Student hunters hit their mark

VIENNA -- Mathews student Kailee Tucker, 9, did a fancy handshake with Mathews Local Schools SRO Steven Smith Saturday as she told him, "I shot my first deer ever!"

Kailee was one of five students participating in Mathews' first "Big Deer Contest" who shot a deer this hunting season. The "friendly competition" invited students to get outside and hunting, then to report the size of their deer to see how they stacked up with other students in their age group. Fourteen students participated and celebrated the end of the season at Brothers Pizza in Vienna.

"Because of COVID-19, we got together and said, let's do something for the kids," said Fowler police Chief Mike Currington, who came up with the idea and presented it to Smith at the beginning of the school year.

"It was something kids could do with their families outdoors," Smith said. The idea was giving kids something to look forward to as they continued to deal with COVID-19.

Mitchell McEvoy, 11, claimed the biggest deer in the 8 to 11 age group -- beating Kailee's 70-pound doe. Mitchell shot his nine-point, 108-pound buck with a 315 Legend rifle.

"My dad was checking night time tables to see when the sun would go down, to see when we would leave, and I saw a beautiful buck start walking down the hill in front of us," Mitchell said. "I went to my dad, and I was like, dad, there's one right there."

Mitchell took his time aiming, waiting until the buck was broadside, or perpendicular, to him.

"I took a shot, and it was beautiful. It ran halfway up a hill and it fell down, and while we were dressing it, we figured out that I hit it in the top left corner of the heart."

Mitchell said getting the deer -- his first -- felt "exhilarating." He had been hunting with his dad, Liam, the season before and fired a shot, but didn't hit the deer. His family warned him that not every hit will be a nine-point buck.

Cole Freudenrich, 10, earned third-place in his age range with a 61-pound button buck. He used his dad's brand-new crossbow to make the shot.

In the 12 to 15 category, Richard White, 15, got a 156-pound eight-point buck.

Chace Hunter, 16, in the 16 to 19 group, took home the biggest deer of all -- a nine-point buck that weighed in at a whopping 255 pounds.

"It went 20 yards out in front of me, and it stopped, and it looked at me, so I shot it," Chace said.

Chace said he has gotten seven or eight deer over the years, but it took him about eight years of trying to shoot his first. He likes hunting because of the adrenaline and because he enjoys sitting in nature and watching the animals, he said.

His advice to hunters just starting out: stay quiet and don't move.

The students who shot deer took home a slew of prizes, including cash, T-shirts, and gift certificates to Center Mass Shooting Supply, which served as the "hub" for the contest and a major sponsor.

Other sponsors included the FOP Lodge 137, Fitzimmons Builders, Fowler police, Tom Carr and family, Bockleman's Landscaping, Phil and Jill Pegg, Denny Malloy and Whitetails Unlimited, Dawn White and NWTF Knives, Albie and Terry Crabbs, Steve Rudge, Denovchek Realty, Fowler Volunteer Fire Department, Sharp Trucking, Vienna Dairy Queen, Douglas A. Emery Agency, WTR Services, Autumn Addiction Archery, Brothers Pizza, Hovis Image Wear and Ron, Bonnie, Sarah and Mike Grope.

Smith said he would like to build on the contest next year.

avugrincic@tribtoday.com