Mike Handley posted on September 12, 2011 07:05
By Mike Handley
If what happened last year in Highland County, Ohio, can be duplicated, deer hunters might benefit from Lamaze classes.
Don't laugh. Little frizzy-haired Alek Muladore might be the only deer hunter to have gasped and huffed his way into the record books.
So shaken by the buck beyond his .410 shotgun's bead last fall, the 8-year-old's breathing was more like that of a woman in labor. It was even loud enough for the giant whitetail to hear it, although the animal found the panting sounds more intriguing than alarming.
The boy's father, Justin, was about to have a stroke. The deer was leaving, spooked by three does that had busted the duo at the top of the double ladder stand.
"I think I said 'Shoot' 400 times in about two seconds," Justin laughed. "But my son was suffering from buck fever. He was gasping and huffing, and the buck heard him. But instead of running, it turned back to look.
"That's when Alek finally pulled the trigger," he added.
The Muladores were hunting the family's 160-acre farm. Last year was Alek's first to carry a firearm, and it was Nov. 20, the first long-anticipated day of the state's youth hunt.
All the heavy breathing took place not long after a foggy sunrise, when Justin saw the deer approaching and woke Alek.
Justin, unable to find blood the first time he got down and looked, thought his son had missed. When he looked again an hour later, he saw hair and, eventually, a single drop. They found the buck entangled in a deadfall not far from where they'd last seen it standing.
Later, at the check station, Alek's face hurt from smiling for photographs. The posing stopped when the young entrepreneur got the idea to announce that any more pictures would cost a dollar.
Alek's 13-pointer carries 178 3/8 inches of antler. Add to that a 20-inch inside spread, and the BTR composite score is 198 3/8. With only two abnormal points totalling 7 3/8 inches, the buck falls into our typical category -- No. 9 in its class for the state of Ohio.
Ed Waite's story about Alek's unique first buck will appear this fall in RACK magazine.