Like many distinctive bucks that wander throughout property strains, a number of hunters have focused a legendary whitetail in Southeast Kansas through the years. Native bowhunter Dallas Birk, who lives in Burlington, is one in all them. He’s been after the enormous buck for 3 seasons in a row.
“I nicknamed him ‘Linebacker’ as a result of he was so huge and his rack was so massive that [I think] no different buck would struggle him,” Birk tells Out of doors Life. “That’s why he by no means had any damaged tines from combating.”
Birk says he’s been in a position to get path cam images of the deer through the years. Most, however not all, of these had been taken at night time.
“Final yr he confirmed on digital camera within the day on Oct. 17, and I deliberate to hunt him at that very same spot and time this yr.”
So, throughout the early morning hours of Oct. 18, Birk arrange in a floor blind, since bushes had been scarce on the 240-acre non-public parcel. He seemed out over a soybean area with CRP close by, the place he thought the buck was bedding.
“Simply earlier than daybreak just a few does got here by my blind, and went to a feed pile I had of corn and a few mineral additive I make,” says the 32-year-old building employee. (Baiting deer is authorized on non-public land in Kansas however prohibited on public land all through the state. These rules might change, nonetheless.) “However they didn’t keep lengthy. I believed that was odd as a result of deer love that blend of corn and Koated [mineral].”
About 5 minutes after the does departed and simply earlier than capturing mild, Birk noticed Linebacker’s unmistakable rack at 25 yards. The buck turned and checked out Birk, and for a second he thought Linebacker would transfer downwind and spook. When the buck turned once more, Birk drew.
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“However as an alternative, he turned and got here straight towards me. I couldn’t shoot,” Birk says. “I’m holding my bow at full draw for a minute and my shoulders are burning. I lastly needed to let off on my bow.”
This was the largest buck he’d ever seen, and Birk needed to calm himself down. He lastly bought his alternative when Linebacker headed to a mock scrape Birk had made close by.
“He turned broadside, took a step ahead. I aimed and let my arrow fly.”
Birk by no means noticed the arrow in flight, however he heard it hit the deer and he watched the buck run about 100 yards after the shot. Then Linebacker slowed his tempo and disappeared over a hill.
Birk discovered and inspected his arrow, which had handed all through. There was proof of a liver hit with some intestines on it. He determined to go away the world to offer the deer a while, and he went residence and referred to as a good friend, Dylan Lamon.
About midday they returned to search for Linebacker and adopted his blood path about 150 yards to a spot the place they believed the buck had bedded down.
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“There was a variety of blood on the bottom, and it seemed like coyotes had bought to him and he was combating them,” Birk says. “We tried monitoring him from that spot however there was no blood path to observe.”
They determined to name a monitoring canine handler, they usually took up Linebacker’s path about 5 p.m. The hardworking canine found the lifeless buck by 6:30 p.m.
“The canine did an ideal job, they usually discovered Linebacker solely 200 yards from my floor blind,” Birk says. “The buck had backtracked, making it troublesome to search out him … he’d additionally been harassed by coyotes.”
Birk says it was disheartening at first to see the torn-up buck, which had chew marks alongside its flanks. There was additionally coyote fur caught to its antlers, an indication that the deer went down combating.
“It will need to have been an actual battle between the coyotes and Linebacker,” Birk says. “This a part of Kansas is loaded with coyotes, and they’re an actual drawback.”
Birk just lately took the rack to Brad Forbus, an official Buckmasters scorer in Lincoln Metropolis. Forbus counted 30 factors in complete and a ultimate Buckmasters rating of 255 inches. It’s a large of a whitetail for any state, however Birk thinks the 5- to 6-year-old deer might rank among the many high 10 bucks ever taken in Kansas.
“I’ve met with Kansas recreation division people they usually had been congratulatory about one other 200-plus-inch buck taken from the state,” Birk says. “I’ll have Linebacker mounted by a taxidermist and can both show him in my workshop or my residence.”
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