Welch, Minn. / Hunter fells 27-point buck using 1-shot muzzleloader
Haul reflects interest in primitive weapons, ultimate fighting By Chris Niskanen
Pioneer Press
Article Last Updated: 11/12/2008 12:16:40 AM CST
Kelly Gustafson, 23, of Welch, Minn., bagged the buck of a lifetime near her hometown Saturday, Nov. 8, the first day of the Minnesota firearms deer season. Gustafson downed the 27-point buck with one shot from her muzzeloader rifle. An ultimate fighting fan, she named it the "Lesnar Buck" after her favorite fighter, Brock Lesnar, the former University of Minnesota wrestler who fights Randy Couture Saturday, Nov. 15 in Las Vegas. Kelly Gustafson, 23, of Welch, Minn., bagged a 27-point buck near her hometown Saturday, Nov. 8, the first day of the Minnesota firearms deer season. Gustafson said she was wearing blaze orange when she bagged the buck, but took it briefly for the picture because the clothing is bloody. (Kelly Gustafson, special to the Pioneer Press)Kelly Gustafson, meet Brock Lesnar.
Actually, the 23-year-old Welch, Minn., woman never has met the former University of Minnesota wrestling champion who is one of the biggest names in the sport of ultimate fighting.
But Gustafson shot a buck so big Saturday that her family named it after the thick-shouldered Lesnar.
The "Lesnar Buck" has 27 points, three of which were broken off in a recent fight, Gustafson said. The real Lesnar takes on Randy Couture for the heavyweight title Saturday in the Ultimate Fighting Championship in Las Vegas.
"I'm a huge (UFC) fan, and we went to (Lesnar's) last fight," said Gustafson, mother of a 7-month-old girl. "This buck has a lot of character, and three of his tines were broken off, so that's why we call him the Lesnar Buck."
Gustafson said she was hunting alone on her family's property along the Cannon River near Welch on Saturday morning, the opening of Minnesota's firearms deer season, when she spotted a doe running past her.
An experienced deer hunter, Gustafson said the doe was acting like a buck was pursuing it. Because it is the peak of the deer-breeding season, Gustafson knew she should look for a deer with antlers to appear near the doe.
"That's when I heard this low grunting," Gustafson said in a telephone interview, then doing her best buck-grunt impersonation.
She soon saw the buck in pursuit, and, after seeing its huge antlers through her binoculars, Gustafson decided to shoot it with her single-shot muzzleloader rifle. She brought it down with a single slug from 40 yards away.
The buck's many tines look like a small oak tree on its head. The base of the rack is so thick Gustafson can't reach her hand around it.
"It's been pretty crazy around here, with all the phone calls and text messages," said Gustafson, who shot a 10-point trophy buck last year.
She said she was using a modern muzzleloader rifle, a design based on 19th century black-powder guns, because she recently became interested in "primitive" hunting weapons. She also is an avid bow hunter. With a muzzleloader, she said, "You have one shot that has to count."
Her husband, Rich, works for the local company Robinson Outdoors, which makes deer-hunting clothing and hunting products that reduce human scent. Gustafson said there are already plans to use her picture and the buck in the company's catalog next year.
(While the photos show she isn't wearing blaze orange, Gustafson said she was wearing the legally required clothing while she was hunting and removed it briefly for photos. Local conservation officer Tyler Quandt confirmed she had been hunting legally.)
Saturday wasn't the first time her family had seen the four-legged version of Lesnar.
Three days before the opener, they saw it crossing the road near their home, pursuing does. Gustafson said her family practices "deer management," which means they don't shoot young bucks with small antlers and they manage croplands for deer. Using remote cameras, they have seen other large-antlered bucks on their land — including one they call "Big Boy" — but the Lesnar Buck was a surprise visitor.
No one else in the neighborhood had ever seen it.
"He just came out of nowhere," said Gustafson of the buck, which scored a preliminary 202 5/8 inches using the Boone & Crockett measurement system. The final score can be taken after a mandatory 60-day drying period.
While the rest of her family hunted other parts of their property Saturday, Gustafson climbed her stand alone about 5 a.m. and waited to see a deer — maybe even the huge buck named Lesnar.
After she downed the buck, she sat for a few minutes, hardly believing her luck.
The only thing that could top the hunting experience, she said, is meeting the real Lesnar.
"I saw him once, and he's a lot bigger in real life," Gustafson gushed.
The same could be said for the giant buck she bagged Saturday with one shot.
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Topic: 27 Point in Welch MN (Read 13372 times)
