Working long days as a grain and cattle farmer in Biggar, Saskatchewan, Milo N. Hanson doesn’t have the time or money to hunt all over the continent. Then again he hasn’t had to travel far to find incredible hunting. In fact, while hunting on his own property, in 1992, Hanson ended up reaping more from his fields than the usual autumn harvest.
“On the night of November 22, we had fresh snow, and I called the guys to plan our hunt,” Hanson said. “The next morning, I met my neighbor, John Yaroshko, and we drove to meet Walter Meger and Rene Igini. When we pulled up, I knew something was happening because they were excited. They said they spotted a monster buck entering a willow run and it handn’t come out.
“Rene walked the track while the rest of us surrounded the willows,” Hanson said. “I took a position that would keep the buck from running south onto nearby posted land. The buck bolted, giving me my first look at it. Believe me, my heart was pumping! We shot but missed it.
“Rene stayed on its tracks,” Hanson said, “and eventually lost the buck in a maze of other deer tracks because the big buck’s tracks weren’t large. Just when we were getting frustrated and ready to move on, the big buck ran out of an aspen bluff and headed into a willow run on my land.
“We posted ourselves around the willows,” Hanson said, “and Rene walked the buck’s tracks. The buck ran flat out about 150 yards broadside from John and me. I think we both got buck fever this time! We fired several shots, but missed the racing buck.
“We moved up to the next willow run, and when the buck ran out it turned straight away from me,” Hanson said. “I fired and the buck went down to its knees. ‘You got him!’ John hollered.
“Unfortunately, the buck got up and ran into a nearby aspen stand,” Hanson said. “I ran up the hill to where it disappeared and saw it below me, standing still. I aimed through my 4-power scope and fired another shot with my .308 Winchester Model 88 lever-action. Down it went. I saw its head over a clump of willows. To ensure it stayed down, I fired another shot and the hunt ended.
“Shooting this buck gave me a feeling I will probably never experience again,” Hanson said, “even though I had no idea it would be declared the new Boone and Crockett Club’s world’s record. I had never seen a bigger buck. The buck left me shaking.”
Life on the farm took a turn. Following preliminary measurements that put the whitetail in the running for the new world’s record, Hanson’s home was under siege from journalists, promoters, antler collectors, and well-wishers. After the 60-day drying period, Norm Parchewsky, Robert Allemand, and Allan Holtvogt, all Boone and Crockett official measurers, scored the buck at 213-1/8 in a ceremony attended by more than 400 people.
At the 22nd Big Game Awards Program in Dallas, Texas, the Boone and Crockett Club Judges’ Panel declared Hanson’s buck the new world’s record typical whitetail with a final score of 213-5/8 points.
