I used to be unsure on the fence, but these guys convinced me that the Rompala Buck was altered and Fake.

[longbow]

That skull and rack has so much Bondo on it that you could repair a rusted out car with it! Lol

 

[Muzzleloader]

That skull and rack has so much Bondo on it that you could repair a rusted out car with it! Lol

an old toyota tacoma frame.

 

[NorthMaine]

It's a pretty toxic group. I won't be staying there to long, because it's very one sided, biased, and censored. I was hoping it would be a true mature discussion group.

It sounds like you went there looking for confirmation bias to support your existing opinion. Calling it "toxic" may be a bit of a stretch. As someone pointed out, it is a "fan" page. At the end of the day, they have no more proof that it's real than you do that it's fake. If you are set in your opinion and aren't open to reading any of the interesting accounts or stories that are posted in support of it, then you're right, it's probably not the best fit. That said, I haven't seen moderators restrict any conversation to any existing posts for those providing counter arguments to the real claims. I won't disagree that the main posts themselves are pretty one sided, but as I said, I really just lurk and have seen good discussion both in favor of and against the buck in the actual comment sections.

 

[NorthMaine]

That skull and rack has so much Bondo on it that you could repair a rusted out car with it! Lol

Now I'm confused, didn't you say you thought it was real on page 1 haha?

 

[Muzzleloader]

Now I'm confused, didn't you say you thought it was real on page 1 haha?

That was until he fixed his Toyota Tacoma frame. It really got the brain wheels turning and firing on all cylinders.

 

[Muzzleloader]

It sounds like you went there looking for confirmation bias to support your existing opinion. Calling it "toxic" may be a bit of a stretch. As someone pointed out, it is a "fan" page. At the end of the day, they have no more proof that it's real than you do that it's fake. If you are set in your opinion and aren't open to reading any of the interesting accounts or stories that are posted in support of it, then you're right, it's probably not the best fit. That said, I haven't seen moderators restrict any conversation to any existing posts for those providing counter arguments to the real claims. I won't disagree that the main posts themselves are pretty one sided, but as I said, I really just lurk and have seen good discussion both in favor of and against the buck in the actual comment sections.

It's kinda like being in a room full of people that believe Patrick Mahomes or Joe Montana is the NFL quarterback goat. When you know it's Tom Brady, by a landslide.

 

[NorthMaine]

It's kinda like being in a room full of people that believe Patrick Mahomes or Joe Montana is the NFL quarterback goat. When you know it's Tom Brady, by a landslide.

As I said, you have no more proof that it's fake than they do that it's real. At the end of the day it's all a matter of opinion. I'd say that group has provided more information in favor than you have against but again that's just an opinion but I don't expect any of that to change your mind.

I personally don't really have an opinion either way. I'd like to believe that it's real, but can certainly appreciate some of the anomalies that have been presented.

 

[Muzzleloader]

There is a giant vacant huge piece of the puzzle missing. Why would you not register the most prestigious spot in hunting accolades? And forfeit over a million dollars in profits? There is a giant hole in this story that doesn't make any sense. Come on now!

 

[NorthMaine]

There is a giant vacant huge piece of the puzzle missing. Why would you not register the most prestigious spot in hunting accolades? And forfeit over a million dollars in profits? There is a giant hole in this story that doesn't make any sense. Come on now!

The "million dollar profits". Come on now.

Again, that doesn't make it fake. Don't get me wrong, it also doesn't make it real. It makes it a mystery.

 

[NorthMaine]

To me personally what stands out more than anything, whether it be the fame, money, etc. is the fact that he allegedly shot what was it, 4 bucks over a 5 year span with spreads over 25" when historically since the 80s or whatever there had been none in all the deer registered by CBM.

Now a counter argument to that is that perhaps there were deer harvested that were never registered and therefore wouldn't have been part of the CBM stats. I know here in Maine that a lot of people stop putting into the patch club, or don't enter their deer in MASTC. That's just the nature of trophy groups. Do they represent the majority of statistics, probably, but they certainly don't represent "everything" per se.

 

[Muzzleloader]

The "million dollar profits". Come on now.

Again, that doesn't make it fake. Don't get me wrong, it also doesn't make it real. It makes it a mystery.

Milo Hanson sold his record buck, which would be Rompola's record if it was legitimate, for 1 million dollars. And as of 2008, he admitted to making $600,000 from the taking of the buck. It is now 15 years later, so he likely made over 1 million of profits. So, that makes at least 2 million dollars.

 

[Muzzleloader]

To me personally what stands out more than anything, whether it be the fame, money, etc. is the fact that he allegedly shot what was it, 4 bucks over a 5 year span with spreads over 25" when historically since the 80s or whatever there had been none in all the deer registered by CBM.

Now a counter argument to that is that perhaps there were deer harvested that were never registered and therefore wouldn't have been part of the CBM stats. I know here in Maine that a lot of people stop putting into the patch club, or don't enter their deer in MASTC. That's just the nature of trophy groups. Do they represent the majority of statistics, probably, but they certainly don't represent "everything" per se.

Many residents from that area of Michigan have stated many times, that the genetics and antler growth in that county and general area are poor, and do not grow anywhere in the vicinity of the caliber in the area that Mitch claims to have taken them.

 

[NorthMaine]

Many residents from that area of Michigan have stated many times, that the genetics and antler growth in that county and general area are poor, and do not grow anywhere in the vicinity of the caliber in the area that Mitch claims to have taken them.

That's why I said to me that's more of a "smoking gun" if there ever was one than anything else that has been presented. But that said, it still doesn't make it impossible. Many folks have corroborated that the deer (plural) existed but again, that is hearsay, he said, she said.

 

[NorthMaine]

Milo Hanson sold his record buck, which would be Rompola's record if it was legitimate, for 1 million dollars. And as of 2008, he admitted to making $600,000 from the taking of the buck. It is now 15 years later, so he likely made over 1 million of profits. So, that makes at least 2 million dollars.

Rumor that he sold it. Nothing confirmed. In that vein, as with both sides of this story, there are a lot of "rumors" that you and many others keep regurgitating as statements of fact to support their opinion.

Again, you can have an opinion but at the end of the day, it's just that. The only thing we know as fact is that only Rompola himself knows what the truth actually is. Anything else is purely speculation.

 

[Vtbuck223]

Like other stories of the type...this one only has mild interest for me and I am open to all possibilities. Amazing that it causes such division amongst people who are so far removed from it. The thing that raises questions for me are the people who have gone on record as supposedly having examined the buck up close and saw no anomalies. Supposedly people who look at deer and deer antlers every day. Those are the people it would be interesting to hear from. That would have to be some really good Bondo work, or they didn't really examine the deer as closely as has been reported, or they were in on it in some way.

I don't know the answer to this...but are there people out there who can actually create something like has been suggested so that it would convince even those who have a lot of experience that it is real under close physical examination?

 

[Muzzleloader]

Like other stories of the type...this one only has mild interest for me and I am open to all possibilities. Amazing that it causes such division amongst people who are so far removed from it. The thing that raises questions for me are the people who have gone on record as supposedly having examined the buck up close and saw no anomalies. Supposedly people who look at deer and deer antlers every day. Those are the people it would be interesting to hear from. That would have to be some really good Bondo work, or they didn't really examine the deer as closely as has been reported, or they were in on it in some way.

I don't know the answer to this...but are there people out there who can actually create something like has been suggested so that it would convince even those who have a lot of experience that it is real under close physical examination?

You have made a great point about some being in on it. Because the story goes that Mitch had an argument and a falling out with his fellow friends and co scorers/measurers. At that point he pulled out of the registration process. So, possibly, the argument was about this scheme, if it was a scheme.

 

[NorthMaine]

Like other stories of the type...this one only has mild interest for me and I am open to all possibilities. Amazing that it causes such division amongst people who are so far removed from it. The thing that raises questions for me are the people who have gone on record as supposedly having examined the buck up close and saw no anomalies. Supposedly people who look at deer and deer antlers every day. Those are the people it would be interesting to hear from. That would have to be some really good Bondo work, or they didn't really examine the deer as closely as has been reported, or they were in on it in some way.

I don't know the answer to this...but are there people out there who can actually create something like has been suggested so that it would convince even those who have a lot of experience that it is real under close physical examination?

So the real conspiracy theorists (which is alluded to by John Eberhart in the second video here https://www.deeranddeerhunting.com/.../secret-rompola-buck-panel-knew-what-they-did) is that basically everyone that was on the "panel" that "scored" and attested to the deer being "real" are in on it and that the one guy, Eberhart, (in the video interview) wasn't included deliberately because he "knew" what was going on and would have called their BS. Folks on the panel drove from hours away to come score the deer, while he lived nearby and wasn't invited.

 

[Muzzleloader]

Like other stories of the type...this one only has mild interest for me and I am open to all possibilities. Amazing that it causes such division amongst people who are so far removed from it. The thing that raises questions for me are the people who have gone on record as supposedly having examined the buck up close and saw no anomalies. Supposedly people who look at deer and deer antlers every day. Those are the people it would be interesting to hear from. That would have to be some really good Bondo work, or they didn't really examine the deer as closely as has been reported, or they were in on it in some way.

I don't know the answer to this...but are there people out there who can actually create something like has been suggested so that it would convince even those who have a lot of experience that it is real under close physical examination?

Here is a fake world record buck. It is beautiful and looks very real.

 

[NorthMaine]

Personally, the argument surrounding the "fabrication" is more believable if we are talking about fabrication of actual antler bone and not altering the skull plate. I would think a fabricated skull plate would be much easier to spot than actual antler which as made pretty obvious by the video above can pretty easily be done.

 

[NH Hunter]

Anything seems possible with antler growth. Here’s my brother in laws euro from this season.