A net score of 212 5/8 puts Jon Allen's Lancaster County giant at about No. 132 in P&Y listings and at No. 3 among Nebraska's archery non-typicals. Photo courtesy of Jon Allen.

Bowhunters will take to the hills and timber in Nebraska on Sept. 15, all hoping to get a chance at a whitetail as big as the former world record taken by Del Austin of Hastings back in 1962 -- a Hall County monster that scored 279 7/8 as a non-typical.

That one-time holder of the world mark was edged out of position by a buck scoring 294 7/8 that was arrowed by Mike Beatty in Green County, Ohio, on Nov. 8, 2000. Austin's kill, however, remains No. 1 in the Nebraska records.

Over the past few years, some huge non-typical whitetails have been taken by archers in the Cornhusker State. Jeff Moody of Hickman came the closest to matching the Austin giant. That story was carried in the Sept. 2004 issue of Great Plains Game & Fish. He dropped a buck in 2003 in Lancaster County that scored 223 0/8.

The Moody buck, which was taken a few miles south of the Capital City, is one of three record-book non-typicals taken in the county in the past five years. Robert Findley of Roca took one that scored 206 2/8 in 2005 just on the outskirts of Lincoln. His hunt was featured in our Sept. 2006 issue.

The most recent was taken by Jon Allen of Eagle last October. His buck now ranks third in the Nebraska record book. Allen, a 37-year-old machinist, doesn't leave his deer hunting up to just luck.

"A couple of buddies and I hunt for shed antlers in the winter and early spring," he said. "We got permission to check on a parcel of private land for antlers, and a couple of years back we found some in a little draw. Early last year we found three in the draw, one of which was a huge non-typical. Those antlers gave me enough encouragement to plan my hunt in that area.

"I hunted the draw two years ago, but didn't get a chance at any really big bucks," Allen said "Last year things improved more than a little bit. I picked out a spot that had some decent shooting lanes and visibility near an unpicked and a picked cornfield. There was also a nearby field of native grass.

"I use a ladder stand so I'm not tied down to one spot," Allen said. "I can move it in a reasonably short time. My normal hunting routine is to head for the stand right after work at 5 o'clock when I have the time. I also hunt the weekends and normally hunt early and late for an hour or two."

Allen has been bowhunting for about 20 years and to date has bagged three bucks. He had been hunting with a rifle since he was a teenager and started under the tutelage of his dad Jon Sr. He gave up hunting with a gun in 1999 and concentrated on improving his prowess with the "bent stick."

Today he shoots a Fred Bear SQ32 and has the bow set at 63 pounds. He uses a 28-inch arrow tipped with a Muzzy broadhead. He carries four arrows in his bow quiver and has been using a grunt call and a doe bleat to get a buck's attention whenever the opportunity presents itself.

"I really like the bow," he said. "I bought it last year, and have found it really works well for me. It has a smooth pull and is the quietest bow I have ever shot."