Making the most of two shots
By Bruce Wallace
When Matthew Devore has the opportunity to go hunting with his grandfather, he makes the most of it.
Devore and his grandpa, Vic Waits went hunting on his grandfather's land in Callaway County on Saturday and Devore pulled off a rare hunting trick - a double-kill, bagging a 20 lbs. turkey and a 3-point buck in the same day.
"It is certainly something I have never heard of," said Missouri Department of Conservation manager/Ashland resident and hunter Brian Canaday said.
Obviously, Devore, a seventh grade student at Southern Boone Middle School, was "very excited."
Devore shot a 3-point buck, his second ever, Saturday morning just before 10 a.m. The buck was about 40 yards away and he hit him with a single shot.
Devore then used his 20-gauge Remington to bag his first turkey ever with a single shot from about 30 yards. The turkey had a 10-inch beard and 1.75" sharp spurs and was about 20 lbs.
Devore's mother, Vandee Devore, noted that her son is always excited about going hunting and he took the local Missouri Department of Conservation hunter safety course organized each year by Dr. Kevin Dooley.
Canaday said that one of the great things about being in Mid-Missouri is the numerous hunting opportunities.
"You can do all kinds of hunting, from youth deer season and duck season to archery season that is now going on. Matthew obviously maximized his opportunity, it's pretty amazing."
A number of young Southern Boone hunters took advantage of the first weekend of the Youth Deer Hunt (see the Nov. 11 Journal for photos - send us photos at: reporter@bocojo.com). According to the MDC, young hunters checked 13,328 deer during the early portion of Missouri's youth firearms deer season Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, barely missing a record.
The first Youth Portion of Firearms Deer Season was in 2001, when hunters age 11 through 15 checked 6,277 deer. The most ever taken during the two-day hunt was 13,466 in 2004.
Canaday said he thought this year's gun season would be one of the best in recent years as hunters will see a payoff from the "four-point rule."
"This is the third year for having to see four points on one side of a buck's rack," Canaday said. "The idea was based on what the public told us they wanted and by restricting the harvest to four points, we will see bigger racks this year."
Canaday said archery hunters are reportedly seeing larger deer and racks this year and that the deer herd will be strong in numbers.
Devore, however, wasn't waiting for a deer with a bigger rack. His two-kill day will mean his grandpa Waits will be making jerky and have a roast or two in the future and the family will have a wild turkey for their Thanksgiving feast.