The first Saturday of every December is practically a holiday in Ashmont. This year, like nearly every year since 1989, the Ashmont Buck of the Season event was hosted at the Ashmont Agriplex.
Throughout the day, hunters brought in their prizes – the heads and antlers of deer and moose shot throughout the past month. These were entered into the contest for judging and measuring to determine which would be considered the ultimate buck of the season.
Steven Jeffrey, Buck of the Season committee member and event organizer, was pleased with the turnout.
“This fall was a bit of a slower hunting season in general, but that didn’t stop people from coming out, entering their heads, and having a good time. We had a pretty steady flow of entries, and ended up with a total of 51 heads.”
Entries were sorted into one of eight categories and measured down to an eighth of an inch to determine the winners.
“I know mine isn’t one of the winners,” said Darcy Basaraba while entering in his head to the moose category, “but this is one of the best parts of the year. Everyone here likes to hunt, and we can appreciate all the other heads entered from other people.”
Rob Hanes won in two categories, the Typical Mule Deer and Moose categories. His moose head won with an S.C.I. score of 391 and 6/8 inches, making it the largest entry by far.
But even for those who weren’t entering a head, the day was still one looked forward to by many Ashmont community members.
“It’s really great, because we’re at the point now where the entire community knows that on the first Saturday of December, it’s time for Buck of the Season,” said Jeffrey. “People plan for it and wait for it. It’s not just for the hunters, it’s for everyone.”
“The Buck of the Season Committee especially wants to thank the volunteers, scorers, and the Ashmont community as a whole for coming out, having fun, and supporting Buck of the Season,” he added.
The complete list of category winners and measurements is as follows:
Ladies Typical Mule Deer - Justine Jeffrey 164 2/8”
Ladies Typical White-tailed Deer - Jaden Soshowski 184 5/8”
Youth Typical Mule Deer - Josh Ekins 157 1/8"
Youth Typical White-tailed Deer - Colten Yuschyshyn 162 3/8"
Typical White-tailed Deer - Cameron Hrybirchuk 188 1/8"
Non-typical White-tailed Deer - Randy Erickson 198 1/8”
Typical Mule Deer - Rob Hanes 181 2/8”
Moose - Rob Hanes 391 6/8”
