or least has experience in the field. He was supposed to be there for the scoring. This was agreed upon by the board of the CBM. The guy doesn't even get a call? They do the scoring in secret? I'm sorry but that is extremely suspicious. A deer of this caliber deserves everything to be done above board and transparent. The lack of transparency screams "bogus" and can't be explained away when factor in all the other inconsistencies.

I talked to my taxidermist and I showed him the pics. Immediately he's like " that's weird, that's wrong, that's tilted, etc. Also he said scoring is never done on a mounted animal or it will not be considered official. The reason it it is not done is because skull plate has to be inspected. From the pics that I saw, they were measuring the buck mounted on the pedestal.
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Randy Rhodes for sure has a dog in the hunt. Otherwise he wouldn't be doing interviews about something 30 years past. Doesn't discount what he says.

Though it begs the question, what's that dog?

Anyways, the interview has an interesting title, ' Secret Rompola Panel Knew What They Did."

It's an accusation of the panel. The article never states whether or not Mitch knew about the special measuring protocol at all.

The exceptional standards pertaining to Mitch's buck were set at a special coming together of the CBA board. Only one of the scorers of Mitch's buck was present for this meeting. That person we know was aware of the newly tailored requirement.

It's really unclear from this article how exactly the "secret panel" (photographed scoring the buck, btw, lol) was organized. The timing and order of communication, and circumstances of the get together are a bit in the wind. Those matter, but who knows how that went down.

Regarding Rompola's buck, Rhodes still says: "I never put my hands on it, so I don't know for sure."

Fair enough.
 
Plebe said:
Randy Rhodes for sure has a dog in the hunt. Otherwise he wouldn't be doing interviews about something 30 years past. Doesn't discount what he says.

Though it begs the question, what's that dog?

Anyways, the interview has an interesting title, ' Secret Rompola Panel Knew What They Did."

It's an accusation of the panel. The article never states whether or not Mitch knew about the special measuring protocol at all.

The exceptional standards pertaining to Mitch's buck were set at a special coming together of the CBA board. Only one of the scorers of Mitch's buck was present for this meeting. That person we know was aware of the newly tailored requirement.

It's really unclear from this article how exactly the "secret panel" (photographed scoring the buck, btw, lol) was organized. The timing and order of communication, and circumstances of the get together are a bit in the wind. Those matter, but who knows how that went down.

Regarding Rompola's buck, Rhodes still says: "I never put my hands on it, so I don't know for sure."

Fair enough.
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What does RR have to gain by speaking up 25 years later? I believe the only reason he spoke up now is because JE did so recently. As to the title of the article, RR didn't write the article. D & DH did.

You are absolutely right how the panel was organized. It IS unclear. That should have never happened in the 1st place. The board agreed to do it certain way to make it clear. That was not followed for whatever reason.

From personal past experiences, I gave MR the benefit of the doubt for many years. However I have learned a couple things over the years that are generally true. 1st If it seems too good to be true then it usually is. Bernie Madoff is a prime example. The guy was well respected. Golden Guy of Wall Street and the SEC. He had just about everyone hood winked. People just WANTED to believe he some awesome investor doing something that NO ONE else was capable of doing. Even though they knew his returns were too good to be true. This story/saga had a similar good vibe to it at the time. We all wanted it to be true. We wanted the WR to be back in USA killed by a bowhunter. Great story at the time. Great bowhunter targets a giant WR buck and wins. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for the magazine to show up in my mail box. . 2nd The other rule is if there is smoke there usually is fire. Again BM is prime example. He had smoke surrounding him for YEARS before he got busted. A few guys cried "fire" but he used his reputation so they couldn't get close enough to inspect to see if there was actually a fire. This one has a LOT of smoke surrounding it. Finally there was too much smoke that the SEC forced to look. While we can't see fire because he uses his reputation as a pissed off recluse to not let anyone near it to confirm it's authenticity. If you add up all the inconsistencies/smoke there is nothing left but to conclude there's probably some sort of fire/ fraud.
 
Dsabhunt said:
Idk if anyone else shared this but they make alot of good points about why they think it was faked
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You can't deny the numbers pointed out in this video. 6 million bucks killed in Michigan over 84 years. 8 have been killed w/ spreads over 25" and MR has Killed 5 of them in an area that doesn't grow world class whitetails? 1 Once yes. Not 5 times. Also what are the odds of killing a state record. Pretty small but possible. 2 state records? Ever smaller. Maybe possible someone would have to check if there is another case of a hunter killing 2 state records. 2 state records and the WR? That's a number so small I don't even know how you would calculate Whatever that number is, it is impossible that anyone could ever do it.
 
Swampwalker said:
This thread is ripe for a lock.
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Why? I don't think it should be locked at this point. I'm really not trying to take sides I want to believe in Mitch.... I just see a lot of red flags but who knows. As someone suggested earlier, it would be a great investigative journalism topic. I think if we keep locking threads about it, information will be stifled instead of opened up. That's not transparent and for the sake of hunting, it should be.
 
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