Bernie Brewer
Grouchy Old Fart
Shot with a bow about 5-10 miles from my house:
No, it wasn't me that shot it, but it's a heckuva deer!
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No, it wasn't me that shot it, but it's a heckuva deer!
A large crowd gathered Monday afternoon in front of Dutch's Trading Post as sportsmen and passers-by admired "Lucky Buck" an elusive 30-point whitetail buck taken by bow Sunday night west of Fond du Lac.
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Fond du Lac resident Wayne Schumacher was accepting handshakes and pats on the back as he related how he had managed to down the buck, which featured a huge non-typical rack, around dusk at 6:45 p.m. "towards Rosendale."
"It's so hard to believe," Schumacher said, noting he's hunted with bow and gun for more than 30 years. "I had known people had seen it in the area but I had no idea (it was nearby)."
The 30-point deer has an inside antler spread of 20½ inches. Its field-dressed weight was about 225 pounds. Estimates are that the deer is at least 4½ to 5 years old.
Schumacher said he was in a tree stand looking at partially wooded flat terrain.
The deer appeared and there was no time to be nervous, Schumacher said.
"In 30 seconds, it was over," he said, noting the shot covered about 15 yards.
The deer ran off 60 to 70 yards, and Schumacher's hunting partner, his brother, Pete, was first to reach the animal.
He realized its rack had at least 28 points.
The deer was shot at an angle behind the rib cage, and the arrow went through one of the front legs.
Schumacher said he and his brother dragged the deer and struggled to get it onto the tailgate of a truck. They stopped at Wayne's home in Fond du Lac to take some pictures. They then took the deer to Pete's home east of Fond du Lac to get it into a large cooler.
The brothers and a group of family and friends toasted with beer and homemade wine as they celebrated what is being called the "deer of a lifetime."
"I had to behave," Schumacher said, "but I had a little bit of a headache this morning."
He went to work Monday morning at his job with the construction and maintenance division with the City of Fond du Lac. He said he worked four hours Monday. He asked his boss if he could have the afternoon off.
Though he had up to three days to do it, Schumacher said he wanted to get the deer that is known by some as "Lucky Buck," registered.
He also admitted his mind wasn't on his job, which Monday, involved mixing concrete.
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Over the weekend, Schumacher and his wife, Nancy, helped their 24-year-old son, Adam, who "loves the sport" of bow hunting, move into a house in Dubuque, Iowa.
Schumacher remembers saying that he wanted to leave early enough Sunday to allow a couple hours of bow hunting that evening.
"Everything worked," he said. "It's luck."
Dozens gathered
At Dutch's, 258 N. Main St., hunters who gathered around the deer speculated on how many points were on each side of the rack. Most believed there were 16 on one side and 14 on the other.
"That's a dandy," one man dressed in camouflage said, hugging Schumacher.
Many others had their cell phones on camera mode, taking pictures to prove they saw a real 30-point buck.
Officials from Deer and Deer Hunting magazine, based in Iola, were headed to Fond du Lac, to determine a "green" score (before shrinkage) for official archery records.
Jake LaPine, owner of Dutch's, said he believes the animal will score more than 200 points.
One estimate Monday afternoon was at 251, before deductions. The score could put the deer close to a new Wisconsin state record.
The archery record for a non-typical whitetail rack is 233, scored on a 16-point buck taken in Buffalo County.
Schumacher used a Mathew's bow, Carbon Express arrow and three-blade head that he bought at Dutch's. Mathew's is based in Sparta and is the employer of Corrine Yohann, three-time national archery champion and daughter of former Dutch's owner, Dan Yohann of Fond du Lac.
Corrine said her dad called her with the news.
"It's cool for me because it's where I grew up," she said.
Schumacher said the memory would be preserved with a shoulder mount.
Schumacher said he has two head mounts in his home one taken by bow and another by gun.
Other memorable antlers are kept in the garage or as cap racks in his home.
"This one could hold some big caps," he said.
LaPine, who said the atmosphere at Dutch's was chaotic all day, said the deer is "unbelievable" and a "freak of nature."
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