In his second year of hunting 15 year old Calib Stewart of Merrill harvested a buck of a lifetime. Last year was Calib’s first year gun hunting. He tagged his first buck, which was a spike with 11″ tines, during the youth hunt and two does during the regular firearm season in Merrill.
This year the youth hunt in Merrill was disappointing because he did not see one deer. His buddies shot bucks and that made him want a buck even more, so he and his dad made several trips up to camp in Grayling, which Calib has been going to since he was 8 years old, to scout and set up cameras. They made it up north early on November 13 to check cameras and had one picture of what looked like a decent buck and a few smaller bucks. November opening day they got out early to their setup on state land. It was almost 10 a.m. and Calib was bored but 15 minutes later that all changed!
He caught a movement in the brush and knew it was a deer, but could not tell what it was. He watched patiently for a few minutes and then saw antlers – big antlers. He got his 300 savage Remington Gamemaster, his great-grandfather’s gun, ready and steady and with one shot from about 60 yards, the deer dropped in its tracks.
Calib’s first words were “Dad, I just shot Bullwinkle!”
He was right, it was a main frame 10 with 11 inch G-2’s, 16 1/2″ inside spread and 5″ base. It green scored 149 2/8. After lots of high fives and pictures they took the buck to Skip’s Sporting Store in Grayling to enter it in the 2-day buck pole contest. Calib won the Grand Prize, a new Savage 300 Winn Mag. A deer season that father and son will never forget.
