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Author Topic: 27 point MN buck????  (Read 4888 times)

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Offline bowhunter73

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  Tonight at work somebody told me they heard on the radio, that this last week a 27 point Buck was shot south of whitewater, MN supposedly it is the new MN state record and the new 3rd largest over all. I found nothing on the internet so far. Just wondering if there is any truth to this? I think I would have hear more about this if it were true
Are you a hunter or do you just kill things? Respect the wildlife!

Offline tmjhamann

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yes someone shot one but i think it was 23 points  :scratch:
Troy Hamann

Offline Mayfly

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Minnesota bow hunter bags 'monster' buck
Linda Shudlick     4 days ago

The "Hokah Legend" is gone, but certainly not forgotten.

The huge 23-point white-tailed buck, also nicknamed "Grandpa Monster," was shot Ben Spanjers of Hokah earlier this month.

It's quite possibly the largest White Tail ever taken with a bow and arrow in Minnesota.

Spanjers heard about the buck several years ago, and this season got serious about bagging it.

It paid off.

Spanjers says he'll have the entire body mounted.


(Copyright 2008 by KARE. All Rights Reserved.)
All Material Copyright 2008 KARE-11. All Rights Reserved.

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Offline Mayfly

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Hunter Bags 23-Point Buck 
 
Posted: 9:37 PM Oct 24, 2008
Last Updated: 8:17 PM Oct 27, 2008
Email Address: news@weau.com

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Hunter Bags 23-Point Buck (10/27/08)
 
 

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A | A | AA local man comes face to face with a legendary deer and walks away with a 23-point trophy.

Ben Spanjers has been bow hunting for twenty years and on a night when the wind was just right, he came face to face with the “Hokah Legend.”

 
"He kind of busted me. He knew I was there but he didn't know for sure. He looked right up at me, but by that time I was at a full draw and I was lucky enough to get a shot off."

Spanjers says he waited until the next morning to find the buck, and is still shocked at the size.

"We actually had it scored by a certified scorer in La Crosse. He came up with 230 and 5/8. That's a green score gross, and he ended up netting 223 and 6/8."

Even with such a big trophy to brag about, Spanjers is still modest about the monster.

"It takes some luck. I'm not going to sit here and say it was all skill that's for darn sure. But I did some right things and I did some wrong things in the past and it finally worked out for me."

Spanjers says the best part about the entire experience is sharing the memory with the people closest to him.

"Overall it's been just wonderful. My friends and family have been just awesome through this. I always say if you can't celebrate something great in your life with people that mean a lot to you, it really doesn't mean much of anything."

Even though Spanjers has shot perhaps the buck of a lifetime, says he still plans on spending his week off in the woods.

"I'm off until next week. I'm going to get out early next week and try to get a couple does to fill some tags, put some venison in the freezer."

Spanjers shot the "Hokah Legend" on his father-in-law's land in Hokah, Minnesota, just south of La Crescent, across the river from La Crosse.
 
 

Offline Mayfly

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Here is a better article:


For the record, Spanjers’ buck weighed 310 pounds dead weight, 265 field-dressed. The massive rack had a 23½-inch inside spread. The 23-point buck was green-scored at 230 5/8 points by Chris Fechner, a certified Pope and Young scorer. Two other Pope and Young scorers verified Fechner’s score within one inch.

Jerry Pilger, who also lives in Hokah, has been one of many local residents who has watched, fed and photographed the buck for several winters. Pilger, in fact, found the pair of shed antlers from the buck in his backyard last December. He sold the sheds, but realized the legendary buck would eventually be killed by a hunter or vehicle, or die of disease or old age.

Pilger was one of the first townsfolk to praise Spanjers for his prized trophy buck.

“Ben certainly did his homework. He was well prepared to do the right thing when he made the kill,” Pilger said. “You don’t stumble onto 8-year-old bucks and they don’t stumble onto you. It was indeed man against nature.”

Spanjers, the youngest of nine children, grew up in Genoa, another tiny town across the Mississippi River. Maybe it was his upbringing that taught him about patience and discipline when hunting.

While Spanjers’ brothers taught him how to hunt deer, it was his father who bought him his first compound bow when he was 13 years old. His father also bought him his first shotgun, a .410, and a beagle.

“My dad gave me one shell and told me that when I brought back a rabbit, he would give me two shells,” Spanjers said, laughing. “It took me about 10 times before I finally got that first rabbit. I’m glad he didn’t give me a .22 rifle or I’d probably still be trying.”

Spanjers learned the significance of making the first shot the most important. At 6:35 p.m. on Oct. 3, it paid off.

While the “Hokah Legend” was observed by many hunters, no one could ever get a good shot at it during the archery or gun-deer hunting seasons.

Enter Spanjers’ father-in-law, George Walther, who owns a 12-acre parcel, including only two acres of wooded area.

“He saw the buck in his field in broad daylight. I found the tracks and knew it was the big one,” Spanjers said.

Spanjers borrowed a trail camera from hunting buddy Josh Swenson, who owns a popular hunting Web site at www.themidwesthunter.com. Over the next several weeks, Spanjers captured more than 500 photos of the buck on the trail camera. He learned that every seven or eight days the deer would show up near the camera at 6:30 p.m. Otherwise it frequented the field between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m. each day.

“Patterning” the deer paid off in a big way.

It was a “no wind day” on Oct. 3, when Spanjers climbed into his tree stand about 15 feet above ground.

Lo and behold, the majestic animal showed up just after 6:30 p.m. It came within five yards of Spanjers’ tree stand before he drew back and released the arrow.

“I just picked a shooting lane,” Spanjers said. “He bolted right when I shot and I hit him a little far back. I saw the arrow hit. I watched him for about 20 yards. It was exactly 6:35 p.m.”

Spanjers didn’t trail the deer, rather seeking help from Swenson and his brother-in-law, Kevin Walther, three hours later. However, finding only a few specks of blood, the three men decided to wait until the next day.

Another search party was formed early the next morning. Spanjers’ father-in-law found the dead deer near the Root River just before 8 a.m.

“George had a gut feeling the deer would be along the river,” Spanjers said.

“I didn’t sleep at all Friday night because I thought there was a chance of not finding it,” he said. “To tell you the truth, I wasn’t nervous during or after the shot, but I sure was nervous when my father-in-law hollered out that he found it.”

Before Spanjers knew it, there was a car caravan following him into Hokah. Townsfolk were as excited as he was for getting the “Hokah Legend.”

Spanjers, a 1989 graduate of De Soto High School and a self-taught butcher, said despite a hard frost on the night of Oct. 3, he was able to salvage only about 50 percent of the venison.

While Spanjers has been contacted by outdoors magazines and company outlets, he is simply happy to be the one who shot the big buck.

“Some people around here are calling it the ‘Hokah Legend.’ Others call it ‘Ben’s Buck.’ I prefer ‘Hokah Legend,’” said the affable Spanjers, adding that Travis Fishel of Prairie Ridge Taxidermy in Caledonia, Minn., is making the mount of the monster buck.

“To me, it’s a sporting thing. It was a matter of knowing I was lucky enough to have access to my father-in-law’s land and that I was blessed enough to get close to the buck,” Spanjers said, adding that bow hunting is therapy, a release from the stress of work.

“Archery is still archery. If you’re blessed with one big deer, that doesn’t mean it’s any easier getting another one,” he said. “I have always believed that if you’re not excited about shooting a doe with your bow, you might as well quit because the passion isn’t there. It’s not all about big bucks. That’s where people make their mistakes.”

Meanwhile, Pilger plans to watch and photograph other deer frequenting his backyard this winter.

“This one was Grandpa Monster, but he’s got an incredible gene pool,” said Pilger, who has seen at least one large buck in the same territory.

Neighbors report there is also another big buck in the area.

“I’m sure they’re both offspring from Grandpa Monster,” Pilger said.

Who knows? The “Hokah Legend” may live on.

Just ask Ben Spanjers.



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Offline Mayfly

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These are supposed to be trail cam pics of the buck:








Offline Mayfly

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I did some searching around....






« Last Edit: October 10/29/08, 04:29:09 AM by Tim »

Offline bowhunter73

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 :reporter; thanks for finding that    :imstupid:
Are you a hunter or do you just kill things? Respect the wildlife!

Offline Go Big Red!

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My wife would die if that was hanging on the wall in my house.  Just to see the look on her face...
Take a kid hunting and fishing... It'll be the best thing for generations to come.