Posted on 11/24/2005 2:37:55 PM PST by Ranald S. MacKenzie
When Jeff Severson of Rice Lake, Wisconsin traveled to Kansas last fall to bow hunt for deer, he had no idea he was going to take a world record white-tailed buck. Severson had been coming to Clay County for the past five years to bow hunt because it had become increasingly difficult to take a trophy buck in Wisconsin.
The 19-point buck he took in Clay County last fall had main beams of 25 and 7/8 and 26 and 5/8 inches. The brow tines were 6 and 5/8 and 7 and 7/8 inches. Several of the other tines exceeded 12 inches in length. The inside spread of the rack was 18 and 4/8 inches.
It was a trophy buck by any standard.
Buckmasters gave Severson¹s buck an overall composite score of 236 2/8, making it a world record in the semi-irregular class taken with a compound bow.
Severson took the buck on public hunting land on Nov. 12th 2004. He was videotaping a medium sized buck that came near his tree stand. When the buck began to behave as if it were afraid of something coming through a nearby cedar thicket, Severson realized an opportunity was at hand.
He put down the camera and grabbed his compound bow.
Out of the brush came a huge buck that was intent on intimidating the smaller buck he'd videotaped. To stop the buck so he might get a shot, Severson made a doe bleat call.
The enormous buck hesitated with only the head and huge rack and front shoulder available for a shot. The rest of the buck's body was behind a tree or obscured by heavy brush. Severson thought he might be able to draw a bead just in front of the tree and bring down the deer.
He was right. The massive buck ran about 70 yards into a field before it fell. The arrow, which had entered the front shoulder, broke and part of it went off at a right angle and tore through vital organs. Severson found the rest of the arrow shaft and feathers near the spot where he'd shot the deer. He knew immediately he had a fine specimen.
And if the rest of the world didn't know that Clay County could produce a record whitetail buck, it soon would. During the past year Severson's buck has been on the front cover of at least three hunting magazines including Big Buck, a Canadian publication, Rack, an Alabama-based Buckmasters magazine and White Tail Fanatics of Iowa, and it has been featured in at least eight others. He received the Golden Laurel Trophy at an award ceremony hosted by Buckmasters and he and the buck are pictured on page 390 of Buckmasters Trophy Record Book as a world record.
Severson has also had numerous opportunities to speak at various hunting and outdoor shows and other events. He and his wife, Barb, are members of the Christian Deer Hunters Association and have been giving programs to churches and hunting groups as part of his contribution as a spokesman for that organization.
"We came to Kansas because the deer weren't as adapted. I hunt a lot of places because the deer are always changing. I'm looking for places where white tail are migrating and they haven't established seasons yet, but they will when the populations are better established," Severson said in a recent interview.
About hunting in Clay County, Severson said, "I guess the bigger buck quality is pretty good, but I haven't seen them this year. I believe there are some big deer here because I have found the shed antlers. But the deer here are evolving. They are getting smarter. If you want to be successful, you have to stay ahead of the game and it only lasts for five or six years and then you have to move on.
"When I first came here about six years ago, these deer were so stupid that we couldn't believe it. But now we may have to go to our normal tactics to see the bigger deer. "For example, the first year I was hunting here, I was video taping a big buck about four and half years old. It looked right at me. I made a decision to shoot it. So I put the video camera down, took the bow off the hanger, drew back and shot and all the while he's looking at me.
"You haven't seen deer act like that in 20 years in Wisconsin. Now, the deer here in Kansas aren't as tolerant of intrusion. Now, when you hunt an area and disturb the deer they move on. A few years ago they'd be back in just a short time. And they are becoming increasingly nocturnal. They adapt to survive. You can't make any mistakes if you're going to get a big deer."
There is a lot more emphasis on getting a trophy rack now than there used to be Severson said and so hunting pressure on trophy deer has increased.
"There is constantly deer hunting on TV and the young hunters see the hunters getting big deer with big racks. It used to be kids were excited to get almost any deer regardless of its rack. Now it has to be a trophy," he said.
"I probably hunt fifty days a year if you count all species. At home I might just go out for a little while after work. Down here I hunt all day. My wife loves hunting too and that¹s the beauty of it. We can do it together. This year she didn¹t draw a tag for Kansas but she go a nice bull elk in Wyoming," Severson said.
Will Severson continue to hunt in Clay County? He doesn't know. It all depends on whether he continues to draw a tag and how wiley the deer become.
©Clay Center Dispatch 2005
Does the number of tines & size of the antlers determine the age of the buck? or just his size? They do lose the rack every year, right?
I wonder how much that bad boy weighed in at?
Not 9... 19 but just the same if you don't like hunting, don't hunt.
Yes, they do lose their racks every year. I believe their ages are best determined by the wear and tear on their teeth and jaw bones.
Hey, at least he took it with a bow. THAT's hunting.
Do you know how destructive these animals can be? They are already armed in a manner of speaking.
There are lots of mule deer and a fair number of whitetails too in the area. Pretty good considering they were almost extinct in the 30's.
Age is a factor, along with diet, genetics, etc.. Some ranches in Texas are actually using artificial insemination to breed tropy bucks with big, healthy does.
The age and genetics of the white tail species has an effect on the size of the antlers. The quality of the deer's food supply also plays a role. The antlers are shed annually beginning usually in December or January and begin to grow again in April or May.
Good story.
a Bumpersticker I saw a little while ago, black background, white letters: Gut Deer?
"Is that the guy's IQ? I sure hope he's really proud of his "Kill". As I've said before........arm the innocent animals. Let's make it even."
Well, these innocent animals are armed -- they are WILD animals and the fact that they survived all the dangers they face in the wild long enough to be that old/big means they aren't poor little Bambis dancing with wolves openly in the forest, an easy target for the mean old hunter and other predators.
And this guy who spent all that time scouting the forest for deer, learning how to use a stick with a string, and how to make a clean, humane shot with one, probably had quite a disadvantage killing this deer.
And this innocent animal probably lived a beautiful life in the wild, and died swiftly, and in the wild, unlike the turkey or pig you probably feasted on today, sir (or ma'am).
And, unlike the animals you probably feasted on today, this animal was not shot full of hormones, or lived on a factory farm in unnatural conditions.
So I wouldn't question this guy's IQ if I were you until I learned a little more about what is involved in deer hunting.
Not only is Doug a great hunter, he is a fine man too.
Go back to your favorite PETA site.
OMG, you know him? And yes, you're right, he is a fine man.
"Does the number of tines & size of the antlers determine the age of the buck? "
No, to get their age you have to cut them open and count the rings.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.