Adrian Howard-Larsen and his father were out looking at the damage caused by the big storm that came through the county on Friday, November 18, and they encountered this fox standing in a bunch of broken evergreen branches. The little fellow didn’t seem too concerned when Adrian rolled down his window to snap some pictures with his cell phone, and at one point almost walked up to the car before turning around and trotting slowly off into the woods.
There is little doubt that the champion deer hunter in northeastern Minnesota this fall is Devyn Deschampe.
Deschampe, Grand Portage, was leading late in the big buck contest at Brimson Sportsmen’s Club (Hugo’s Bar) in Brimson, with his buck that weighed 239.6 pounds. He was in first place with the same buck (246 pounds) at the Fisherman’s Corner, Pike Lake contest and he won Buck’s Big Buck Contest in Grand Marais with the same deer that weighed 244 pounds on Buck’s scale.
Devyn’s hunting partner and close relative, Stacy Houglum, Grand Marais, was in second place in the Brimson contest with his 236.6-pound field dressed entry and was also in second in the Fisherman’s Corner contest with the same animal that weighed less on that scale, dropping to 223 pounds.
Buck’s Hardware Hank announced the 2016 winners of their annual “Buck’s Big Buck Contest” on Tuesday, November 22.
Devyn Deschampe will receive a new model 70 Winchester rifle for his champion buck. Winning bragging rights only, Deb Vannet, Hovland, finished second with a 240-pound buck and Stan Pelto recorded the third-largest buck at 230 pounds.
The biggest antler spread (by outside measurement of the antlers) was 23 inches by Kennedy Soehren. Soehren, from Tomah, Wisconsin, received $1,940 for his win. Finishing a whisker behind was the 2258-inch antler entry by Grand Marais Chad Smith. Trevor Deschampe of Grand Portage led for a while, but his 21¾-inch antlers entry fell to third place.
The lucky duck random drawing winner was Grant Smith. Smith will receive $1,940, half of the entry money.
Overall the firearms deer harvest in northeastern Minnesota was up 24.9 percent over last year, said Tom Rusch, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources area wildlife manager at Tower.
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