Jim Cranny of Mitchell, S. Dak. was out during the early season fall rut scouting a pack of five does waiting for a big buck to walk out. After an hour or so wait, this 10-point buck strolled out. Cranny took the buck and quickly reloaded to take one of the does. The buck scored 176 on the Boone & Crockett scale. Outdoor Life Online Editor
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David O’Hara of Greene County, Penn. learned how to hunt when he was 12-years-old. Every season since, he has hunted with his best-friend, his father. The two have scouted and harvested deer in western Pennsylvania for a quarter century, but it wasn’t until November 2005 that O’Hara took the largest buck of his and his father’s careers. In the late afternoon, O’Hara watched a 10-pointer walk out with a large 8-pointer. Knowing the biggest buck usually comes last, he waited for this 15-point buck to stroll out and took one shot. The father-son pair still tell stories of this 175-score buck. Outdoor Life Online EditorFor this foursome of Oakley, Cali. natives, opening weekend 2005 was an almost surreal hunt. While hunting mule deer in Montana, each harvested a buck, all of which had sizable racks totaling 30-points. Both Micky Lopez and Vincent Quezada shot their first bucks. Experienced hunters Bill Lebron and Jeff Quezada took big bodied bucks, each of which weighed over 185-pounds and had 7-points or more. Outdoor Life Online EditorIn the second week of Missouri’s firearms deer season, Ben Griffin of Shreveport, LA was hunting with a longtime friend. Situated just a mile apart, both saw a trophy buck chasing a doe across a fence line. After getting permission to hunt the other land, it was less than an hour before Griffin landed two shots on the 10-point buck. Despite a steady blood trail, the two almost lost the whitetail until they heard movement in a near by brush pile. Afterwards, Griffin showed the property owner his take and thanked her for letting him finish the hunt. Outdoor Life Online EditorJudy Maida of Prince George, British Columbia, Canada was scouting her property with her husband when they came across some large tracks. For months, Maida searched for the mule deer, until on a November morning she saw the tracks again. After a several hour stalk, she had to take a 250 yard neck shot or risk not taking one. With a thunderous boom, Maida dropped this big bodied 8-point buck. Outdoor Life Online EditorTerry Arnold and Richard Kurtzeborn were out hunting together near Rolla, MO in the Mark Twain National Forest, not too far from their homes in Herculaneum. It was opening weekend on a cool day, and Arnold spotted a sizable buck. As he was reaching for the two-way radio he heard a shot from Kurtzeborn, who yelled over the radio “All I can see is antlers.” When they got the buck back to camp, they estimated its weight at 190 lbs. and scored its rack at 151. Despite the trophy kill, Kurtzeborn jokingly said, “No matter how you fix ’em, antlers taste like dirt.” A true ‘first come, first serve’ hunter at his finest. Outdoor Life Online EditorOn a late season hunt in Fairview, S. Dak, Shana Van De Stroet was in a blind with her dad just a mile from their house when she spotted a buck on the other side of a field. Showing no signs of buck fever, Van De Stroet dropped this 12-point buck from just over 200 yards with her Remington Model 7 .223. Her take scored a solid 175 on the Boone & Crockett scale. Outdoor Life Online EditorJim Cason decided to wait just 30 more minutes before going home to take his boys out for a mid-day hunt during Thanksgiving weekend, when he caught a glimpse of a tall rack. Then the buck crossed the thicket and walked up right underneath Cason’s stand and then around the tree taking away any shot. Cason stood and leaned around the tree, set his sights and fired. After a five minute wait, he climbed down the tree and found the 10-pointer to take home. His wife was so proud of the 163 B&C; scored buck that she made it their family’s Christmas card. Outdoor Life Online EditorJ.E. Lamport grew up on a farm in Melita, Manitoba, Canada. He worked in the fields and was an outdoorsman, but at the same time he never really hunted. It wasn’t until his eldest son became extremely interested in hunting that Lamport gave deer hunting a chance. After moving to Lake Francis, Manitoba, Lamport and his son went out on the first morning of the season. Not thirty minutes later, Lamport harvested his first buck, a big bodied deer that scored 130 on the B&C; scale, during his first hunt at the ripe old age of 63. Outdoor Life Online EditorAlison Batot of Harlingen, Texas was home from school on Christmas Break when she headed out on a hunt with her brother and dad. While she was a seasoned deer hunter, she had never taken a buck. The three were looking for a buck her dad had scouted when this 8-point walked out. One Winchester Model 70 shot later, Batot took her first buck on the Canelo Ranch, a public open range ranch. Outdoor Life Online EditorSam Collora of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa is an avid deer hunter and owns “Mrs. Doe Pee’s Buck Lures” with his wife Judi. On January 8, 2002, Collora took this 11-point buck, whose rack grossed 204-inches, with his .50 caliber Knight MK85. Outdoor Life Online EditorAfter hunting the bow, shotgun, and muzzle load seasons without seeing a deer, Adam Cerulli, 15, of Plymouth County, Mass. became understandably discouraged. But, on December 17, 2005, the first season hunter’s luck changed. It took one .50 caliber T/C Renegade shot to take this 8-point, that scored 152 on the Boone & Crockett scale. When asked how he was going to follow up his trophy, he said, “I’d really like to try and get a doe next year.” Outdoor Life Online EditorHewitt Meeder, 79, of Ripley, NY has hunted nearly every year for well over a half century. However, it wasn’t until his 62-season on a stand that a trophy buck crossed his sights. By mid-afternoon on November 29, 2005, Meeder saw this 13-point buck approaching his blind. One 20-gauge shotgun blast later, and Meeder had his all-time trophy. To this day, he doesn’t know if his take was based on years of hunting experience or just dumb luck. Outdoor Life Online EditorHewitt Meeder, 79, of Ripley, NY has hunted nearly every year for well over a half century. However, it wasn’t until his 62-season on a stand that a trophy buck crossed his sights. By mid-afternoon on November 29, 2005, Meeder saw this 13-point buck approaching his blind. One 20-gauge shotgun blast later, and Meeder had his all-time trophy. To this day, he doesn’t know if his take was based on years of hunting experience or just dumb luck. Outdoor Life Online Editor
Hunting seasons are in full swing across the country, and we’re happy to showcase trophy kills from our readers. Check out the 15 proud outdoorsmen in this gallery with heavy-tined bucks and fat fish. Send your photos to olletters@time4.com
