ASHMONT – Parking was at a premium and Ashmont Agriplex was packed to the doors on Saturday afternoon as hunters from across a wide area of the Lakeland displayed their trophies from successful hunts at the 2023 Buck of the Season.
A total of 63 entries were measured by a lineup of judges, which master of ceremonies Sean Dolan said was “A good turnout, we average around 50 most years. It’s good to see it increasing after the COVID.
“It’s pretty amazing to fill the place with spectators, it’s really more of a social event, and hunting is part of the community, it’s a rural heritage and people come from well outside the County of St. Paul.”
A number of prizes were distributed while the last few sets of antlers were being measured, one of them a 50/50 draw that sent a lucky visitor home with $536. A draw from the names of all the entrants yielded a $250 prize for Ron Mercier, and an equal amount for the entrant with the People’s Choice rack, which went to Todd Homeniuk for his typical whitetail. A draw for a fishing package went to a delighted Shauna Ilchuk, and Chris Genest took home the award for guessing the closest to the official measurement of an entry.
Then it was time to announce the winners.
In the Whitetail categories, Todd Homeniuk took the Men’s Typical award with a measurement of 197 1/8, the Men’s Non-Typical going to Adrien Jacques with 193 1/8, the Women’s Typical going to Brooklynn Kelly with 172 4/8 and the Youth to Lane Babb with 168 6/8.
Zachary Matthews topped the Bull Moose category with his entry measuring 161 7/8, while Lorne Bourassa’s massive Bull Elk rack took the win with a total of 302 1/8.
The top Men’s Mule Deer was brought in by Scott Wowdzia and measured 183 5/8, the Women’s top Mule Deer harvested by Jenna Huk measuring 179 5/8 and the top Youth Mule Deer by Jacklyn Hartle measuring 146 6/8.
