the top typical gun at 182 7/8 was killed by Jimmy Bailey near Akron/Wedgeworth in Hale Co in 1974. Jimmy and friends hunted with a single tracking dog. They would drive the dirt roads till they found a fresh BIG track and put the dog on it, then try and cut the dog off by guessing where the deer would go.

When I went to Hale Co in 1980 anytime anyone killed a big deer someone would ask if it was as big a Baileys. I decided to go see the deer myself. I went to Jimmys house and he allowed me to examine the deer. It had never been measured. I put the tape to it...three times...sure I had made a mistake. It grossed over 200" and the mount was huge. Jimmy didn't weight this deer but he said he killed a 305# buck a week earlier that was NOT as big as this deer. I do not doubt that, the neck skin was over wrapped on itself to fit the huge form....that was not big enough for the skin.

Jimmy allowed me to take the deer to Joel Stone( Stones taxidermy, Leeds Al) to have him score it. We came up with a 187+ net. I told Jimmy to take it to a Miss B&C measurer to get it officialy score as it was a new Al State record typical.