Science & Outdoors
Fond du Lac bow hunter claims “turdy point buck”
The Pointer
jtowl695@uwsp.edu
Year after year, hunters listen to “Da turdy point buck” by Bananas at Large to prepare themselves mentally for the idea that a 30-point buck may exist. That dream became a reality on Sept. 22 for a Fond du Lac bow hunter.
Wayne Schumacher was hunting near Rosendale when the elusive 30-point buck wandered into the wrong place at the wrong time.
The shot was made at 6:45 p.m. from Schumacher’s tree stand at a distance of approximately 15 yards. Though the deer was facing almost straight away from him, a difficult shot for any hunter, the arrow penetrated the whitetail behind the ribcage and exited through the front leg.
It was “nearly a perfect shot” according to Schumacher, who expects the arrow went through the heart.
After trailing the deer for 60 to 70 yards, Schumacher and his brother discovered that the rack had at least 28 points, what one might call a trophy. After dragging the deer to the truck they officially counted 31 points on the rare specimen, a cause for celebration.
Prior to claiming the buck ,Schumacher, who has been hunting for over 30 years, had no idea the rack was so non-typical. Schumacher modestly considers the whole event, from the time the buck wandered into his food plot to the moment he dropped, as strictly a matter of luck; however, the skill required to make the shot is evidence enough of Schumacher’s experience and capabilities as a hunter.
The deer was estimated to be about five years old, weighing in at a field-dressed 225 pounds with an inside antler spread of 20.5 inches. It is expected to set a record in Wisconsin.
A 60-day period is required for the antlers to dry prior to measuring a non-typical whitetail deer for Boone and Crockett or Pope and Young records programs. Official measurers are responsible for the scoring of trophies like Schumacher’s.
The records programs are nearly identical in terms of scoring, but Boone and Crocket is for both archery and rifle hunters, while Pope and Young is strictly for bow hunters.
Measurements include the number of points on each antler, tip to tip spread, greatest spread, inside spread of main beams, total lengths of all abnormal points, the length of main beams and length of normal points, according to the Boone and Crockett regulations. Based on the measurements, a minimum score of 185 is given for a non-typical whitetail deer.
The minimum score for the Pope and Young records program is 155 and is calculated in a similar way.
The current record for Wisconsin stands at 233. Schumacher’s trophy had a green score of 251, a rough estimate based on his own calculations. After the 60-day drying period, an official measurer will score the buck and it’s likely that Schumacher will claim the new archery state record.
Though this “turdy point buck” didn’t weigh 12,000 pounds, nor was it eight feet tall, Bananas at Large might’ve been onto something when they said, “he was rut-a-ful, so beautiful, strutted right out of my dreams, he was created by God just for outdoor magazines.”
Just goes to show, you don’t have to be Dirty Harry, John Wayne, G.I. Joe or any combination of the above to kill the elusive “turdy pointer.”
