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Del Austin spent five seasons pursuing a huge, unusually antlered Nebraska whitetail he called Mossy Horns. His hunting partner ultimately killed the buck; the Boone and Crockett Club lists it at 284 5/8 inches gross and 277 3/8 net, and it remains among the largest nontypical whitetails recorded.
Del Austin’s five-year pursuit of a giant nontypical whitetail ended when his hunting partner killed the Nebraska buck, according to an Outdoor Life account republished on October 15, 2026. The deer, which Austin named Mossy Horns, is listed by the Boone and Crockett Club at 284 5/8 inches gross and 277 3/8 net, placing it among the largest nontypical whitetails on record.
Austin first saw the buck in October 1958 in the Platte River bottoms south of Shelton, Nebraska, on a friend’s farm. He was bowhunting with a 57-pound bow when the deer appeared with a group of whitetails. Austin described a massive rack with irregular points and two long tines curving down beside the buck’s face. His first shot missed, and the deer escaped into the river bottoms.
Austin says he then resolved to keep hunting the buck. He passed on opportunities at other deer because he did not want to fill his license before another chance at Mossy Horns. The story describes the pursuit as lasting five years, through terrain of timber, brush, sloughs and channels that could become difficult to cross as the water froze. The supplied excerpt does not provide the full account of each season or the exact circumstances of the killing.
The buck’s recorded measurements vary by organization: the Boone and Crockett Club gives a gross score of 284 5/8 inches and a net score of 277 3/8, while Pope and Young recorded 279 7/8. Outdoor Life says the deer ranks 26th among nontypical whitetails overall, fifth among nontypical whitetails taken by bowhunters and second among those taken in Nebraska. Its antlers are now owned by Bass Pro Shops.
A Long Pursuit and a Lasting Record
The account connects a personal hunting story with a trophy that remains notable in the record books. Its different published scores reflect that Boone and Crockett and Pope and Young recorded different figures; the numbers should not be treated as interchangeable. Outdoor Life’s rankings give readers a measure of the buck’s place among recorded nontypical whitetails without suggesting it holds the top position.
The ending also gives the story its unusual emotional turn: Austin’s stated goal was to take the buck himself, but his partner’s success brought him happiness rather than resentment. That perspective is Austin’s own account, and the supplied material says the partner deserved the deer, though it does not name him in the excerpt. The story matters as a record of an extended pursuit, as well as an account of how the hunters viewed the outcome.
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From a 1958 Sighting to a 1963 Story
Outdoor Life says “A Five-Year Stalk” first appeared in its August 1963 issue and was republished online on October 15, 2026. Austin’s account begins with the initial sighting in 1958, when he was 36 and had been bowhunting for seven years. He worked as a salesman in Hastings, about 30 miles from the hunting area.
The pursuit took place in a stretch of the Platte River bottoms where dense cover and waterways shaped access. Austin’s friend Dan Thomas also had a practical reason to want the buck taken: according to Austin, the deer destroyed 50 young spruce trees planted as a windbreak near Thomas’s house. The excerpt says other hunters had heard stories about a large, unusual buck before Austin saw it, but it does not establish how many people pursued it.
“I’d hunt him until I hung that strange and magnificent rack on my wall, no matter how long it took, unless another hunter killed him first.”
— Del Austin, in “A Five-Year Stalk,” republished by Outdoor Life
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Details Missing From the Excerpt
The source material provided here does not identify Austin’s hunting partner or specify when and where the buck was killed. It also does not give the complete account of the final hunt, the circumstances of the shot, or the partner’s own description of the event. The record figures differ between Boone and Crockett and Pope and Young, and the excerpt does not explain the scoring methods or timing behind the difference.
The account identifies the deer as a major recorded nontypical whitetail, but the rankings and scores are attributed to the organizations named by Outdoor Life. No additional current record-book verification is included in the supplied material.
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The Republished Account’s Record
Outdoor Life’s October 15, 2026, publication makes the 1963 first-person story available again, with its historical account and record-book details. The source material does not announce a new hunt, a change in the buck’s record status or a forthcoming decision by either scoring organization. Readers seeking the full sequence of the hunt or the partner’s identity would need the complete Outdoor Life article; those details are not contained in the excerpt provided here.
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Key Questions
Who was Mossy Horns?
Mossy Horns was the name Del Austin gave a large, unusually antlered whitetail he first saw in 1958 in Nebraska’s Platte River bottoms. Austin pursued the buck for five years, according to his account.
Did Austin kill the buck?
No. Outdoor Life’s account says Austin’s hunting partner killed the deer. Austin wrote that he was happy for his partner, whom he said deserved the buck.
How large was the buck’s rack?
The Boone and Crockett Club score cited by Outdoor Life is 284 5/8 inches gross and 277 3/8 inches net. Pope and Young recorded a score of 279 7/8 inches.
Where does the buck rank?
Outdoor Life reports that the buck is 26th among nontypical whitetails overall, fifth among nontypical whitetails taken by bowhunters and second among those taken in Nebraska.
When was Austin’s story first published?
Outdoor Life says “A Five-Year Stalk” first appeared in its August 1963 issue. The republished article is dated October 15, 2026.
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