As dusk fell on Nov. 30, it was the signal that another hunting season had drawn to a close. Over the last 30 days, hunters across the province and the country had been going to sleep full of excitement, ready to wake up at 6 a.m.
With less than prime weather conditions for the season, it wouldn’t have been surprising to see fewer deer being tagged, but that wasn’t the case. On Dec. 5, it was once again time for the local hunters that were lucky enough to tag a buck to show off their trophy racks at the annual Ashmont Buck of the Season at the Ashmont Agriplex.
A total of 64 sets of antlers were entered with hunters from all across the Lakeland, including entries from as far as Sandy River and Saskatchewan. This almost doubled the number of entries last year, which was a surprise to many because of the warmer than average weather that would usually cause deer to stay in hiding.
The categories with prizes up for grabs for the highest scoring entry included Typical Whitetail, Non-Typical Whitetail, Typical Mule, Non-Typical Mule, Moose, ladies Whitetail and Mule, as well as youth Whitetail and Mule.
Scott Jeffery, one of the events main organizers, estimated a total attendance of almost 300 hunters and enthusiasts, one of the best turnouts of recent years.
Typ. Whitetail: Randy Merkel 183”
Non Typ. Whitetail: Tyler Balash 199 4/8”
Typ. Mule Deer: Kirk Wolgien 207 5/8”
Non Typ. Mule: Jason Petruk 212 6/8”
Ladies Whitetail: Jackie Michaud 179 7/8”
Ladies Mule: Vivian Wolgien 158 4/8”
Youth Whitetail: Josh Eakins 167 4/8”
Youth Mule: Tysen Kostrub 168 2/8”
Moose: Alex Kitz 275 7/8”
Randy Merkel was able to bag his deer before he rubbed the velvet off of his antlers, a rare situation which was a neat attraction to the people in attendance.
The only moose that was entered was brought by Alex Kitz, a very impressive animal with a gross score of 275 7/8”, regardless of his automatic win in the Moose category.
Raymond Jeffery, one of the events many organizers and volunteers was pleasantly surprised with the turnout and the field of entries that came in, saying, “Over the past few years the turnout has just been all over the place, with almost 90 entries a few years ago, to only 39 last year. It was good to see the attendance back up this year despite the warm weather.”
Steven Jeffery, the main organizer and emcee of the event, thanked the large group of volunteers that gave their time to make the event a success, and the events main sponsor Warehouse Sports who contributed largely to the event.
Another hunting season has come to pass, and hunters all across the Lakeland are already talking about the big bucks of next November.
