Story by Nate Skinner, for Lone Star Outdoor News
Deer season is a huge part of many Texans’ lives, with memories made afield that will last a lifetime. So far this season, several hunters have harvested bucks with unique characteristics, shot their first deer or overcome obstacles to fill a tag.
Makaela Horne harvested her first deer, a 6-year-old 9-point buck, in Kerr County on her husband’s family’s ranch. Horne has enjoyed going out to the ranch with her husband, Drew, for the past several years, and decided she wanted to start hunting this season.
“We had watched this buck grow up for several seasons,” Horne said. “We weren’t sure he was going to be on the hit list this year, until he came out on my first sit of the season. We realized he was a mature deer, so I wait- ed for a good shot opportunity. He actually got within about 60 yards from the blind, and I took the shot.”
Horne said to her surprise, the buck fell directly in his tracks.
“I was so relieved I had made a great shot, and was absolutely ecstatic to harvest my first deer,” she said. “The excitement really hit me when I was able to put my hands on the buck. I’ll never forget that moment.”
In Bee County, Eric Kuhn made plans to bow hunt on his family’s property as a recent cold front was passing through. He saw an impressive 10-pointer near an area where he had a tripod stand set up during the first afternoon of his trip, so he decided to hunt that stand the next morning.
“As I walked in towards the stand in the morning, I realized the strong winds from the cold front that had blown through had knocked down the tree I had my tripod set up near for cover,” Kuhn said. “I was able to move the tripod up next to a different tree about 10 yards away in the dark that morning, giving myself a narrow shooting lane and a chance to make a shot if that buck were to show up.”
Kuhn said he felt like he made quite a bit of noise during his frantic efforts to relocate the stand prior to sunrise.
“I really didn’t think I was going to see anything at that point, but I went ahead and climbed into the stand and nocked an arrow,” he explained. “Seven bucks came out that morning, including the 10-pointer I had seen the day before. He ended up giving me a shot at about 28 yards, so I let an arrow fly. He only ran about 30 yards before he expired.”
Kuhn’s buck ended up measuring 162 7/8 inches.
“I can’t believe it worked out the way it did, but I sure am happy about it,” he said.
Joshua Connealy harvested a unique-looking buck on his deer lease in Colorado County. The deer had a third beam on the right side of his head and extremely tall and narrow antlers with 13 points.
“I had just harvested a spike and was fixing to get out of the blind when this buck walked out,” Connealy said. “I had never seen this deer before and realized quickly that this buck’s antler characteristics were rare. Knowing that this would be a one-of- a-kind trophy, I took the shot.”
Ismael Lerma Jr. also harvested an interesting buck during a hunt on a ranch near Brady, arranged as a retirement gift for him from the company he has worked with for over 16 years.
“I was watching a really nice buck from the blind I was hunting in when this huge nontypical buck walked out,” Lerma explained. “He gave me a shot at about 200 yards, and I took it. The wild looking buck scored over 300 inches, and it’s a memory I will never forget.”
“What an awesome retirement gift.”
