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Rompola Buck Update

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HuumanCreed said:
Dang it, you dragged me down the rabbit hole. THAT ISSSSSSSSSS strange that you dont see any blood in any of the pictures....whoa.
Click to expand...

So I thought to myself - maybe he just cleans them up before photos.

Interestingly enough I watched the Rompola buck recovery video, where he walks up on the world record deer - there doesn't appear to be any blood on that deer either. Perhaps he cleaned it off before the video? Perhaps he shot it on the side that wasn't showing and didn't get a pass through. Its just odd.

The pictures I posted were from Mitch Rompola's website that he put up in the early 2000's showing the big bucks he killed(so much for not wanting the spotlight). The pictures are just so odd - the pose of the animal, the perfect symmetry on some of the racks, the droopy ears, no blood in any of the photos.

Rompola had skin in the game too. According to various articles I've read and podcasts I've listened to, he had some sort of connection to the owner of Hawgs Limited scents. One news article stated that the owner of the company pushed Rompola to have his buck entered into CBM because the owner was losing money due to the Rompola buck controversy because nobody wanted to sell his stuff, since it was connected to Rompola(Mitch reportedly used these scents).

Rumor is that Mitch has told people the buck was lost in a house fire - so it may never be x-rayed. Rumor also is that Mitch did all his own taxidermy.

Maybe the buck is real. Maybe he snuck into the airport and shot it. Maybe he fabricated it somehow. I lean heavily towards there being some foul play here.
 
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.
Click to expand...
How many bucks have you seen during your life that have that freakish rack shape coming straight out of their head? And he has a closet full of them Does make you go hmmmm….
 
HuumanCreed said:
@Topdog

Just one question from the uneducated. Does enclosed fenced off area that is not managed 'naturally' produce big buck? Like, in the case of the fenced in airport wood, does not inbreeding and lack of genetic diversity produce more stunned growth? I have lived in fenced in military base housing for almost a decade in various bases, the most common issue are over population but I only see small doe and bucks. I never seen any monster around despite there is no hunting on base at all. I can see bucks living long lives, but I don't understand healthy generic growth.
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Age is the #1 (controllable) factor for big bucks in a given area.

It's why antler restrictions work.

Research the NYS record Typical and Non-Typical bucks. Very telling.

There are big bucks on military bases. Fenced and unfenced. And some unique stories (like the white deer herd of the Seneca Army Depot). Some bases allow hunting to military and non-military persons. For example:

www.fieldandstream.com

Kansas Woman's First-Ever Deer Is a 218-Inch Public-Land Giant

Devyn Messenger arrowed a huge first buck while hunting public land this fall. It green netted over 200 inches and grossed 218 5/8.
www.fieldandstream.com www.fieldandstream.com
 
I can't speak for Michigan (other than not known for having huge bucks)... but are there high fence operations in that area? I can see that happening, but I don't know the ins and outs of high fence ranches.
 
Reagan H. said:
I can't speak for Michigan (other than not known for having huge bucks)... but are there high fence operations in that area? I can see that happening, but I don't know the ins and outs of high fence ranches.
Click to expand...

There are a few hunting preserves nearby. I don't know what was operational when Mitch was there, but I drove by Circle T in Buckley often enough when I was living in Grand Traverse in the mid 2000s. I passed by another one a few times and remember looking at it online. Can't remember what it was, probably Big Tyne in Kalkaska, or Deer Tracks Ranch. There is also Hopkins Creek Whitetail Ranch a bit further out.
 
Reagan H. said:
I also believe that if this was killed in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, etc. it wouldn't be disputed as much as it is. But that's just my opinion.
Click to expand...

Do you remember the Illinois hunter Marc Anthony? Supposedly an excellent bow hunter and was a big name in bow hunting in the early 2000's.

Well he killed a 180"+ buck from the ground. All was well and good until someone figured out they had a skull with the same exact antlers in Kansas. Many people think the buck is fake and the circumstances are similar - Anthony like Rompola was a big name in the bow hunting world. Anthony like Rompola would gain from killing a monster buck. Anthony, like Rompola did his own taxidermy. Anthony, like Rompola posted pictures that had odd features.

My point being, Anthony killed a 180+ inch deer in Illinois that was heavily scrutinized. He lost his sponsors over that deer.
 
I was with Mitch when he recovered the deer, not the Mitch we are discussing buy my buddy Mitch. All joking aside those pics of his deer all have the same low/wide rack. The blood/entry/exit is something that makes me say hmmm. Do we have the same genetics in all those deer?

Real or fake I love a good story! Honestly, I don't care either way. Doesn't affect my life. Well maybe it does because I keep coming back to this thread LOL
 
HaunSolo said:
So I thought to myself - maybe he just cleans them up before photos.

Interestingly enough I watched the Rompola buck recovery video, where he walks up on the world record deer - there doesn't appear to be any blood on that deer either. Perhaps he cleaned it off before the video? Perhaps he shot it on the side that wasn't showing and didn't get a pass through. Its just odd.

The pictures I posted were from Mitch Rompola's website that he put up in the early 2000's showing the big bucks he killed(so much for not wanting the spotlight). The pictures are just so odd - the pose of the animal, the perfect symmetry on some of the racks, the droopy ears, no blood in any of the photos.

Rompola had skin in the game too. According to various articles I've read and podcasts I've listened to, he had some sort of connection to the owner of Hawgs Limited scents. One news article stated that the owner of the company pushed Rompola to have his buck entered into CBM because the owner was losing money due to the Rompola buck controversy because nobody wanted to sell his stuff, since it was connected to Rompola(Mitch reportedly used these scents).

Rumor is that Mitch has told people the buck was lost in a house fire - so it may never be x-rayed. Rumor also is that Mitch did all his own taxidermy.

Maybe the buck is real. Maybe he snuck into the airport and shot it. Maybe he fabricated it somehow. I lean heavily towards there being some foul play here.
Click to expand...
I still have 2 original bottles of that stuff. Both w/ MR's kill shot pose on the front. I will take some pics. Who wants to post them for me?
 
HaunSolo said:
Do you remember the Illinois hunter Marc Anthony? Supposedly an excellent bow hunter and was a big name in bow hunting in the early 2000's.

Well he killed a 180"+ buck from the ground. All was well and good until someone figured out they had a skull with the same exact antlers in Kansas. Many people think the buck is fake and the circumstances are similar - Anthony like Rompola was a big name in the bow hunting world. Anthony like Rompola would gain from killing a monster buck. Anthony, like Rompola did his own taxidermy. Anthony, like Rompola posted pictures that had odd features.

My point being, Anthony killed a 180+ inch deer in Illinois that was heavily scrutinized. He lost his sponsors over that deer.
Click to expand...

That's before my time, this is all I remember from that time period as a kid: 1675783566663.png

I wish I could speak for what goes on in that aspect, but from where I'm originally from in Indiana. 175"+ deer are seen every year on trail cameras with a few being shot. But I also can't speak to the times before trail cameras and selective hunting was a major thing (i.e. the time period these questionable deer were shot I'm assuming)... I just know trophy hunting on private land.
 
So Rompola is a taxidermist? The racks all seem wayyy to similar. Is this guy just sculpting those antlers on different deer and posing with them? I'm a long ways from an expert. I'm not even knowledgeable really but it's sure weird that the racks all look so similar
 
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.
Click to expand...
I think I found a better picture. Look closely at the background. download.png
 
2Sloe said:
How many bucks have you seen during your life that have that freakish rack shape coming straight out of their head? And he has a closet full of them Does make you go hmmmm….
Click to expand...
Maybe, and maybe those "freakish genetics" were just that. Genetically passed characteristics. He abhorred the spotlight long before the famous buck. A quiet guy who loved to scout and hunt. He had his flaws to be sure. More than most.
 
HuumanCreed said:
Ok, seriously, the lack of blood and wound really stand out. Has this never been pointed out?
Click to expand...

Nothing that's been said hasn't been pointed out, lol.

As crazy as the Rompola stuff is, a scorer living "right next to" Mitch not coming immediately by to see the potential WR buck seems even more ludicrous. This "Update" is as useless as what John E shared on the topic in the referenced podcast.
 
Swampwalker said:
Maybe, and maybe those "freakish genetics" were just that. Genetically passed characteristics. He abhorred the spotlight long before the famous buck. A quiet guy who loved to scout and hunt. He had his flaws to be sure. More than most.
Click to expand...


Abhorred the spotlight? Wasn't he conducting interviews about being a great bow hunter before he killed the mega buck? I've seen a few online.
 
Reagan H. said:
I also believe that if this was killed in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, etc. it wouldn't be disputed as much as it is. But that's just my opinion.
Click to expand...

Possibly.

But there is greater context here, and Mitch is in and around it.

In 1985, Mitch arrowed a buck that was recognized as the MI record typical whitetail by bow, 181 & 7/8". That record stood until 2013. But a larger buck was actually taken by Craig Calderone in 1986, however it was removed from the books on account of alleged spotlighting of the buck to determine it's whereabouts. It's believed Mitch was responsible for the extra scrutiny leading to this outcome, I don't know if that is substantiated.

Then in 1996, a new MI record gun typical was taken, (by Troy Stephens) measuring 198". Around that time Mitch claimed to be after a huge buck, producing the 220" Rompola buck two years later. I believe it is Craig Calderone who then offered up $10,000 for Mitch to have it X-rayed.

So, atop of the regular scrutiny of such an unusual record buck in an unlikely place in an unlikely state, there is bad blood pushing the issue of authentication to lengths not previously imposed, there is a personal dispute, and increasing tensions.

No matter what side of the fence one is on, the whole of the story goes beyond a big deer shot in an unlikely spot. It was big buck war.
 
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woodsdog2 said:
I'll give you some of that because if you look at his buck, the first one all of this fuss is about, the absolute symmetry of the rack is near perfect for a typical frame, no deductions...... a scorer's dream buck. That's what looks fishy to me. I mean I've never seen anything so symmetrical. But then I would think that is way too obvious if it is a fake rack.
Click to expand...
Interesting take. Hadn’t considered that angle.


Wanna start a jazz band? I’m not so bad on the sax-a-boom and you just laid a tasty riff on my initial 12 bars.
 
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