By Ed Koberstein January 2002
I still get numerous questions about the status of the buck I bagged in 1991.
Here's the scoop:
Boone & Crockett: In 1995 the head was measured by B & C panel in Dallas Texas - net score 188 3/8; Rank in 22nd B & C Big Game Awards - # "28".
Boone & Crockett Certificate
Buckmasters: In 1996 the head was entered into the Buckmasters Whitetail Trophy Records scoring system under their "Typical Category" - net score 218 3/8; Rank # "1".
Buckmasters Certificate
The following is a version of one of the original stories (with some updates) written for a magazine.
With a lot of anticipation I had waited for the 1991 hunting season to arrive. I had reserved vacation time for two (2) hunting trips. A six (6) day trip for moose and elk in the Alberta foothills and one four (4) day trip to east central Alberta for whitetails.
The six (6) day trip near the Rocky Mountains and away from civilization has been a tradition for fourteen (14) years. In 1990 we graduated from a holiday trailer to a large hunting tent. For the end of September this worked great. In our wisdom, however, we thought that snow on the ground would improve our chances for success in 1991. We choose to go to the foothills the last week in October and drove four (4) hours in a snow blizzard to our camp site. Six (6) days later we returned home with track soup and a lot of sightings of animals without antlers. To be exact, we had sighted twenty-three (23) moose, fourteen (14) elk, seven (7) deer, and not one with antlers! The companionship and evening stories had been great, but that does not provide much for bragging rights.
Due to the above dismal performance I was really looking forward to the trip to eastern Alberta where we generally have good success on whitetails. My companions on this trip have a tendency to extend evening activities and the lies get better as the evening wears on. You can well imagine my disappointment when work related activities did not allow me to go on this trip.
I am sure my brother-in-law, Gerald, noticed my foul humor for a couple of weeks and so invited me to go hunting with him and a couple of his buddies on November 23rd, 1991. I took him up on the offer and we did a fair bit of hunting that Saturday near Lacombe, Alberta. That Saturday we got nothing, spotting only does. I was sure my 1991 hunting season would end the same way as many of the other seasons had in the past.
On Sunday, November 24 I was at Gerald's place watching the Grey Cup game (the Canadian Football League Championship). During the game after a couple of cool glasses, Gerald threw out the idea of hunting on Monday. He also threw out the added bait that a good buck had been seen that morning in the vicinity.
"Hey," I thought, why not; after all, I hadn't taken my four (4) day trip east!" It was settled.
I decided that I would go at day break and find myself a comfortable spot with some sight distance and wait till approximately 9:30 when the others would arrive and we would push some bush.
On Monday morning at 6:00 a.m. I was up and ready to attack my last chance for the '91 whitetail season. I left about 7:30 a.m. and arrived at my driving location by 7:40 a.m. Legal shooting could start at about 7:35 a.m. so with a thermos of coffee and a sitting cushion I headed for a location down a trail. With a slight wind in my favor I walked slowly and as quietly as possible, searching the bush and listening for any sound I might pick up. About one hundred and fifty (150) yards from where I was headed, a deer started blowing at me from well within the bush to the left. The bush was spruce, poplars and willows. I crouched on the road to get a better view under the tree branches but couldn't detect any movement. The blowing continued for about five (5) minutes and then quit. I stayed put for a further five (5) minutes but could not pick up any movement with or without my scope. Somewhat frustrated I continued down the trail to a log with a good sized poplar tree for backrest. I cleaned the snow and frost off the log, plopped my cushion down and settled in for my vigilance of the elusive whitetail.
I didn't wait more than ten (10) minutes when I heard something behind me. Turning my head slightly (owl style) I spotted a deer in the bush about forty-five (45) yards away. The deer was looking directly at me and started pounding the ground with its front hoofs. I froze in that position for fear the deer would see movement and bolt.
Here we were, me eyeballing the deer and the deer trying to spook me with some pounding and the occasional snort. This lasted about one and a half (1 ½) minutes. I was able to see that it was a good buck and I made up my mind to take him if the chance was there. He finally looked off to the west, giving me an opportunity to turn my body one hundred and eighty (180) degrees to face the direction he was coming from.
I didn't see him leave, nor could I pick him up in my scope for the bush was fairly thick. Finally I spotted the antlers and realized he was a keeper. Pulling the scope back from the antlers, I could not find a space large enough through the brush to get a good shot. As his movements were getting more erratic, I thought he would bolt any second and all I would see was his north end heading south. Eventually I spotted an opening about eight (8) inches in diameter at a location I determined should be his shoulder area. With a deep breath, I aimed my 270 and fired! Instinct took over and I immediately chambered another shell. The bush was quiet. The deer was gone! My heart sank and I sat there thinking, how could I miss at that range? I stood up to get a better look and heard something where my buck had been standing. Walking toward the area, I saw him lying in the snow right were he had been standing a minute earlier! I ran the last fifteen (15) yards to get my first close up look. My first thoughts were "This is a good buck! No, a great buck!" It's a good thing nobody was watching because it may have been somewhat humorous to see my first reactions to the buck. I just stared in awe with no one else to share this moment.
After my heart got back to 150% of normal rate, I decided to head back to the truck for my Wyoming saw. Near the truck I ran into my buddies who were going to check out the shooting.
"Were you shooting?"
"Yeah!"
"What did you get?"
"About an 8 x 8!"
No more questions!
As I was climbing in to the back of the truck, it was already heading down the trail, me hanging on for my life. My buddies spotted the deer where I had dropped him and were bailing out of the truck before it stopped. Before we could get to the deer, Brian was already heading back to the vehicle for his camera. It was an honest to goodness great buck. Ten (10) points on each side.
After the hand shakes, back slapping and pictures we field dressed the deer, loaded it on the truck and headed back to the farm site. There the real celebration started and lasted all day. With that I thought our '91 hunting season was over. Little did I know that the interest and excitement was just beginning.
It was only after checking with a few people, including the local Fish and Game measurer, Dave Powell, that I comprehended, I thought, what kind of a trophy this really was.
Tuesday morning found me headed to a taxidermist south of Red Deer, Alberta. When Lorne McArthur from Echoglen Taxidermy spotted the head he knew it was something special.
On December 14, 1991 I took the antlers to the Lacombe Fish and Game Club measurement day. Member Dave Powell scored the antlers at 237 5/8 with twenty seven (27) inches of deduction. The net score was 210 5/8. After the sixty (60) day drying period it was scored by Randy Bean at 207 2/8. The deer was not re-scored until January of 1995 when I took it to the Willow Valley Trophy Club at Pincher Creek in Alberta, Canada. There a panel scored the deer at 207 3/8. Subsequently it was scored by an official B & C panel chaired by Jack Graham. Due to differences in interpretation two (2) score sheets were prepared - 213 3/8 and 197 4/8. Boone and Crockett accepted the score of 197 4/8. At panel measurement, B &C scored the final measurement at 188 3/8 - lowest score of any measurement.
The contact from magazines, collectors, and interested people was very interesting, and at times over whelming to the extent that I was not prepared for, and had difficulty comprehending. Stories included all aspects, from congratulations to questioning my ancestry. Sometimes hunters and jealously are their own worst enemy. However, the sports shows that I attended with the deer have been great experiences. These included the Dixie Deer Classic in North Carolina, the Edmonton Sportsman Show, the Red Deer Sportsman Show and Willow Valley Trophy Club as well as various other shows.
This was a hunting trip of a lifetime that I will never forget. In future I may spend more time hunting in my own back yard - the Lacombe County.