Monster Buck Classic lives up to its name

Looking for proof that Kansas is one of the best states in the nation for trophy whitetail deer hunting? You should stop by the Kansas Monster Buck Classic sometime.

The show, which was held in Topeka last weekend, is a deer hunter’s dream world.

Row after row of vendors display everything deer hunting. They peddle deer attractants, mineral growth supplements, property for sale, you name it.

Mounts of dream bucks are displayed on walls, and hunters carry the racks of trophy whitetails they shot during the past season, eager to have them officially scored by measurers who sit at tables and tabulate scores.

There is a story behind each one of those sets of trophy antlers. Chuck McNally of Havensville, Kan., might have had the most unusual tale from this year’s show.

He brought in a massive rack that he found as sheds in 1976. He found one side of the rack a big buck had shed (bucks shed their antlers in winter, only to grow them back in the spring and summer) during a walk in the woods, then later discovered the other side about a half-mile away.

He had the antlers mounted on the cape of another deer and eventually the mount gathered dust in his garage. But when he came across the impressive deer recently, he decided to bring it to the Monster Buck Classic to have it scored.

A measurer gave it a score of 179  4/8 , confirming that it was indeed a trophy buck.

Even the grandmas got in on the act. Crystal Kennedy, 72, of Berryton, Kan., brought in a 12-point buck that she shot during the Kansas rifle season.

“I’ve been hunting for 20 years and this is the biggest buck I’ve ever taken,” she said of the buck that scored 152  2/8 . “At my age, I figured this might have been one of my last chances to get a big buck, so I knew I had to make a good shot.

“Now I have family bragging rights.”

This story was originally published January 30, 2016 at 5:31 PM with the headline "Monster Buck Classic lives up to its name."