Despite lower-than-usual numbers of antlers brought in, the sixth annual Busby and District Fish and Game Association’s antler scoring and tradeshow on Jan. 25 was a success.
In total there were 24 sets of antlers brought in this year, said association membership chair and event organizer Brian Yagos. In 2013 there were 36 sets of antlers on display.
Yagos said he suspects the decline in the number of antlers brought in is the result of some tough weather of late, which has reduced the number of animals to be harvested.
Among the 24 antlers, there were only four that scored well enough to end up in the record books.
Two sets will be entered into the Boone and Crockett book, which meant they received at least 170 points and were killed by a rifle.
The other two are headed into the Pope and Young book for racks scoring at least 160 points and killed by bow and arrow.
With a decline in antlers came a decline in overall attendance, Yagos said. There were only about 150 people who came through the doors, but he said he wasn’t worried about the dedication of those in attendance.
“The people who are coming do support us quite well,” he said.
Even though the number of racks was lower than usual, that didn’t mean there weren’t still stories to be told about how they were bagged.
Stuart Kremp brought four racks to the show — one mule deer, one moose and two whitetail deer, one of which his wife Samantha bagged.
He said the two of them got into hunting several years ago because they both like the outdoors, and their continued involvement is as much about watching wildlife as it is about the meat.
“It’s not totally for the sport,” Kremp said.
He told the story of how he bagged the mule deer this past November, explaining he had been watching it for a while but had not been able to get a good look at it.
Its big body and the “biggest antlers I’d seen this year” prompted Kremp to want to harvest it, so later on when he saw it again, he hopped out of his car and trailed it for about 10 minutes before finally pulling the trigger, figuratively and literally.
Another hunter with a story to tell was Carolyn Barabash, who brought in a whitetail deer rack that she also harvested this past November.
She said she had been sitting in her tree stand for about 90 minutes when the deer came out of the bush.
It was just standing there looking at a bunch of does, which were in turn looking at her.
It was just a “gut feeling” and the deer’s “very dark horns” that made Barabash decide that was the deer she wanted.
Although only brought in her whitetail deer, she said she also bagged a moose last year that was a more interesting tale.
For that one, she was visiting a friend’s property when the friend was making moose calls.
Barabash said she heard a grunt coming from the swamp, and upon investigating came across her moose with two other moose. She made her own moose call to get its attention before shooting it.
Matthew Jarema took first place in the non-typical whitetail category with a score of 210 3/8.
Joe Garbin scored 175 6/8 for his whitetail.
Stuart Kremp’s mule deer earned him 152 3/8 points.
Brayden Borle won the youth whitetail division with a score of 156 3/8.
Melissa Burchett earned 169 2/8 points for her antlers to win the ladies category.
Wayne Mirus had the best moose antlers.
There were no elk racks brought in this year, Yagos said.
