2013 - Hall, Peterson, Raich win Big Buck Contests in the region
This year, the deer hunting success was down a bit, however, there were still some nice bucks shot around the area
December 3, 2013 • Voyageur Press
A few individuals won Big Buck Contests.
Justin Hall shot one of the bigger bucks in the area (201-pounds) and won the Country Corner Contest.
Shelly Raich won the Trailside Lounge and Grill Big Buck (weight) contest with a 196-pound buck. Shelly also placed second in the points contest.
Justus Peterson won the Trailside Lounge and Grill (points) contest. His 10-pointer also took second place for weight (174 pounds).
The Trailside also offered a prize for the biggest doe. Al Klein won that with a 132-pound deer.
In Cromwell, Eric Waldemarsen won the Big Buck Contest with a 224.8-pound buck. Eric was a contest winner last year also.
Larry Strand was the winner of the first ever Bann’s Bar & Restaurant Big Buck Contest. His deer weighed in at 172.7 pounds.
Bann’s also recognized the largest doe with a prize. Jim Krebs shot a 111.5-pound deer.
Justus Peterson was the winner of the “Most Points” contest at the Trailside Lounge & Grill. Justus hunts with his fiance Calla Johnson who won the same contest a couple years ago.
Calla won the “Weight” contest and is quick to point out that she shot the biggest deer between the two of them.
Justus laughs about it and shares that he is constantly reminded of this. “Every day she looks at my deer, shakes her head, and smiles knowing she shot a bigger deer,” said Justus. “I’m just glad I have a future wife that enjoys hunting.”
The two have been dating for five years and they have an August wedding planned. “She’s been very patient with me,” noted Justus.
Patient on his marriage proposal and patient with his hunting abilities.
The two have a fun rivalry going and they are excited to see what happens next year. “To be honest, I am just as happy to see her get a big buck, but then again, I want to get the big one.”
“It just adds to the fun of hunting,” added Justus. “There is an unmentioned tension there.”
Justus noted that Calla shared an interesting Facebook post. It said: A couple that hunts together, stays together. Or, they shoot each other. One or the other.
All jokes aside, the hunting tradition for Justus and Calla is something they expect to share for many years. They hunt with their fathers (Roy Johnson and Larry Peterson). No other deer were shot, but some smaller bucks were passed on.
Letting the smaller bucks go is part of the family tradition.
Justus concluded by wishing Calla good luck next year (kind of) and thanked her again for her patience.
Justin Hall shot his 201-pound deer about five miles from his home. Justin shared that he hunted every day after school (Hibbing Community College).
“It was the biggest deer I have ever shot,” said Justin in an interview over the phone. “I have shot four 8-pointers, but never one this big.”
The deer earned him $100 and he shared that it will help pay for the mount he plans on getting.
Justin hunts with his father Steve and his siblings, Anna and Eric. Anna was the only other family member to shoot a deer this season. She shot a doe.
Larry Strand was the winner of the Big Buck Contest at Bann’s Bar & Restaurant. Larry owns a cabin on Round Lake and credits his neighbor Jeff Hawkinson with helping him hunt.
“I call Jeff my outfitter,” said Larry about his friend and neighbor. “He introduced me to bear hunting and we have been hunting (bear/deer) for 14 years now.”
Larry joked that Jeff’s outfitting service is very reasonable. “He doesn’t charge,” Larry noted. “He is a friendly guy that stopped over one day and we’ve been hunting together ever since.”
The buck Larry shot turned out to be the winner of the Bann’s Bar & Restaurant Big Buck Contest. He was hunting with his son Brent, along with Jeff and his son Jake.
“After dropping me off, Jake kicked up a buck going to his stand,” recalls Larry. “I was just lucky enough that he walked by my stand.”
The winning buck earned Larry $400 and the money will first be spent on a little party for the deer hunters.
The location where Larry hunts cannot be revealed. “Jeff jokingly tells me that if I tell where I shoot anything or catch a fish, he will have to shoot me.”
Larry’s 172.7-pound buck took first. Ironically, Jeff’s daughter Abby shot one slightly bigger (176.7 pounds), but was not in the contest. “That was actually the biggest deer. I kind of screwed up on that one,” he said about not getting in the contest.
When asked what he thought of Larry winning the contest, Jeff commented, “He gets lucky every once in a while. He owes us a couple of beers, that is for sure.”
Second place went to Andy Kruse with a 170.7-pound buck and Bob Dreger shot a 10-pointer that weighed 152.7 pounds. Andy won $200 and Bob won $100.
The largest doe was shot by Jim Krebs who won $200 and second place went to Courtney Kruse who won $100.