A Wisconsin bowhunter harvested a whitetail buck Saturday in Buffalo County that is garnering national attention as a potential world record.

Photo courtesy of Paul Olson

In what is unfolding as something of a storybook script, Bob Decker of Eau Claire - a paper mill worker described by friends as just an average guy who likes to hunt - ventured to the woods near Mondovi for his first hunt of the 2008 archery season.

Hunting on land he leases with friends, Decker had taken antlerless deer and small bucks in recent seasons but no trophies. So you can imagine his pleasant surprise when the first deer to come along on his first morning of hunting was a large buck.

Immediately deciding it was a "shooter," Decker watched the deer walk beneath his tree stand and then took a well-placed shot from 10 yards.

"I knew I shot a nice deer," Decker told the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. "I figured I'd shot a good-sized 10-pointer."

Upon recovering the buck, he learned he had misjudged not only the number of points but also the size of the rack.

The 16-point buck is a "phenomenal animal," said Jack Dodge, an Eau Claire taxidermist who viewed the buck over the weekend.

"It's too early to say if it's a record, but it's a deer of a lifetime," said Dodge, 58, and owner of Dodge's Taxidermy for 30 years. "And if it's not a record, it's certainly the most popular buck of the year."

For trophy purposes, deer antlers are measured in inches. A total score is calculated with measurements including spread, beam length and tine length. Antlers are classified as typical or non-typical, depending on the shape and formation.

While declining to reveal the score of Decker's buck, Dodge said it would likely be "around 200 inches." The rack has several tines longer than 13 inches, he said.

According to the Pope and Young Club, the Chatfield, Minn.-based conservation organization that serves as official record keeper of trophy game animals taken with archery equipment, the world-record whitetail deer scored 204 4/8 . The deer was shot by Mel Johnson in Peoria County, Ill., in 1965.

The world-record archery non-typical scored 294; it was shot by Michael Beatty in Greene County, Ohio, in 2000.

Antlers must undergo a 60-day drying period before they can be officially scored.

Photo courtesy of Paul Olson

Dodge estimated that Decker's buck was 3 1/2 years old - young for a deer with such massive antlers - based on an examination of the animal's teeth.

"What makes one animal grow so huge and another barely get antlers is one of the things that makes this so fascinating," Dodge said.

Buffalo County has become well known among deer hunters for its relatively high density of very large bucks. It draws hunters, many of whom pay large fees for guides or access to certain land, from across the nation and beyond.

That's why Dodge said it was so notable that a normal, local hunter harvested the biggest deer in recent memory.

"It couldn't happen to a nicer guy, let me tell you," Dodge said.

Dodge said he was uncertain whether Decker's buck would be ruled as typical or non-typical due to two "stickers," or unusually-shaped points.

Photo courtesy of Paul Olson

He is clear about what Decker should do next.

"I told him to put the deer under lock and key," Dodge said. "It will be attracting a lot of interest."

As for Decker, he appears to be maintaining his modesty.

"I'm not a better hunter after shooting this buck than I was before," he said. "I'm just a very lucky person."

The scoring will play out in the next 60 days.

Record or not, another thing is likely to happen in coming days: The buck will become known as the Decker buck.