We are asked who has the most records in our record book. This page is going to be dedicated to some of those hunters. It is only right that we start with the man with the most record book entries. I hope you enjoy the story below by Jack Van Riper. It was written in 1999.


The 2000 Season


The 1999 Season
                                                               MR. SUCCESSFUL
                                                               By Jack Van Riper

Fourteen years ago it was my good fortune to become acquainted with a group of deer hunters that contained the best in the Mid-west. Among that group of super hunters were 3 or 4 that absolutely stood head and shoulders above the others. This group of died-in-the-wool big buck chasers are the members of Commemorative Bucks of Michigan, Inc. (CBM) and they literally eat and sleep the pursuit of record size deer.

Not only do they spend a high percentage of their time working at putting one of Michigan’s trophy whitetails on their game room walls, but they are also the official big game record keepers for the State of Michigan. CBM keeps a record of all the trophy big game taken here, be it whitetailed deer, black bear, elk or turkeys.

One of the first members of that organization I met was Jack Eddy, of Owosso. At that point, Jack was the editor of CBM’s BUCK FAX magazine, the job I was to subsequently hold for many years. Several years ago Jack retired from active magazine editing and fortunately for me, I was tapped to fill the vacancy. While Jack may have slipped out of editing, he never slipped one step in his hunting of the whitetailed deer.

Of all the successful trophy deer hunters that I know and believe me, I know thousands, Jack Eddy is the most successful Michigan trophy big buck hunter, using only a gun, that is alive today.

At the present age of 74, Eddy’s hunting career has spanned 5 decades of the best hunting Michigan has offered and during that time he has been very successful, putting 15 bucks in the record books and many, many, others on the meat pole. He started hunting with his Dad in 1940 and took his first record book buck in 1942, hunting in Kalkaska County. It was a 10 point and it scored 137.3. As of CBM’s 4th Edition Record Book this buck still ranks as the 11th largest typical ever taken in that county. In 1947 he added another from that county scoring 131.3.

Jack says that his Dad had a rule in their hunting camp; they would only shoot forkhorns and above. Early in his career Jack learned to pass up small bucks and to wait for the big guy. 

From 1949 until the late 1960’s Eddy spent his time pursuing a career in law enforcement, from the Shiawassee Co. Sheriff’s Department, to the DNR, with a short shift at manufacturing supervision. In 1982 he finally retired as a private legal investigator. During this time Jack married and raised two boys, Jeff and Greg. Twelve years ago, Jack’s wife, Marilyn, contracted cancer and he lost her in 1987.

Since his retirement, Jack has spent the time he isn’t hunting, writing, and running a very successful taxidermy business. He writes a weekly outdoor column, that comes out each Sunday in the Owosso Argus Press, entitled "Looking Through My Sights at the Great Outdoors".

In 1966 Jack added a third trophy buck to his wall when he took a buck scoring 143.4 from Houghton Co. in the U.P. Nine years later in the Fall of ’75, a Shiawassee Co. buck scoring 146.7 fell to his slug. This buck still ranks number ten on the all time typical list for that county. If you think Jack has been successful up until now, wait, the best is yet to come. 

Apparently all of Eddy’s earlier triumphs were just preparations for a string of trophy hunting successes that is simply remarkable, to say the least. Starting in 1988, Jack Eddy has racked up a total of 12 bucks, with 11 of them making it into the records.

1988 –- 12 pt. Calhoun Co. 147.2 Typical
1989 -- 8 pt. Saginaw Co. 140.1 Typical
1990 -- 8 pt. Saginaw Co. 130.0 Typical
6 pt. Saginaw Co. 86.0 Typical
1991 –- 10 pt. Gratiot Co. 143.0 Typical
1992 –- 10 pt. Saginaw Co. 150.4 Typical
8 pt. Saginaw Co. 142.6 Typical
1993 –- 12 pt. Gratiot Co. 130.3 Typical
1994 –- 11 pt. Saginaw Co. 152.4 Typical
8 pt. Gratiot Co. 140.6 Typical
1995 –- 13 pt. Gratiot Co. 164.0 N-typical
1997 –- 10 pt. Gratiot Co. 159.0 Typical

This string of trophies makes Jack Eddy the most successful big buck hunter with a gun in the history of record keeping in Michigan. Jack also took a buck in 1976 that scored 129+, but was unrecordable because it had three antlers instead of the required two. These three antlered bucks are known as unicorn bucks and are not allowed by B & C into the records.

As you can see from the listing of trophies the 1995 buck is Jack’s biggest and it is also the biggest non-typical ever recorded from Gratiot County. He told me that this monster measured 60 inches around, just behind the front shoulders, making its estimated weight 242 lbs. on the hoof. He refers to many of his trophies by special names and that year’s "biggie" is known as Mr. Awesome!

All of this fantastic information about Michigan’s #1 "Gunner" is fine, but let’s get serious; you want the secrets to Jack’s success. Please believe me, what follows are his exact secrets and they work. Honest Injun!

I asked Jack, "How long does it take for you to get one of these super-bucks? His answer, "About 5 to 10 hours! I hunt about one day, but I scout about 100 hours before the season!" This means he starts scouting as soon as he can get on the land in March.

He keeps a record of all his scouting and of all his hunts. For instance: 

1993 –- Opening day, saw 9 deer, passed on two bucks, shot third at 1:15 PM, 12 pt. score 130.3 typical.

1994 -- Hunted 4 days, saw 9 bucks, passed on 7, shot 2, scores 11 pt. 152.4 and 8 pt. 140.6.

1995 –- Hunted 8 hrs., saw 7 deer, 3 bucks, passed on two, an 8 pt. and a 9 pt., shot 13 pt. 164.2 non-typical. Nine point is seed for next year, should score 130 plus.

1996 –- Spent the season in bed, back operation and prostate cancer.

1997 –- Saw two bucks together early on opening morning a 10 point and a 7 point, passed up both because I knew there was a bigger one out there somewhere. The 10 point should be a fine buck next year, in the 130 range. Shot the BIG 10 point, score 159, at noon as he chased the two smaller bucks out of his spot.

Jack doesn’t go to his stand on opening day until he can see to walk. His reason is, he hunts in the big guy’s bedroom and should he happen to jump him on the way in, he wants to be able to shoot. 

How is he so successful year after year? #1..He really scouts a lot and by so doing he locates his big ones ahead of time. #2..He knows the bucks’ escape routes or "hidey holes", the places they go when the pressure is on. #3..He is there waiting for them when the other hunters push them around. 

Trust me, if you will do this and spend the time necessary scouting, you too will be successful. Why does Jack share his secret? Because he knows, not one in a thousand will take the time it requires to be this good. He also suggests that if you can spend an afternoon following around a really good hunter like Mitch Rompla, Paul Mickey, or Fred Abbas, you’ll learn more in 4 hours that you will in 4 years on your own.

I asked Jack what further goals he had set in his life and without hesitation he replied, "Life to be 100 and take a trophy buck every year, from now until then."

When I first started this story Jack had only 14 bucks in the record book and it was questionable whether he would ever hunt again. You see, in 1996 Jack was diagnosed as having prostate cancer and right along with this bad news, his back went out and he became unable to walk. 

However, not only is Jack a super hunter, he is also a super fighter. Heartbroken that he probably would not be able to hunt in ’96, he set about putting his affairs in order. First of all he began a realistic approach to his problems. He reasoned that if he didn’t beat the prostate cancer, getting his back fixed wouldn’t do him any good in the grave, so he scheduled the prostate surgery first and it was a success. Now came the back operation and it was not a "piece of cake". Jack came through the surgery all right, but his therapy and recovery have taken a very long time. He
missed the 1996 season and things went very slowly after that.

His friends were worried, he just was not getting about like they hoped he would. He was downhearted and spent too much time in bed. We feared that he might never get to the woods again. Summer followed upon Spring and the velvet covered antlers of the bucks grew bigger with every day and so did the spirit of Jack Eddy. By the time CBM’s Annual Awards Ceremony took place in August of ’97, Jack Eddy was out and about. While he came to the event with the help of a wheeled chair, it was easy to see that he had made the leap from invalid to healing hunter.

When daylight came to the swamp, on November 15, 1997, Jack Eddy was in his favorite blind. With the help of a "walker" and a hunting buddy, Jack was where he belonged and it was only 5 hours later that he tallied "book buck" number 15. As you can see from his 1997 noted this "biggie" scored 159 B&C and that he passed up a 7 and a 10 point before zeroing in on the trophy he calls the "Walker Buck".

Jack Eddy is back and already has plans to add that 10 point he let slide by, to his trophy list next year. Do you doubt that he can do it? Not me, he is truly Mr. Successful!