HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania has a new record for a typical deer taken by a firearm, but the story has a twist.
The record-setting white-tail buck was actually taken in the early 1960's in Montgomery County. Shot by Frederick Kyriss, the 14-point buck's rack measures 202 7/8 inches, according to the Boone & Crockett Scoring System.
It breaks the previous record set in 1943 by Fritz Janowsky, who harvested a deer with a net score of 189-0/8 inches in Bradford County.
Why did it take so long for Kyriss' buck to be recognized?
According to a spokesperson with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Kyriss' widow said her late husband had the skull and antlers mounted in his garage for decades without ever having it measured.
After Kyriss died, his widow gave the antlers to a collector. Its ownership changed hands several times in the ensuing years before eventually winding up at a Bass Pro Shops location in Missouri, according to Game Commission spokesperson Robert D'Angelo.
Staff at the store measured the antlers themselves and informed the Game Commission about it last spring. They also sent a replica of the skull and antlers for the Game Commission to keep, D'Angelo said.
The Game Commission researched and assessed the antlers before adding it to the state record book.
The replica rack is now on display at the Game Commission's headquarters on Elmerton Avenue in Harrisburg, D'Angelo said.
"Although these two deer were taken years ago, these are good times to be a deer hunter in Pennsylvania," said D'Angelo. "I regularly score deer racks coming from all regions of the state that are placing in the state records.
"We had a new No. 1 in the typical archery category taken in 2017, and a new No. 2 in that category harvested in 2020. I scored the No. 1 archery nontypical buck in Harrisburg in 2017 that was harvested in 2016 that scores 228-6/8 inches."
If you're a Pennsylvania hunter who believes you've harvested a record-setting deer, bear or elk, you can contact D’Angelo at rdangelo@pa.gov.
To order the 2021 Pennsylvania Big Game Records book, visit the Game Commission’s website www.pgc.pa.gov or call 1-888-888-3459.
