Kansas: 284-Pound Muzzleloader Buck!

Don Horton hunted the early muzzleloader season in south-central Kansas with Logan Mcallister. Here’s how his hunt went:

With the crops still standing in the fields due to late-spring rains, conditions were tough, but we were seeing bucks. We passed on several 140” to 150″ bucks early in the week, but then the Kansas heat persisted and sent the already wary bucks into a nocturnal pattern. I was hunting a 160-class 8-point, but the winds would give me little leeway in pursuing him.

I switched to a new location and checked a Reconyx camera that had not been checked in a week or so. I was elated to see that a great 9-point I estimated to score in the mid-150s was frequenting the area. The buck had appeared on the camera the previous evening and morning–during daylight!

With Logan acting as cameraman, we headed to the blind with a stiff south wind, which was perfect for an ambush. The buck had shown himself the previous afternoon at 6 p.m. I was hoping he would repeat and we could get an up-close look at him. At exactly 6:20 he appeared as if he had read the script.

Logan steadied the camera as I prepared for the shot from my .50- caliber muzzleloader. I squeezed the trigger; the buck’s back legs kicked up high, a good tell-tale sign. Logan captured the shot on video and we actually could see the copper bullet, illuminated by the sun, bury into the buck’s shoulder.

After a quick celebration we took up the trail and found the buck 60 yards away, expired. Later that evening at the scales the buck carried a live weight of 284 pounds and taped out at 159 2/8″.

I always look forward to my time each year with Logan and his family. This hunt is like a Homecoming!–Don H.

Great buck and a big-bodied hoss, congrats Don.