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Hokah man recalls bagging monster white tail buck
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By Charlie Warner
Argus News Editor
Word of a monster white tail buck roaming the thick woods and steep valleys of eastern Houston County has been circulated by bow and gun hunters for a number of years. Quite a few folks have caught glimpses of this massive buck, but nothing more. Was this big white tail really as large as people speculated?
Ben Spanjers of Hokah answered all those questions on Oct. 3 when he bagged possibly the largest white tail ever taken with a bow in Minnesota. Photos of the massive buck, with a smiling Spanjers have been circulating the Internet ever since. And many have asked Spanjers to recount the events leading up to the monumental event.
“I’ve been hunting with a bow for many years. I’ve harvested dozens of deer and heard of this big buck,” Spanjers said last week. “Last year was the first season I really started hunting him. I saw signs, but never got a look at him.”
This fall, however, Spanjers decided to get serious about bagging the monster. He set up a wildlife camera in an area where he had seen some very large scrapes.
“When I checked my camera, I had pictures of him, right out during the day. Most big bucks don’t move around a lot during the day. But this guy did. I spent five days trying to figure out his habits, his movements. I was able to narrow down my search. One day, I stumbled on him in a weird spot. I wasn’t close enough to get a shot at him then, but came back the next day.”
Spanjers’ studying of the big buck’s habits and movements paid off the following day. He spotted the big buck about 70 yards from him. The buck was moving right at him.
“Nervous? I didn’t have time to get nervous. It happened so fast.”
Spanjers waited until the big buck was about 20 feet from him. He had an open shot, and bagged what many feel will be the largest white tail buck taken in the entire United States this year with a bow.
The massive buck weighed 310 pounds live weight and field dressed at 265 pounds. It had 23 points and measured 24 inches on the inside. It scored 230 5/8 points on the Pope and Young scoring and should make the Boone and Crocket archery division.
Spanjers, who is a very avid bow hunter, is planning to have an entire body mount done by Travis Fishel of Prairie Ridge Taxidermy in Caledonia.
“Travis has done other mounts for me and does an excellent job,” Spanjers said. “I’ve received calls from other taxidermists, who wanted to do the mount. But I’m having Travis do it.”
Calls from other taxidermists aren’t the only ones the Hokah resident has been receiving. He was already interviewed by The La Crosse Tribune and contacted by WKBT TV about an interview, although the TV interview hasn’t panned out yet.
“I’ve had people tell me I’ll never have to buy another bow in my life, and will get offers for other endorsements. I haven’t heard anything yet. We’ll see what happens there. All I know is this was truly amazing,” Spanjers concluded.
You can contact Charlie Warner at
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