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Oct 25, 2024 · In 1998, a hunter named Mitch Rompola claimed he’d shot the biggest whitetail in North America. It was all over the news, and people waited in anticipation for it to be entered in the record books. But then Mitch just went silent. And instead of becoming a famous hunter, he became an infamous one.
Sep 9, 2024 · Back in 1998, an experienced bowhunter named Mitch Rompola shot an enormous typical whitetail buck in Grand Traverse County, Michigan. The buck scores more than the buck that currently sits atop the list of Boone & Crockett records.
- The Mitch Rompola Buck’s Score
- A Scoresheet Surfaces
- The Rompola Buck Backstory
- Big Bucks of Northern Michigan
- The Recovery Video
- Why Didn’T Rompola Enter The Buck in The Record Books?
- Why Did Rompola Sign The Agreement with Hanson?
- Where Did The Rumors Start?
- The Story Continues
I knew Rompola personally through my involvement with CBM. I wrote and edited the first editions of the state’s big game record books and was editor of the organization’s quarterly magazine, Buck Fax,for a number of years. I’ve known Mitch since the early 1980s and considered him a friend. I wrote a number of articles about his big buck success wit...
A scoresheet for the Mitch Rompola Buck was recently posted on the Mitch Rompola Fan ClubFacebook group, which has more than 3,200 members. The description for the group reads in part: “This group is dedicated to Mitch Rompola and those of us hunters who either know Mitch personally, know of his stature, ethics, morals and credibility as well as hi...
Mitch had been hunting this particular buck for three years. He saw it on a number of occasions and took several photos of it during that time. Rompola’s first opportunity to kill the whitetail failed when his arrow was deflected. But 10 days later, he was able to arrow the deer. Rompola had been sharing the story about the big buck he was after wi...
I think it’s foolish to believe that this area of Michigan simply couldn’t produce a world-record buck. Grand Traverse County may not be the best county in Michigan for record book bucks, but other high scoring whitetails have been grown there besides those Rompola has taken. On Oct. 2, 2022, Tim Bannen nailed a 15-point nontypicalwith palmated ant...
Besides the supporting testimony of everyone who saw the big buck Mitch shot in 1998, Rompola himself did something to document the authenticity of the kill. After arrowing the deer, he went home to let his girlfriend know what happened, ate something, and got his cameras before recovering the deer. He recorded a 20-minute video of the recovery, st...
Some hunters have a hard time believing anyone who killed such a massive buck would not enter it in the record books to claim the title of having taken a world-record whitetail. Mitch Rompola is not like everyone else, however. The fact that he consistently puts himself in position to take trophy whitetails with his bow sets him apart. He is also n...
The fact that Mitch didn’t plan on entering the deer in B&C is the reason he didn’t have any qualms about signing a legal agreement drafted by representatives of Milo Hanson’s existing world record. The agreement stated that Rompola would not enter the deer and would not claim that his deer was a world record. Doing so would devalue the Hanson buck...
One of the people who started rumors about the Rompola Buck being fake is Craig Calderone from Jackson, Michigan. It’s important to know that Calderone may have had an axe to grind. In the fall of 1986, Calderone killed a 14-point typical with a bow in Jackson County that scored more than the top deer for that category at the time. The current reco...
Rompola is still alive and well, living in Michigan and keeping to himself. It’s been years since I’ve corresponded with him through letters. Even so, I’m still hopeful that more details and facts about the buck will come to light. I like to think it was Rompola or one of his friends who finally released those numbers in the score sheet and we migh...
- Mitch's Numerous State Records. Mitch was synonymous with one of the hunters that looked up to the challenge of hunting Northern Michigan. His friends had called him Swampaster and he had a reputation for shooting big whitetails on a consistent basis.
- Mitch's Desire To Be A Left Alone. Less than a week after the reported kill, Mitch got an unlisted phone number and dropped out of sight. Two of his most vocal critics in Michigan each had put up $10,000, which they said Mitch could collect if he'd just have the rack X-rayed and enter it into B&C.
- The Rack Supposedly Was Lost To A House Fire. ***Disclaimer*** ***The below information was obtained using free public use programs, websites, and apps.***
Feb 2, 2023 · A Michigan antler-scoring official yesterday broke his 25-year silence on what he knew about the infamous Mitch Rompola Buck at the time when the deer was allegedly examined. His comments shed unseen light on a subject which has captivated deer hunters for nearly three decades.
Richard has covered the story of the Mitch Rompola buck from the beginning of the controversy in the 1990s. We discuss the story of the buck, Mitch's past hunting experience, and why he...
- 87 min
- 19.7K
- Hunters Advantage
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Dec 10, 2017 · At that time, Bailey was an 18-year veteran conservation officer with the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. In the Dec. 6, 1998, issue of the Traverse City Record-Eagle newspaper, Bailey told staff writer Bill O’Brien that he took several family members to see the Rompola Buck.
