Buckeye Big Bucks keep the tradition alive

I'm not sure what drives hunters, including myself, to be so enamored with those beautiful, heavy antlers carried atop deer and their cervid relatives. Even so, I'm certain that the feelings aren't new. They surely find their roots in times long before written language, with the elegantly rough paintings found scattered on rock walls across the continents journalizing those ancient hunts. The shaman's prehistoric beat still lingers in our hearts, and our breath still catches at the majesty of what we see. While the hunt continues to bring meat to the table just as it has throughout history, the antlers draw many to endless hours of woods wandering and study. I believe it's an acknowledgment of the dominant buck's ability to survive and become an authoritarian presence in his own kingdom. Those antlers signify strength, longevity and the power to defend its domain and the bravery to ward off predators. Eventually, it will lose its place to a younger rival, an accident, disease or possibly a hunter — whether two- or four-legged. That's the way of his world, but he won't disappear. His history is written in the DNA of his offspring who will someday challenge rivals for their place in their wooded kingdoms. Ohio's Buckeye Big Buck Club was created in 1957 to celebrate the many fine buck deer that have been collected by hunters throughout the state and the stories that are carried with them. Their records add a bit of immortality to the hunting experience and to the whitetail deer they celebrate. The organization was founded by Merrill Gilfillan, who served as a biologist for the Ohio Division of Wildlife and who doubled down as an outdoor writer. His goal was simple: to increase the appreciation and understanding of the state's then minimal, but expanding, deer herd. Buckeye Big Buck Club strives to encourage wise management of this valued resource while building positive relationships between hunters and landowners. The club also promotes trophy hunting, a practice that sometimes garners undeserved negative connotations. Trophy hunting is very selective and allows many smaller, younger bucks and does to pass by a hunter's stand without harvest — deer that in all likelihood carry the genes of the very deer the hunter hopes to take. If trophy hunting has a fault, it can actually be the lack of harvest in certain areas and situations. Poaching, illegal hunting methods and habitat degradation are far larger concerns when managing big game populations. Each year, Buckeye Big Bucks uses the scoring system developed by the Boone and Crockett Club to measure and honor record-worthy deer. A "typical" antlered deer must score a 140 while a "nontypical" will need to measure at least a 160 for inclusion in the records. Well over 19,000 bucks have made this honor roll since the club's inception. Today, the Buckeye Big Buck Club works closely with the Division of Wildlife in tabulating Ohio's deer harvest by making the searchable list available on the division's website, https://apps.ohiodnr.gov/wildlife/bigbuck/. To learn more about the Buckeye Big Bucks Club, visit http://buckeyebigbuckclub.org/. So who holds the top spots for the 182 Ohio Big Bucks taken in Hancock County? Typical records: • Crossbow: Larry Rader's deer was taken in 2000, scoring 182.25. Its overall rank is 75, and is No. 1 in Hancock County. • Muzzleloader: David Lammers' 1997 buck scored 181.375. It ranks 84th overall and holds second place in Hancock County. • Modern Shotgun: Jeremy Downing's 2016 buck scored 172.375. It ranks at 393 and is third-largest in Hancock County. • Longbow: Robert Ebert's 1988 buck scored 171.25. Its overall rank is 473 and captures sixth place in Hancock County. • Handgun: Tom Reffitt's 1990 buck scored 140.75. It's the only Hancock County Ohio Big Buck registered that was harvested by handgun. The deer ranks 14,759 and stands at 134th in Hancock County. • The top typical buck taken by a woman was harvested by Alissa Rutherford in 2009 with her shotgun. It scored 166.5 and ranks 923 overall, but is the ninth-largest typical buck taken in Hancock County. Nontypical records: • Crossbow: Harley Heldman's 2006 buck scored 195.625. Its overall rank is 418 but is No. 1 in Hancock County. • Longbow: Quinn Crawford's 2018 buck scored 189.625. The deer's overall rank is 659 and second place in Hancock County. • Muzzleloader: Brian Lee's 2003 buck scored 178.5. The deer's overall rank is 1304 and places fifth in Hancock County. • Modern Shotgun: Brett Smarr's 2005 buck scored 177.375. It ranks 1388 but lands at sixth place in the county. • The top nontypical buck taken by a woman was harvested by Katie Young in 2017 while using a crossbow. It scored 176.5 and ranks 1463 overall but is the ninth-largest nontypical buck taken in Hancock County. The current royalty holding top honors as the largest deer legally harvested in Ohio: Brad Jerman took the biggest typical buck on record while hunting with a crossbow in Warren County. It scored 201.125. Ohio's record nontypical buck goes to Michael Beatty while longbow hunting in Greene County. That bruiser scored 304.75. The oldest record on file was a buck taken in Scioto County in 1943 by Howard Maham. It scored a respectable 155.00. While these bucks will remain as Ohio Big Buck records, their placement is up for grabs. You know what they say about records: they're made to be broken. Archery season opens Sept. 26. "Maybe stalking the woods is as vital to the human condition as playing music or putting words to paper. Maybe hunting has as much of a claim on our civilized selves as anything else. After all, the earliest forms of representational art reflect hunters and prey. While the arts were making us spiritually viable, hunting did the heavy lifting of not only keeping us alive, but inspiring us. To abhor hunting is to hate the place from which you came, which is akin to hating yourself in some distant, abstract way." — Steven Rinella Along the Way: The Natural Resource Assistance Council (NRAC) has announced that the application period for District 13 is open for Clean Ohio Green Space Conservation Funding. The district includes Allen, Hancock and Putnam counties. Approximately $3,728,453 is available to local communities and nonprofits to preserve natural areas, protect streams and create outdoor recreational opportunities. Applications will be accepted through Jan. 22, 2021, and can be downloaded at www.pwc.state.oh.us or obtained through county NRAC representatives. Submit applications to Chairman Howard Elstro, 50 Town Square, Lima, OH 45801-4900. NRAC requires 12 copies be submitted. Local representatives are: Allen County, Kevin Haver, Johnny Appleseed Park District, tblack@jampd.com; Hancock County, Tim Brugeman, Blanchard River Watershed Partnership, tbrugeman@woh.rr.com; and Putnam County, Jeff Giesige, Putnam Soil & Water, giesige_jeff@yahoo.com. Step Outside: • Tomorrow: Sporting Clays, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. UCOA, 6943 Marion Township 243, Findlay. • Thursday-Friday: Trap and Skeet, open to the public, 5 p.m., UCOA, 6943 Marion Township 243, Findlay. • Aug. 22: Youth Fun Day, noon-3 p.m. The free event includes firearms safety, shotgun clay target shooting and 22 rifle shooting. Targets, ammunition, instruction, door prizes and lunch provided. Open to all ages 18 and younger. Personal firearms permitted. Mount Blanchard Gun Club, 21655 Delaware Township 186. Questions: Bob Yoder, 419-273-5057. • Aug. 22: Rifle and Pistol Match, 2 p.m., Mount Blanchard Gun Club. Centerfire and rimfire handguns and rifles permitted. Abrams is a retired wildlife officer supervisor for the state Division of Wildlife in Findlay. He can be reached at P.O. Box 413, Mount Blanchard, OH 45867-0413 or via email at jimsfieldnotes@aol.com.