30-point buck harvested in Wisconsin

[379 Peterbilt]

Wayne Schumacher of Fond du Lac displays the rack of the deer he killed with his bow. The deer, shot in Fond du Lac County, has an unofficial count of 30 points, a 20-1/2 inch spread, and dressed weight of 225 pounds. Gannett Wisconsin Media photo by Patrick Flood.



Fond du Lac resident Wayne Schumacher was accepting congratulations as he related how he downed the elusive buck around 6:45 p.m.

"It's so hard to believe," Schumacher said, noting he's hunted with bow and gun for more than 30 years. "I had known people had seen it in the area but I had no idea (it was nearby)."

The 30-point deer has an inside antler spread of 20½ inches. Its field-dressed weight was about 225 pounds. Estimates are that the deer is at least 4½ to 5 years old.

Schumacher said he was in a tree stand looking at partially wooded flat terrain when the deer appeared.

"In 30 seconds, it was over," he said, noting the shot covered about 15 yards.

The deer ran off 60 to 70 yards, and Schumacher's hunting partner, his brother, Pete, was first to reach the animal.

The deer was shot at an angle behind the rib cage, and the arrow went through one of the front legs.

Schumacher said he and his brother dragged the deer and struggled to get it onto the tailgate of a truck. They stopped at Wayne's home in Fond du Lac to take some pictures. They then took the deer to Pete's home east of Fond du Lac to get it into a large cooler.

The brothers and a group of family and friends toasted with beer and homemade wine as they celebrated what is being called the "deer of a lifetime."

He went to work Monday morning at his job with the construction and maintenance division with the city of Fond du Lac. He said he worked four hours Monday. He asked his boss if he could have the afternoon off.

Though he had up to three days to do it, Schumacher said he wanted to get the deer that is known by some as "Lucky Buck," registered.

He also admitted his mind wasn't on his job, which Monday involved mixing concrete.




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Previous PageLaurie Ritger writes for The Reporter, Fond du Lac.
http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20090923/APC0101/909230534/1003/APC01

[Cheesehead]

WOW!!!

The famed turty pointer.

 

[Skunk]

WOW! Just WOW!

That 30 point buck song sung by Da Yoopers is going to have to now be sung by a Wisconsin Polka band with accordions.

Great post Peterbilt.

[Skunk]

Here's a little more info on the Turdy Point Buck, and another picture:

The 'turdy' truth
Fond du Lac man celebrates trophy

Posted: Sept. 23, 2009

Wayne Schumacher of Fond du Lac spent most of last weekend in Iowa helping his son move. He made it home Sunday in time to squeeze in an evening of bowhunting on private ground near Eldorado in Fond du Lac County.

Talk about good timing.

About 6:40 p.m. Sunday the largest white-tailed deer he'd seen in 36 years of bowhunting walked under his tree stand.

"I just told myself to not look at the rack and not to flinch," said Schumacher, 52.

Schumacher released his arrow, it found its mark and the deer bounded only 80 yards, never leaving Schumacher's sight, before expiring.

Minutes later Schumacher and his brother Peter, 59, who also was hunting on the property, were standing over a buck of a lifetime and counting antler points.

The buck has a non-typical rack with a 20.5-inch inside spread. Depending on individual judgments, it has 28 to 30 points (an antler point must be at least 1 inch long for official scoring purposes).

A quick green score of the rack put it in the 220-inch range, said Schumacher. Official scoring requires a 60-day drying period.

Schumacher, a City of Fond du Lac employee, quickly became a local celebrity. "Turdy"-point bucks are the stuff of song and legend but rarely reality.

Crowds gathered when he registered the deer Monday in Fond du Lac. A local resident gave Schumacher a photograph of the buck taken in summer when its massive rack was covered in velvet.

Before Sunday, the buck was unknown to Schumacher and his brother, who had set trail cameras on the property but had only seen "small bucks."

"People have been really great," said Schumacher, still fielding a long list of phone calls Tuesday night. "What makes me happy is that it shows a huge buck can be right near where you live, not just in some famous deer hunting spot."

Schumacher plans to have a half- or shoulder-mount made of the animal. The venison was butchered and wrapped at a party with friends Tuesday night, said Schumacher.

According to bowhunting records kept by the Pope and Young Club, the world record non-typical white-tailed deer was taken in 2000 in Greene County, Ohio; it scored 294.

Schumacher's experience sheds light on a universal outdoors truth - only those who get out in the field or on the water have a chance for success.

And as the real estate and business types like to say, location is critical to success. Especially when it's combined with perfect timing.


Wayne Schumacher, a Fond du Lac city worker, shot this buck, which has 28 or 30 points
on its antlers, near Eldorado

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/outdoors/60854442.html