Drizzt
Member
Clay County buck set world record
By Elby Adamson, Contributing writer November 23, 2005
When Jeff Severson of Rice Lake, Wisconsin traveled to Kansas last fall to
bow hunt for deer, he had no idea he was going to take a world record
white-tailed buck. Severson had been coming to Clay County for the past five
years to bow hunt because it had become increasingly difficult to take a
trophy buck in Wisconsin.
The 19-point buck he took in Clay County last fall had main beams of 25 and
7/8 and 26 and 5/8 inches. The brow tines were 6 and 5/8 and 7 and 7/8
inches. Several of the other tines exceeded 12 inches in length. The inside
spread of the rack was 18 and 4/8 inches.
It was a trophy buck by any standard.
Buckmasters gave Severson¹s buck an overall composite score of 236 2/8,
making it a world record in the semi-irregular class taken with a compound
bow.
Severson took the buck on public hunting land on Nov. 12th 2004. He was
videotaping a medium sized buck that came near his tree stand. When the buck began to behave as if it were afraid of something coming through a nearby cedar thicket, Severson realized an opportunity was at hand.
He put down the camera and grabbed his compound bow.
Out of the brush came a huge buck that was intent on intimidating the
smaller buck he'd videotaped. To stop the buck so he might get a shot,
Severson made a doe bleat call.
The enormous buck hesitated with only the head and huge rack and front
shoulder available for a shot. The rest of the buck's body was behind a tree
or obscured by heavy brush. Severson thought he might be able to draw a bead just in front of the tree and bring down the deer.
He was right. The massive buck ran about 70 yards into a field before it
fell. The arrow, which had entered the front shoulder, broke and part of it
went off at a right angle and tore through vital organs. Severson found the
rest of the arrow shaft and feathers near the spot where he'd shot the deer.
He knew immediately he had a fine specimen.
And if the rest of the world didn't know that Clay County could produce a record whitetail buck, it soon would. During the past year Severson's buck has been on the front cover of at least three hunting magazines including Big Buck, a Canadian publication, Rack, an Alabama-based Buckmasters magazine and White Tail Fanatics of Iowa, and it has been featured in at least eight others.
He received the Golden Laurel Trophy at an award ceremony hosted by
Buckmasters and he and the buck are pictured on page 390 of Buckmasters
Trophy Record Book as a world record.
Severson has also had numerous opportunities to speak at various hunting and outdoor shows and other events. He and his wife, Barb, are members of the Christian Deer Hunters Association and have been giving programs to churches and hunting groups as part of his contribution as a spokesman for that organization.
"We came to Kansas because the deer weren't as adapted. I hunt a lot of
places because the deer are always changing. I'm looking for places where
white tail are migrating and they haven't established seasons yet, but they
will when the populations are better established," Severson said in a recent
interview.
About hunting in Clay County, Severson said, "I guess the bigger buck
quality is pretty good, but I haven't seen them this year. I believe there
are some big deer here because I have found the shed antlers. But the deer
here are evolving. They are getting smarter. If you want to be successful,
you have to stay ahead of the game and it only lasts for five or six years
and then you have to move on.
"When I first came here about six years ago, these deer were so stupid that
we couldn't believe it. But now we may have to go to our normal tactics to
see the bigger deer.
"For example, the first year I was hunting here, I was video taping a big
buck about four and half years old. It looked right at me. I made a decision
to shoot it. So I put the video camera down, took the bow off the hanger,
drew back and shot and all the while he's looking at me.
"You haven't seen deer act like that in 20 years in Wisconsin. Now, the
deer here in Kansas aren't as tolerant of intrusion. Now, when you hunt an
area and disturb the deer they move on. A few years ago they'd be back in
just a short time. And they are becoming increasingly nocturnal. They adapt
to survive. You can't make any mistakes if you're going to get a big deer."
There is a lot more emphasis on getting a trophy rack now than there used to
be Severson said and so hunting pressure on trophy deer has increased.
"There is constantly deer hunting on TV and the young hunters see the
hunters getting big deer with big racks. It used to be kids were excited to
get almost any deer regardless of its rack. Now it has to be a trophy," he
said.
"I probably hunt fifty days a year if you count all species. At home I might
just go out for a little while after work. Down here I hunt all day. My wife
loves hunting too and that¹s the beauty of it. We can do it together. This
year she didn¹t draw a tag for Kansas but she go a nice bull elk in
Wyoming," Severson said.
Will Severson continue to hunt in Clay County? He doesn't know. It all
depends on whether he continues to draw a tag and how wiley the deer become
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15629867&BRD=1160&PAG=461&dept_id=190958&rfi=6
By Elby Adamson, Contributing writer November 23, 2005
When Jeff Severson of Rice Lake, Wisconsin traveled to Kansas last fall to
bow hunt for deer, he had no idea he was going to take a world record
white-tailed buck. Severson had been coming to Clay County for the past five
years to bow hunt because it had become increasingly difficult to take a
trophy buck in Wisconsin.
The 19-point buck he took in Clay County last fall had main beams of 25 and
7/8 and 26 and 5/8 inches. The brow tines were 6 and 5/8 and 7 and 7/8
inches. Several of the other tines exceeded 12 inches in length. The inside
spread of the rack was 18 and 4/8 inches.
It was a trophy buck by any standard.
Buckmasters gave Severson¹s buck an overall composite score of 236 2/8,
making it a world record in the semi-irregular class taken with a compound
bow.
Severson took the buck on public hunting land on Nov. 12th 2004. He was
videotaping a medium sized buck that came near his tree stand. When the buck began to behave as if it were afraid of something coming through a nearby cedar thicket, Severson realized an opportunity was at hand.
He put down the camera and grabbed his compound bow.
Out of the brush came a huge buck that was intent on intimidating the
smaller buck he'd videotaped. To stop the buck so he might get a shot,
Severson made a doe bleat call.
The enormous buck hesitated with only the head and huge rack and front
shoulder available for a shot. The rest of the buck's body was behind a tree
or obscured by heavy brush. Severson thought he might be able to draw a bead just in front of the tree and bring down the deer.
He was right. The massive buck ran about 70 yards into a field before it
fell. The arrow, which had entered the front shoulder, broke and part of it
went off at a right angle and tore through vital organs. Severson found the
rest of the arrow shaft and feathers near the spot where he'd shot the deer.
He knew immediately he had a fine specimen.
And if the rest of the world didn't know that Clay County could produce a record whitetail buck, it soon would. During the past year Severson's buck has been on the front cover of at least three hunting magazines including Big Buck, a Canadian publication, Rack, an Alabama-based Buckmasters magazine and White Tail Fanatics of Iowa, and it has been featured in at least eight others.
He received the Golden Laurel Trophy at an award ceremony hosted by
Buckmasters and he and the buck are pictured on page 390 of Buckmasters
Trophy Record Book as a world record.
Severson has also had numerous opportunities to speak at various hunting and outdoor shows and other events. He and his wife, Barb, are members of the Christian Deer Hunters Association and have been giving programs to churches and hunting groups as part of his contribution as a spokesman for that organization.
"We came to Kansas because the deer weren't as adapted. I hunt a lot of
places because the deer are always changing. I'm looking for places where
white tail are migrating and they haven't established seasons yet, but they
will when the populations are better established," Severson said in a recent
interview.
About hunting in Clay County, Severson said, "I guess the bigger buck
quality is pretty good, but I haven't seen them this year. I believe there
are some big deer here because I have found the shed antlers. But the deer
here are evolving. They are getting smarter. If you want to be successful,
you have to stay ahead of the game and it only lasts for five or six years
and then you have to move on.
"When I first came here about six years ago, these deer were so stupid that
we couldn't believe it. But now we may have to go to our normal tactics to
see the bigger deer.
"For example, the first year I was hunting here, I was video taping a big
buck about four and half years old. It looked right at me. I made a decision
to shoot it. So I put the video camera down, took the bow off the hanger,
drew back and shot and all the while he's looking at me.
"You haven't seen deer act like that in 20 years in Wisconsin. Now, the
deer here in Kansas aren't as tolerant of intrusion. Now, when you hunt an
area and disturb the deer they move on. A few years ago they'd be back in
just a short time. And they are becoming increasingly nocturnal. They adapt
to survive. You can't make any mistakes if you're going to get a big deer."
There is a lot more emphasis on getting a trophy rack now than there used to
be Severson said and so hunting pressure on trophy deer has increased.
"There is constantly deer hunting on TV and the young hunters see the
hunters getting big deer with big racks. It used to be kids were excited to
get almost any deer regardless of its rack. Now it has to be a trophy," he
said.
"I probably hunt fifty days a year if you count all species. At home I might
just go out for a little while after work. Down here I hunt all day. My wife
loves hunting too and that¹s the beauty of it. We can do it together. This
year she didn¹t draw a tag for Kansas but she go a nice bull elk in
Wyoming," Severson said.
Will Severson continue to hunt in Clay County? He doesn't know. It all
depends on whether he continues to draw a tag and how wiley the deer become
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15629867&BRD=1160&PAG=461&dept_id=190958&rfi=6
