Texas Buck Registry holds 4th Annual “Most Texas” buck contest
At 17, Layne Gerke was recently crowned the winner of the fourth annual “Most Texas” Buck Contest put on by Texas Buck Registry. Gerke secured more votes on Instagram than 15 other finalists for his buck, which scored 186 inches, while hunting on a low fence lease in Maverick County with his dad, Billy.
“We were on a hunting trip right before Christmas and had noticed an impressive buck on one of our trail cameras during the morning hours,” the teenager explained. “We had never seen this deer before. We were eager to get in the stand that afternoon with hopes of getting a better look at him in person, and maybe even a shot.”
The father and son headed to the stand early that afternoon and a strong cold front passed through before sunset.
“The wind began howling once the front ar- rived and we didn’t see the buck,” Gerke said. “We decided to give it one more shot the next morning before we had to head home.”
The next morning greeted the hunters with frigid conditions, and at about 8 o’clock, all of the deer in the area cleared out.
“We didn’t understand why all of the deer left, especially with the cold conditions,” Gerke said. “Then, we spotted six illegal immigrants walking in the distance. They were moving away from the blind but were upwind of us. We really thought this would be the end of our hunt, as we were certain the deer had seen or smelled them, and that they were the reason our deer activity had shut down so quickly.”
Gerke and his dad decided to sit another half hour or so. All of a sudden, Gerke spotted the buck he was after to his right.
“He was trotting towards some does,” Gerke said. “My dad ranged the does at 208 yards with his Vortex binocular/rangefinder combo. I got my gun up and ready, and all of a sud- den, there he was, nosing around those doe.”
The buck turned broadside and Gerke was about to take his shot when the deer spun around and started facing them head on.
“We were sure that when he turned again, he would probably leave,” Gerke said. “The buck finally turned and started to move, and my dad hollered at him. The buck stopped for a split second and I took my shot with my .270. I immediately felt confident that I had hit him well. A few moments later, we saw dust flying in some cactus where he had fallen over, just barely 10 yards from where he was standing.”
T-Shirt buck
When Gerke put his hands on his buck for the first time, he told his dad, “This is a T-Shirt buck for sure,” referring to the annual Texas Buck Registry “Most Texas” buck contest.
The term “T-Shirt buck” is one that has gained some popularity over the last few years, as the winning buck of the annual contest put on by Texas Buck Registry is used for artwork on their annual T-Shirt design.
“I see a lot of folks using the words ‘T-Shirt Buck’ to describe deer that are entered into the registry in comments on our Instagram posts,” said Tompall Glaser, founder, owner and operator of Texas Buck Registry. “It seems to be something that more and more hunters are looking forward to every season, and I am excited to have Gerke’s buck on our T-shirt this year.”
Glaser said 100 percent of the proceeds from TBR T-Shirt sales are put back into the Texas Buck registry website, to help maintain the growing database of bucks.
“This year, Texas artist, Matt Tumlinson is producing the artwork that will illustrate Gerke’s buck on our shirts,” Glaser said. “The T-shirts will be available for purchase on our website soon.”
This season, the Texas Buck Registry surpassed the 5,000-buck mark.
“Around 800 or so were entered this season alone,” Glaser said. “Texas Buck Registry is proof that there are impressive bucks to be found across the entire Lone Star State, no matter the region. More and more folks are learning to appreciate the mindset of letting bucks grow to reach their full potential, and they are adapting that to their management strategies on the properties they hunt.”
