Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Rompola buck -- any news?

There may had been a radar sight in that area but it wouldn't take up more than 10 acres.

Al,

A shooting session would be a welcome change...

I sure hope you are right about the folks who post here. Where I live, there are some very nice bucks, no secret about it. No denying it, I would love to take one of book size. But, it would be seen by my family and close friends only. One guy in the small group I hunt with has a HUGE buck he shot a few years ago. Ethics of officially scoring it vice just the bunch of us admiring it were discussed. Unanimous decision, no scoring done.

Have entered a few and have quite a few that were scored and made book that I did not enter. May not enter any more. With that as the starting point, I shot a Sitka deer in '98 that made the Awards book. It also won a local big buck contest.

Found myself at the kill site with slide film that requires processing out of state. There were some delays getting prints made. A jealous co-worker, wannabe trophy hunter went to the store sponsoring the big buck contest and told him I had bought the antlers at a garage sale. As proof he pointed out I always have pictures of my critters, but I could not come up with any of this one...

When I talked to him about it he said it was impossible for me to have killed as many big deer as I had because he had never even seen a single Booner after hunting one week per year for about four years. I only averaged 3 or 4 weeks per year for almost 15 years at that point...

Trophy scoring affects the way a lot of folks think... And not usually for the better...
art

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
Some guys deserve to be punched out....

Don

The hunters here in MI kept a pretty close eye on this whole thing and here are a few facts that you might not know.

1. Milo Hansen ask Mitch to either register the buck at the new #1 world record or shut up. Mitch passed
2. Mitched was offered 10,000 to x-ray the rack, Mitch passed.
3. There is a guy named Calderone (missspelled Im sure) who was denied a #1 MI bow kill by Mitch a number of years back when Mitch was the pres of MI commeritave bucks and he along with Milo H were the ones who I was told offered Mitch the money for the x-ray.

I live in SW MI and go to Grand Travers county on a regular basis, I gotta tell ya that if there was a 12 point with a 3 foot spread running around by the airport it would have been seen.

My thought is just this, IF the buck was shot lighit as Mitch says, he knew what he had, right? So why didnt he go and get a CO right then and there for the recovery? Why didnt he take the deer to a locak sport shop when it was still soft and say "look what I just shot"? This is a guy who has been in the deer scoring business for years, he knows the deal.

No one wants to see a world record deer come from MI more than me. But the chances of that are slim at best. Bottom line is that Mitch was offered thousands SEVERAL times to prove the rack was real and said no every time. End of story.

PS, his family owns a deer farm in MO, dont know if that had anything to do with this or not.............

Of all the trials in life that test a man's character, I gotta say killing a monster deer should not be the hardest.

Still waiting to prove that to myself ... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I lived in Grand Traverse county and there is no way that caliber of deer came out of there. I am alittle suprized that Mitch was the only one to see the deer. The average buck and I mean average buck being shot up there are 4 points and occasional 10 point scoring 140. Thats it....
Most of the bucks dont even get a change to live past 2 years


No way on Gods green earth that monster came from Norhtern Michigan. That is a pen deer.

It does seem as though he initially wanted the press and then as the scrunity increased he backed off from his claims. That would qualify as suspicious for me.

I followed this story for a while. Had all the mag articles and whatnot. The stories from AJ and the other Mich guys all seem very accurate from what I remember. Bottom line is this.............that guy is a deer hunting FANATIC and would love nothing more in life to hold the world record. If it was legit, he'd be kickin' Milo Hansen off his throne in a minute......2MG

As far as the deer coming from a deer farm I doubt that very much. A buck of that caliber would never be able to be kept secret and worth way more as a stud than an unclaimed or claimed for that matter WR.
As to wether the deer was faked, legit, we'll probally never know. I'd like to believe it but there is just too much BS involved, even beyond the deer itself, with Mitch for my BS radar not to be going off.

That's a pretty bold statement. How can you prove anything that you've claimed here? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

I know I have no post count, but have followed this topic a little in the past.

I know we are not suppose to post another site link here, but this site has the edited version of the Rompola deer retrieval video.

http://www.southeasternoutdoors.com/outdoors/urban-legends/mitch-rompola.html

My first observation is that the rear legs are unnaturally straight and appear stiff, almost like the deer had been hung by the rear legs and then stiffened up.

Also, the rack base color looked strange to me. Between the burr and the brow tine, the left side main beam looks imperfect (crooked) to me. I found it interesting that the tag was later installed there for the still picture (which the whole country later saw).

I also saw a pic on one of the sites, showing Rompola holding the detached rack with a super small section of skull plate (which looked modified to boot). With a deer rack that massive, wouldn't a past 'antler scorer' know the potential danger of a skull plate breaking in half? Myself, I would have assured enough skull plate to prevent any chance of breaking on a potential world record. But that's just me, and I am not even a registered scorer.

I know many posters who claim anyone who is skeptical of this Rompola trophy is just a jealous hunter. I myself am old enough to remember when Owen Walton was posted in many advertisements within some outdoor publications. His Boone and Crockett whitetail was later determined to be a pair of sheds that he did not even find! If I am a jealous hunter, what does that make him? A good dose of skepticism is healthy these days.

To me, the SILENCE and the signed deal with Milo Hanson (or is it Hansen?) speaks volumes.

MW

The man is a fraud, lets all just say it..... Rompola has had trouble in past with other things and doesn't have a spotless record. All he wanted was a quick pay day and it didn't work. .

I don't see why so many say it is impossible. It's not impossible by any means. We will probably never know the real story and the real results but, it could very well be a buck of world record size.

Just this season a guy killed a buck that scored 166 and weighed 211lbs very near to an area I hunt. To some of you that may not sound very big but, to the locals it sounds unbelieveable. The area is piney hills with very large bucks tipping the scales around 175 and scoring around 100-115 with a rare 130 incher taken once in a while.

Near another area I hunt (Piney hills as well) a hunter bagged a buck said to be a State record typical contender in the 180s. Thats over 40" larger than most monster bucks taken in that area. Anything can happen.

If a buck gets proper nutrition and is allowed to grow until he reaches his full potential, anything can happen.

Reloader7RM

Reloader-
I don't know if the post was towards me, but I do believe the typical world record will be beaten in the future. I sure hope he comes from Iowa....

My question is: Do you actually think the typical world record was beaten in this case?

I am sorry, but the individual's character has to be included in the equation. I am sure there were several witnesses and pictures of the Hanson buck. I am sure they had been checked over very carefully, as they should have been.

I know, Mitch is a recluse, and really could care less about the score or it's position in the record books. That's why he was a certified antler scorer, because he cares nothing about scores.

My understanding is that Mitch pulled this new world record out of the woods himself. Wouldn't someone involved in officially scoring deer know about the scrutiny involved in a world record class deer?

I heard he had a tiffle with Boone and Crockett too. Why not enter the buck in Pope and Young?. That would show them. Interestingly, this bad blood with B&C could be looked at as a motive.

Also, did you hear the 'recluse' narrate the retrieval video? Sounded very well spoken to me. Not to mention the product endorsements he already had, before 'taking' this deer.

Many Rompola supporters state he may be the best Whitetail hunter on earth. How does that equate into his credibility?
I contend there may be some fine deer hunters in the local penitentiary....doesn't mean they are not criminals in my eyes.

Again, I am guilty of posting a link, but check out the author's view on pictures posted of the deer, taken in 1997.

http://www.northamericanwhitetail.com/trophybucks/naw_aa203rumors/index.html

We bring in non-resident bowhunters here in Iowa. Our best typical to date with a bow was over 183+ net, taken by a gentleman from New Jersey. Yes, we had lots of the 'evidence' that was required. This fiasco is the reason Record book entries require so much red tape. I really don't have a problem with any of that, but then again, the hunt was perfectly legal.
MW

Excellent background information -- thanks for posting the link. Wittington is very careful to avoid what lots of people are guilty of. Most people fail to make the distinction between evidence and proof. There is lots of evidence against Rompola having taken the world record buck, and much of that evidence is regarded by many as proof. But, it's only evidence.

Although it is true that lots and lots of evidence does not necessarily rise to the level of proof, it is also true that one may draw some common sense conclusions from overwhelming evidence. Ultimately, the burden of proof is on Rompola, and so far he has not supplied any more proof that he shot a world record than I have. I'd like to believe his story, but the bottom line is that he won't let me.

If the deer is from a deer farm, someone else knows about it. If it is a fabricated set of antlers, it must be a dang good job, and it's likely that someone else knows about it. In either case, something is keeping the other person quiet. If this buck is a fraud, my guess is that the reason they're keeping quiet is that they were complicit in the fraud.

One telling point in the article linked to above is that Rompola can't say he isn't interested in scores. He was an official scorer, for goodness sakes, And he has entered bucks into the Michigan book. And he bragged that his buck would outscore the Hanson buck. Rompola is (or at the time he shot the buck was) very interested in antler scores.

Is he a good hunter? Undoubtedly. Is he a great hunter? Probably. But this whole thing makes me wonder if some of the other bucks he has killed may have been faked -- kind of a trial run for the big scam. Hope not.

Steve

I don't think so. I think it was toward 12 point, as was my post.

It's foolish for anyone to say where the next world record buck will or will not be killed. You don't always need famland to grow big bucks. Did Jim Jordan's early 20th century northern WI 206" monster live off of corn, alfalfa and soybeans?

I'm not Rompola's lawyer and the whole thing undoubtedly is fishy. But, I just am dumbfounded when anyone says a certain place can NEVER produce a record book buck. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Is it possible? Sure. Is it likely? No. There is a better chance of finding Jimmy Hoffa than finding a deer like that in Grand Traverse County. It is hard for me to believe in 6 years no one saw that deer except for Rompola. The deer was allegedly shot in an area of town where there is a lot of foot and car traffic. If he can find Hoffa, then maybe I will be a true believer and sing the praise of the mythical buck and the man with the golden bow.

Everyday Hunter-
I did not want to come across like my thoughts were to be considered anything close to proof. It's just that none of the excuses given by Rompola seem valid to me.

On other sites, every time someone smells do-do over the whole Rompola deal, 10 posters jump on and say some hunters are just jealous because they cannot take a deer like that. Gimme a break.

I do suspect that if you found all the illegal entries in B&C and P&Y, the book would be a whole lot smaller. This would include fabricated racks, poached deer, and deer taken by 'other' legal methods.

Around here, folks have been known to take 140 class bucks legally with their shotguns, wait a couple of years, then enter them in Pope and Young book. Have no idea why.

I have (with bow) taken bucks over the 125 inch P&Y minimum (has that min. changed yet). I have no desire to enter these deer at all. But I will say, if I shot a deer anywhere close to a world record, the helicopters with movie cameras would be called in for the retrieval of the animal. Even if I chose not to enter the buck into the book (I suspect I would), plenty of witnesses would be there.

In one of the pro-Rompola articles, Mitch claimed to have shot his first P&Y 150+ buck when he was 9 years old. First off, I would want to see when it was entered into the books. When he was 10 years old? Or many years later.

Rompola has chosen his 'right to remain silent'. He has signed away his priviledge to the world record typical. Either he is not thinking clearly now, or he suddenly came to his senses a few days after all the media attention in 1998.

I agree with you EverydayHunter, makes you wonder about his other 'supposed' trophies.

MW