At press time the leader in Buck’s Big Buck Contest is Paul Swearingen of Buffalo, Minnesota. Swearingen leads in both the weight category at 233 pounds and in the antler spread category with a 21.5-inch rack.
At the end of the first week of deer hunting season, Buck’s Hardware in Grand Marais had registered 187 deer. Minnesota DNR Assistant Wildlife Manager Dave Ingebrigtsen said that is down from last year’s count of 216 in 2008. At press time the leader in Buck’s Big Buck Contest is Paul Swearingen of Buffalo, Minnesota. Swearingen leads in both the weight category at 233 pounds and in the antler spread category with a 21.5-inch rack.
At Lockport General Store in Lutsen, 126 deer were registered. At Mike’s Holiday in Tofte, 85 deer have been registered to date, up from 65 in 2008, according to Ingebrigtsen. On the Gunflint Trail at Windigo Lodge, four deer have been registered. Sandy Updyke at the Hovland Post Office, the county’s east end reporting station, reports that she has registered two does and 23 bucks. Reached at press time, she said just that morning she had registered “a couple of dandies.”
Deer rifle season ends November 22. Muzzleloader season begins November 28 and ends December 13. Archery season started in September and continues until December 31, 2009.
Dylan Deschampe, 12, of Cook County shows the eight-point buck he shot at 11:00 a.m. on Opening Day, November 7. It was Dylan’s first year of hunting. He was out with his dad, Ernie Deschampe, when he got the deer in Grand Portage.
Congratulations to all our successful hunters and to those still hunting, be safe!
Jessica Berg-Collman, 13, shot this beautiful eight-point buck on Nov. 9 while hunting with her mom, Julie Collman. The buck weighed in at 218 lbs. and had a 19 ½” spread. Jessica would like to thank Ranger Bob Maki for going to Canada so his deer stand was available. Left: A few days before she got her nice buck, Jessica was hunting in that spot—and she spotted something that “resembled a deer.” Closer investigation revealed this meticulously handcrafted deer about 400 feet away in her shooting lane, left there by Ranger Bob! Julie Collman said, “Jessica got the last laugh though, shooting her trophy from his stand while he was off goofing around in Canada!”
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