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52 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, January 28, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend January 13, 2005 Just another ghost buck story? By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune GRANTS PASS — When Jason Frazier walked into the Wapiti Archery Shop here in the fall, he dropped a grainy picture onto the counter and the jaws of the bowhunters there nearly hit the floor. There, in black and white, is Frazier posed in the field with his bow and a black-tailed buck deer with antlers the likes of which no one had ever seen. Protruding from the buck’s forehead were a series of long, thick antler tines greater than anything shop owner Dan Syfert has seen in books, magazines or antler shows. "It was an impressive deer, just huge non-typical antlers," Syfert says. "By the looks of it, it looked like it would have been not just a state record, but a darn good record." But where the picture ends, the mystery begins. Advertisement Frazier never has produced the actual antlers for measurement or bragging rights at Wapiti or other bowhunter haunts around town, leading some bowhunters to wonder whether Frazier’s mega-buck is a future state record or just a world-class hoax. And the bowhunting community wants Frazier simply to back his story the way all trophies get validated — show everyone those antlers. "It’s usually not true if people aren’t running around showing you" the antlers, Syfert says. "I call it the Ghost Buck," he says. Frazier insists this is no ghost story. The 32-year-old roofing estimator and avid bowhunter says the story of his huge buck is true, but right now he can’t produce the antlers to prove his story. They were stolen, he says, about four weeks ago after he left them with an unnamed friend who was going to mount them. "Somebody ripped the horns off," Frazier says. "It seems somebody I know took them from me. I can’t find out who or where." Frazier says he has more pictures, but declined Wednesday to reveal them, saying his "legal representation" advises against it. Frazier says he did not report the alleged antler theft to police, saying he left that to his attorney, whom Frazier declined to identify Wednesday. Oregon State Police fish and wildlife troopers says they have yet to hear of Frazier’s claims. Frazier also has declined to identify the friend who had the antlers, or the friend who he says snapped the photographs. "I let my attorney handle everything," Frazier says. "That’s all I can say now." But he’s heard the whispers. He knows of his doubters. And he knows of those who demand to see the antlers before they believe in them. "There’s a bunch of people who have asked me about it," Frazier says. "What’s to tell? I know it ain’t (a fake)." What Frazier does tell about his buck is limited. He found and shot it hunting around Nov. 12, near the end of the general bow season, in the Pleasant Creek area. His 4-year-old daughter accompanied him, he says. "I had photos to prove it," Frazier says. "I was there. My daughter was there." Syfert was there at Wapiti when Frazier produced that grainy black-and-white photograph shortly after Frazier says he shot the buck. Immediately, they inspected the antlers and Syfert was suspicious. Syfert even took the photo to Wal-Mart and had it enlarged. Still, he says, he couldn’t tell whether it was real, a doctored picture or a fake rack. "It’s just one of those toss-up deals," Syfert says. "I had at least 200 people look at that photograph, and no one could say it was a fake. "If it was a doctored photograph, somebody did a good job," Syfert says. Syfert says he since threw the photos away. Frazier says he believes the antlers are worth good money if he can get them authenticated and scored as a record. The money, he says, would come from marketing the products he used to kill the record buck. But no antlers, no money. Had he known at the time, he says, he would have taken more precautions. "I had no idea they were worth as much as they were," Frazier says. Syfert says he has no idea whether the Ghost Buck saga may ever be proven or debunked. After all, there’s no evidence in the public arena now that shows the buck is real, nor is there evidence to the contrary. "It’s one of those things," Syfert says. "A guy may never know the truth." Frazier says he knows the truth, and he’ll prove his buck is no ghost once he gets his antlers back. "I don’t care about those people," he says of the disbelievers. "When the time comes, I’ll be more than glad to sit down and give you all of it," he says. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers