A boy or girl’s first buck is monumental, a rite of passage as he or she enters into our deer-hunting fraternity. Meet Elijah Johnson with his first buck, a fine 6-pointer from DeKalb County. Elijah, using a .44-caliber rifle, got him at 7:30 a.m. on September 27, 2015, a day he will remember for a long time. Way to go buddy! Send me a picture of your kid’s first buck to mikehanback@yahoo.com. I will proudly post them all.
I posted on this giant awhile back when there were no details of the kill. I said then, “I have seen some snide comments on social media that this deer might be a pen deer, but who knows, anytime somebody kills a really big buck jealous people say that. I do hope it’s wild and legit.” Well, happy to report it is. The Wichita Eagle posted the full story. A few excerpts: Clayton Brummer may only be 16, but he knew enough to not let a world-class non-typical buck get away on Sept. 8. “When he stepped out of the corn, he gave me ‘the look,’ the one that tells you he’s seen you and he’s getting ready to run,” [...]
TWILIGHT: the soft, scattered light that illuminates the sky when the sun is just below the horizon, either from daybreak to sunrise or from sunset to nightfall. In the afternoon when the sun reaches 18 degrees below the horizon the twilight's brightness is nearly zero and night begins. When the sun again reaches 18 degrees below the horizon the following daybreak, night ends and morning twilight begins. In either of the twilight periods, the first and last minutes of legal shooting time, light is flat and gray; trees and other objects are silhouetted against the bright skyline, and there are no shadows in the woods. While either twilight is prime time for bucks to move, it is a tricky time for hunters. [...]
I’m not a big fan of rubber boots--I’d rather wear lighter and less bulky leather ones and spray them with Scent Killer—but a week ago I hunted Anticosti Island in northern Quebec, where the ground cover is more than 70% peat and bogs. If you don’t wear rubbers in that watery habitat, you just can’t go. Each day I slogged a minimum of 8 miles through boot-sucking bogs, and splashed across omnipresent streams and beaver ponds. I was pleasantly surprised with the Instinct Whitetail Rubber Boots I wore. They were comfortable and easy to walk in. Not bulky and clumsy like other rubber boots I’ve worn in the past. Favorite feature: The breathable, water-repellent and quiet fabric uppers, which look good in Outfitter camo. [...]
This monster is rampant on Facebook right now, causing all sorts of commotion; Ryan C., who found the deer, posted: I guess it's time for everyone to meet Roadie. He was found in Leawood, KS dead on the side of the road. And yes...I do have a salvage tag. Speculation is that this buck scores in the 190-200 range, with some saying as high as 212 gross. Ryan says he is going to wait 60 days for the rack to dry and then have it officially scored. What a shame. And no doubt some people in the area were bowhunting this buck, it will be interesting to see if and when any trail camera pictures of him start popping up.