2021 - Tyler Olsen shoots the big boy
The Olsen family loves to hunt, and every now and then, a truly big buck comes along
November 23, 2021 • Voyageur Press
In 2019, it was Dennis Olsen’s friend Nate Lehman who harvested a memorable buck. This year, it was Dennis’ 23-year-old son, Tyler Olsen, who got his chance.
Tyler harvested a massive 245-pound, 10-point buck — a deer made even more meaningful by the recent loss of his grandmother, Linda Tuhkanen, who passed away just three weeks earlier.
“Tyler is usually a meat hunter and doesn’t wait around for the big one,” said Dennis, who was hunting with his son that day. “He said, ‘I’m going to wait and shoot a big one for Grandma this year.’”
Tyler got his wish.
Dennis was hunting about 400 yards away when he saw a doe and fawn moving in Tyler’s direction.
“The buck came out, the doe took off and the buck stopped to sniff the fawn,” Dennis recalled. “He was just about to take off after the doe, and Tyler made a great shot from 100 yards, straight on.”
The buck went only about 20 yards before going down.
“That thing was massive,” Dennis said after making his way over to see Tyler and the buck. “I could not believe how big that deer was.”
Tyler immediately tried calling his mom, Laurel, to share the news. When she didn’t answer, he left a message.
“I just shot the biggest deer of my life,” he told her. “I shot the big boy.”
The impressive buck wasn’t a complete stranger to the Olsen family. Dennis knew it had been roaming the area after capturing photos of it on a trail camera beginning in October.
“We found a scrape and got a nice pic of him about every four days as he would make his rounds,” Dennis said.
Then, around the beginning of deer season, the buck disappeared for nine days.
It finally showed up on camera again on a Friday.
“I told Tyler, ‘We need to get out there. Tomorrow’s the day, buddy,’” Dennis recalled.
He was right.
When Laurel eventually listened to Tyler’s excited voicemail, it brought back a memory from years earlier.
“His voice sounded the same as the day he shot his first deer when he was 10 years old,” she said. “He was so excited.”
Dennis was just as thrilled.
“I was excited,” he said. “Excited for my son.”
But there was one more moment that made the day especially meaningful for the family.
As father and son stood together with Tyler’s buck, they looked toward the sky and noticed a golden eagle soaring overhead.
For Tyler, there was no question what that moment meant.
“That was Grandma,” he said.