Battle over record-setting deer bagged in Westmoreland County

There are questions about a state record-setting buck that a Westmoreland County hunter shot with an arrow in October.

Some are questioning whether or not he really killed the deer.

Bagging a record-breaker can come with a big payout from companies who want to put it on display.

Now some in the hunting community are questioning the hunter's story about how he harvested the record-breaking buck.

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He told Channel 11 that rainy and snowy weather made it difficult for him to find the deer.

Ron Shaulis said he worked very hard to get the record-breaking typical whitetail deer rack, a 13-point rack of antlers.

"I was elated. Thank God, this search was over," Shaulis said. After weeks of searching, he found the deer.

The carcass was decomposed, so now a group of hunters want proof he killed it.

"He tracked his deer for a quarter of a mile and even said, which made me think in my experience as my opinion, that's not a vital kill," said Jake Ingram, founder of Golden Hour Outdoors. "It would've died in a reasonable distance."

The State Game Commission confirms it has received calls from hunters who have the same concerns and is now launching an investigation.

"I shot the deer," Shaulis said. He told Channel 11 he took off from work after the kill in October and tirelessly searched for it, using 10 trail cameras to help.

"The blood just kept going and going and then it clotted up. There was no more blood, I found a spot every 12 feet or so," he said.

He finally found the deer in early December.

"Everybody that I've spoke with and reached out to has that concern: Did he or not? How can we prove he shot that deer to go into the record books?" Ingram said.

"I'll take them to my tree stand. We can walk to where we last found blood and then we can go to where I actually found it (the deer)," Shaulis said.

A representative of the Game Commission said Shaulis did nothing illegal.

Shaulis said he has no plans to sell the rack and that he just wants to hang it in his home and move on.

Cox Media Group