These photos are flying across the Internet this week and if they haven’t landed on your screen yet your friends are holding out. This monster whitetail buck was bowkilled last week in central Minnesota, more specifically on the Camp Ripley military facility (www.minnesotanationalguard.org). Information is sketchy, but the buck supposedly has 32 points (all may not be scoreable) and weighed 192 pounds.
The lucky bowhunter associated with the buck is Scott Okenek who hails from the Minnesota town of South Haven. According to some notes I’ve read on Internet posts, the buck has also been estimated to be 5 ½ years old—and looking at the buck’s antler mass and body, I’d have to agree.
To hunt the 53,000-acre Camp Ripley facility you need to apply in a lottery-style process. According to some of my acquaintances who have hunted the facility, you need to know the land, find a funnel, set a stand up, and wait. Hunting pressure is moderate and you won’t be popular if you wander around under other hunter’s stands.
Not only does the facility serve to train America’s finest, it also is managed as a conservation property with environmental stewardship as a main goal. That said, the results could be outstanding and I’m sure Mr. Okenek would agree. This buck has it all and then some, especially in the brow tine department. What do you think this buck would score? I’d bet my truck it’s a Boone and Crockett contender. Congratulations!