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Local man shoots 21-point buck
Austin Kaus The Daily Republic
November 21, 2007
Doug Holum's love of hunting has taken him across the globe, but it only took an early morning trip to his farm in northern Davison County to bag what he hopes is a recordsetting deer.
Before dawn Saturday, the opening day of the state's firearm deer season, Holum climbed into his homemade 12-foot-high tree stand on his farm north of Mitchell and waited patiently for a deer to come his way.
It wasn't long before Holum got more than he expected.
"All of a sudden, he came up behind me," he said. "(I) watched him for about a half an hour (and) it was 7:15 (a.m.) when I pulled the trigger."
With one shot, Holum dropped a 21-point whitetail buck. The deer weighed 240 pounds undressed and took two men to lift.
The bonus was that 21-point, oddshaped rack — 11 points on one side, 10 on the other.
"It took me an hour to stop shaking," he said. "They are very unusual looking horns. Horns like this make it interesting."
Holum intends to have the deer head and antlers mounted, where it will join the numerous trophies he and his son, Erik, have taken in the past.
Holum, a Mitchell physician who owns land in Davison County, said he and his family were surprised to find the unique deer, since they scout areas well ahead of deer season. While he had never seen this particular deer during scouting trips, Holum thinks the deer grew up on the farm. He often searches the area for shed antlers, and a discovery of similar antlers earlier this year indicates that Holum's deer may have been in the area for some time.
"I'm sure he grew up there," he said. "Through having food plots … and cover, he just grew."
After analyzing the deer's jaw, he estimated the age at approximately 5½ years. Holum hopes it will be a record in the state and plans to have the antlers scored in the non-typical category in March.
Doug Luger, trophy records manager for Safari Club International, said it's difficult to say if Holum's deer will be a recordbreaker without having the antlers officially scored, although he admitted that a 21-point deer is uncommon.
An active hunter, Holum said the past decade of deer hunting has treated him well and he hopes deer hunting continues to thrive in the state.
"This is kind of the golden age of deer hunting," he said. "It's been really fun."
Overall, Arden Petersen, southeastern regional supervisor for the state Department of Game, Fish and Parks wildlife division, said the opening weekend of deer season in South Dakota was a successful one for hunters throughout the area, thanks to mild weather. Exact statistics on the number of tags filled so far are unavailable, since South Dakota does not have a check-in system like other states. As hunters fill out and return surveys issued by the department, Petersen said he will have a better idea of the season's success and how many, if any, deer similar to Holum's were killed.
"A trophy deer is in the eye of the beholder," Petersen said. "Sometimes there are deer with a lot of points and they're not very big and sometimes there are deer with a huge spread … and not as many points. We look at all deer as being important."
As for Holum, he's eagerly awaiting his son's return from college. "He'll be home this week," he said. "Hopefully, he'll get one even bigger."
http://www.mitchellrepublic.com/articles/index.cfm?id=22881
Local man shoots 21-point buck
Austin Kaus The Daily Republic
November 21, 2007
Doug Holum's love of hunting has taken him across the globe, but it only took an early morning trip to his farm in northern Davison County to bag what he hopes is a recordsetting deer.
Before dawn Saturday, the opening day of the state's firearm deer season, Holum climbed into his homemade 12-foot-high tree stand on his farm north of Mitchell and waited patiently for a deer to come his way.
It wasn't long before Holum got more than he expected.
"All of a sudden, he came up behind me," he said. "(I) watched him for about a half an hour (and) it was 7:15 (a.m.) when I pulled the trigger."
With one shot, Holum dropped a 21-point whitetail buck. The deer weighed 240 pounds undressed and took two men to lift.
The bonus was that 21-point, oddshaped rack — 11 points on one side, 10 on the other.
"It took me an hour to stop shaking," he said. "They are very unusual looking horns. Horns like this make it interesting."
Holum intends to have the deer head and antlers mounted, where it will join the numerous trophies he and his son, Erik, have taken in the past.
Holum, a Mitchell physician who owns land in Davison County, said he and his family were surprised to find the unique deer, since they scout areas well ahead of deer season. While he had never seen this particular deer during scouting trips, Holum thinks the deer grew up on the farm. He often searches the area for shed antlers, and a discovery of similar antlers earlier this year indicates that Holum's deer may have been in the area for some time.
"I'm sure he grew up there," he said. "Through having food plots … and cover, he just grew."
After analyzing the deer's jaw, he estimated the age at approximately 5½ years. Holum hopes it will be a record in the state and plans to have the antlers scored in the non-typical category in March.
Doug Luger, trophy records manager for Safari Club International, said it's difficult to say if Holum's deer will be a recordbreaker without having the antlers officially scored, although he admitted that a 21-point deer is uncommon.
An active hunter, Holum said the past decade of deer hunting has treated him well and he hopes deer hunting continues to thrive in the state.
"This is kind of the golden age of deer hunting," he said. "It's been really fun."
Overall, Arden Petersen, southeastern regional supervisor for the state Department of Game, Fish and Parks wildlife division, said the opening weekend of deer season in South Dakota was a successful one for hunters throughout the area, thanks to mild weather. Exact statistics on the number of tags filled so far are unavailable, since South Dakota does not have a check-in system like other states. As hunters fill out and return surveys issued by the department, Petersen said he will have a better idea of the season's success and how many, if any, deer similar to Holum's were killed.
"A trophy deer is in the eye of the beholder," Petersen said. "Sometimes there are deer with a lot of points and they're not very big and sometimes there are deer with a huge spread … and not as many points. We look at all deer as being important."
As for Holum, he's eagerly awaiting his son's return from college. "He'll be home this week," he said. "Hopefully, he'll get one even bigger."
http://www.mitchellrepublic.com/articles/index.cfm?id=22881
