SPARTA, Mich. —
On the second day of firearm deer hunting season, hunters were able to show off their catch at the Sparta Buck Pole on Saturday night.
Sparta has had a buck pole for years, but for the past three years, the event has been run by Brick Haus Brews. The money raised benefits the Sparta Sports Boosters.
“[The buck pole is] kind of a bragging board where everyone could come, community can come together, show everybody what they got, what they harvested the last couple days,” said Andy Burleson, Sparta Sports Boosters member. “Kind of show, you know, the event of getting kids in the outdoors is our real focus, to be honest with you, and families, it's a family event where a little bit of everybody is involved.”
Official measurers took the size of the antlers and gave commemorative buck scores.
Al Wilde, an official measurer, was on site giving out scores.
“We're probably the only buck pole that actually scores them,” Wilde said.
The scores Wilde gives out are unofficial. For an official score, a deer has to dry for 60 days. Wilde said scores like these, though, give hunters a good idea if they can go for a state record.
“It's letting these guys know where it's scoring so that they can, if they want, later, after the drying period, if, if they got a score that's that high, here, they can bring it back, and then I'll officially score it for them,” Wilde said. “And to get them into the Michigan all-time records”
Wilde himself is a record holder, which is what got him into measuring. He got a 5 beard turkey and was intrigued during the measuring process.
Wilde and event organizers are happy for the youth turnout this year.
“We got some young people coming in with some huge bucks, like the biggest one so far, I think, is a youth,” Wilde said.
“Outdoor activity is very important to kids, and the more they get involved, the better it is. And that's what a lot of this is promoting,” Burleson said. “And like I said, it's not, I mean, grandpas and dads and everybody else are gonna bring their deer in, and it's fun.”
One of the young hunters going for the prize is Gavin Smith. On his second year hunting with his mom’s boyfriend, Derek Scott, he’s already getting bragging rights.
“I don't really care about [bragging at school], but it's a bigger deer than [Scott] ever got,” Smith said. “I got bragging right talking, and I got better aim with a pistol than him, so that’s great.”
Smith and Scott go hunting on Scott’s family’s land in Montcalm County.
“When he told me that he was interested in going hunting last year, I was all for it,” Scott said. “And you know, I've never been in the passenger seat. I've always been in the driver's seat when I went out hunting. So to take a young kid out and make sure that they have a good time and are able to participate in it as well is very important, and it's awesome.”
Smith’s entry is from Friday’s first day of hunting. Scott said they waited for a long time to catch a buck like this one.
“This eight-point here came strolling in, and I told him we were on a restricted tag, so I knew they had to have four on one side,” Scott said. “I looked at it in the binoculars, knew it was a good one. Said, ‘Go ahead and touch it off.’ And once again, he dropped it in his tracks.”
They decided the Sparta Buck Pole was the perfect place to show it off.
“We decided, why not go try it? Give it a shot,” Scott said. “We saw they were giving away some European mounts to the youth, so we decided it would be a pretty cool deal and decided to come out tonight.”
The firearm deer hunting season runs through Saturday, Nov. 30.
More information on the season can be found here.
Sparta buck pole results:
Adult pole:
- Dylan Hawkins
- George Goodfellow
- Jamy Sletsema
- Steve Sobota
Youth pole:
- Kellen Perkins
- Gavin Smith
- Brenton Mojzak
