2020 - Bann’s Big Bucks: all in the family
After his younger brother, Jared, and sister, Rachel, each harvested beautiful bucks on opening morning, Ryan Hutar was pleasantly surprised to top them with an even bigger buck the following morning near Cromwell
November 24, 2020 • Voyageur Press
The three siblings went an impressive 3-for-3 during a season when many area hunters were finding success hard to come by.
Ryan’s 185-pound, 8-point buck earned him first place in the Bann’s on Lake Minnewawa Big Buck Contest near McGregor. Rachel took third place and also earned the prize for the first buck registered in the contest. Jared finished second by weight and took first place for the biggest rack with his 10-pointer.
It was quite a year for the Hutar family.
After Jared and Rachel both harvested nice bucks opening morning, Ryan admitted he considered moving to a different area for his next hunt.
“All three of our stands are pretty close together on the 160 acres we hunt on,” Ryan said. “I finally decided to just stick with it, and it worked out.”
The decision paid off the following morning when Ryan harvested the biggest buck of his hunting career, both in body size and rack.
This one will be going on the wall.
Ryan admitted that harvesting three impressive bucks in the same season was a surprise for the family.
“We usually get one nice one each year,” he said.
Whether a big buck comes along or not, deer season remains an important opportunity for the Hutar siblings to return home and spend time together.
“It’s not all that often that we are all home at the same time,” Ryan said. “Everybody enjoys getting there on Friday when we grab the cameras to see what’s on them.”
This year, those trail cameras revealed some impressive bucks. By the end of opening weekend, the Hutars had the actual deer to match.
And there may still be some nice ones roaming the property.
Rachel passed up a 6-pointer during the season, giving the family at least one buck to watch for when they check the trail cameras before next year’s opener.
Away from the deer stand, the three Hutar siblings have gone in different directions but continue to return home for the family hunting tradition.
Ryan works for Caterpillar as an engineer in the Twin Cities. Jared is a senior product design engineer at a medical device company in Fridley. Rachel is in her second and final year of graduate school at the University of Minnesota Duluth, where she is working toward her Master of Arts to become a speech-language pathologist.
No matter where life takes them, deer season provides an opportunity for all three to come home.
This year, they each came away with a buck — and plenty of family bragging rights.