Many hunters are familiar with the “Big Buck Club,” which recognizes anyone who harvests a buck weighing at least 200 pounds with a patch and the distinction of joining an elite group of Maine deer hunters.
But far fewer realize how rare it is for a Maine deer to top 300 pounds field dressed. Only a handful have ever reached that milestone.
Troy Frye, who compiles and analyzes the state’s harvest records, regularly shares his findings on his Facebook page Maine Hunting History, Statistics and Charts. He also founded the group Allies of Traditional Maine Hunting.
Frye has spent the past 25 years documenting Maine’s deer harvest, and has made much of his work public over the last 12. One of his tables, shown below, highlights the exceptionally large bucks that surpassed 300 pounds.
He compiled the chart by digging through decades of Maine Fish and Game magazines, which once published annual lists of the biggest bucks before The Maine Sportsman took over that tradition.
“There will always be people who say there were other 300-pound deer,” Frye said. While he doesn’t doubt those claims, he said he can only include deer verified in the Big Bucks of Maine Club list because otherwise there’s no proof.
Frye notes that his statistics for the 2025 season are unofficial until the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife releases its final numbers in late spring 2026. His current figures come directly from the department’s dashboard — he’s simply presenting them in a more accessible format.
Based on the numbers so far, Frye believes Maine is on track for the highest deer harvest ever recorded.
