About the Book
Eclipsing Memorial Stadium on a Husker football game day, deer season is arguably the largest single sporting event of the year in Nebraska, with more than one hundred thousand hunters going afield with the hopes of tagging a trophy buck or bull.
Nebraska’s Bucks and Bulls tells the stories and shares the photographs of the greatest whitetail, mule deer, and elk shot in Nebraska. Collected through firsthand interviews with the hunters, these personal hunting stories span the decades from the mid-1940s through the 2010s. Each story shares the excitement and adventure of the hunt while weaving in Nebraska history, ecology, and geography. Photographs of the trophy animals showcase not only the quality and variety of big-game hunting in Nebraska but also the changes in hunting clothes, gear, guns, and vehicles through the state’s history.
Recounted by Joel W. Helmer, an avid hunter and official measurer for the Boone and Crockett Club, which created the scoring system for measuring North American big-game animals, each chapter tells the story of a buck or bull certified through official state or national records books. Nebraska’s Bucks and Bulls has finally gathered the state’s greatest hunting tales in one place.
Author Bio
Joel W. Helmer is a professor of geography at Concordia University in Nebraska, a freelance outdoor writer, and a lifelong hunter. His work has been published in Nebraskaland Magazine, Outdoor Life, American Hunter, and Outdoor Oklahoma, among others. Randy Stutheit is the Nebraska Big Game Trophy Records Coordinator.
Praise
“Nebraska has long been a sleeper state for big game, and this book backs up that claim with tons of facts and photos. If you’re a fan of outstanding Great Plains bucks and bulls, you need to read every page.”—Gordon Whittington, editor in chief of North American Whitetail
“Entertaining and informative, this collection of stories will serve as an important chapter in the larger story of big-game hunting in Nebraska.”—Eric Fowler, regional editor of Nebraskaland Magazine
“Both a nostalgic look back and a jubilant look ahead, . . . this book is an ideal gift for veteran hunters who want to step back and remember and for new hunters who want to understand where we’ve come from and where we, as sportsmen, can go.”—Frank Miniter, editor in chief of America’s First Freedom magazine and a New York Times best-selling author
Table of Contents
Foreword by Randy Stutheit
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part 1. Typical Whitetail Deer
1. Barn Find: The John Harvey Buck, 1963
2. Hold Low: The Bob Vrbsky Buck, 1978
3. Next Generation: The Kyle Newcomb Buck, 2016
4. Platte River Giant: The Vernon Virka Buck, 1983
5. Deer Drive: The Greg and Mike Hansmire Bucks, 1996 and 2006
6. Handgun: The Jerry Lauby Buck, 1983
7. Back-to-Back Booners: The Adam Zutavern Bucks, 2009 and 2010
8. Father and Son: The Frosty Adams Buck, 2000
9. Trifecta: The James Hamick Bucks, 2007 and 2008
10. Giant of the Bohemian Alps: The Kevin Petrzilka Buck, 2010
11. Perfect Eight: The John Woloszyn Buck, 1994
12. Missouri River Breaks: The Keith Fahrenholz Buck, 1966
13. Plane Crash: The Keith Houdersheldt Buck, 1985
14. High Five: The Kevin Wood Buck, 1999
Part 2. Non-Typical Whitetail Deer
15. Kitchen Window: The Peggy Easterwood Buck, 2018
16. Twenty-Five Points: Hunter Unknown, 1990
17. Pocket Cover: The Jon Allen Buck, 2007
18. Talk of the Town: The Robert Snyder Buck, 1961
19. Records Are Made to Be Broken: The Wesley O’Brien Buck, 2009
20. Like Father, Like Son: The Gary and Adam Stohs Bucks, 1994 and 2015
21. Crossbow: The Bob Malander Buck, 2017
22. 2 County: The Jeff Moody Buck, 2003
23. Ol’ Mossy Horns: The Del Austin Buck, 1962
Dick Idol
24. Spider and Double Down: The Rachel Kechely and AJ Ahern Bucks, 2016
25. Midday: The Kellen Meyer and Jordan Owens Buck, 2010
26. Double Drop Tine: The Bill Klawitter Buck, 1963
27. Public Land: The Dave Oates Buck, 1985
28. Working Man: The Jack Grevson Buck, 1962
29. Spanky: The Spanky Greenville Collection
30. Goliath: The Jacob Gipson Buck, 2017
31. Buck Jam: The Dan Boliver Buck, 1996
Part 3. Typical American Elk
32. That Guy: The Russel Coffey Bull, 2018
33. Family Affair: The Dillon Mortensen Bull, 2017
34. Flip of the Coin: The Curtis James Bull, 2015
35. Imperial: The Jason Mosel Bull, 2015
36. Wildcat Hills Wapiti: The KC Merrihew Bull, 2014
37. Bull with a Bow: The John Rickard Bull, 2017
38. Thank God He Made It: The Doug Correll Bull, 2014
39. First Bull: The Warren Chapin Bull, 1986
40. Pine Ridge: The Robert Marsteller Bull, 2004
41. Center Pivot: The Chuck Anderson Bull, 2016
Part 4. Non-Typical American Elk
42. Perfect Hunt: The Hannah Helmer Bull, 2016
43. Drought and Fire: The Casey Yada Bull, 2012
44. 400 Club: The Justin Misegadis Bull, 2017
45. Elk Hunter: The Frank Meyers Bull, 2016
46. Meadow Monarch: The Dana Foster Bull, 2008
Part 5. Typical Mule Deer
47. Houdini: The Michael Dickerson Buck, 2018
48. Brow Tines: The Terry Sandstrom Buck, 1968
49. The Stalk: The Kirk Peters Buck, 1989
Kirk Peters
50. Symmetry: The Brent Klein Buck, 1984
51. Deer Hunting Comes to Frontier County: The Henry Koch Buck, 1960
52. Forgotten: The Clarence Dout Buck, 1949
53. Western Adventure: The James Skorzewski Buck, 1965
54. In Memoriam: The James Pavelka Buck, 1957
Part 6. Non-Typical Mule Deer
55. Rearview Mirror: The Barry Johnson Buck, 1992
56. Wrong Buck: The Eric Johnson Buck, 2017
57. Full Velvet: The Mike Lutt Buck, 2014
58. HisStory: The Art Thomsen Buck, 1960
59. Making Headlines: The Bill Glenn Buck, 1963
60. A Hunting Tradition: The Charles Hogeland Buck, 1994
Charles J. Hogeland
61. Tough as Nails: The Dave Davis Buck, 1961
62. The Little Girl with a Spoon: The Delman Tuller Buck, 1965
63. Working Cattle: The Matthew Lake Buck, 2017
64. Nebraska’s Oldest Trophy: The R. A. Wirz Buck, 1945
65. Better Late Than Never: The Leo Dwyer Buck, 1959
66. 30 S 10 W: The Jack Kreycik Buck, 1963
67. Dreaming about Nebraska: The Paul Mecouch Buck, 2007
68. So Much Horn: The Ken Hollopeter Buck, 1979
Notes
Index
