Veteran bowhunter Marty Peterson, North Salt Lake, didn't know he had taken a record buck during the recent bowhunt until several days after he bagged his quarry.
Peterson, 31, a Salt Lake firefighter and a part-time firefighter and emergency medical technician with the South Davis Fire District, took time out to go hunting in August and headed for a favorite spot he often hunts in East Canyon.Covered from head to toe in camouflage clothing, his face painted in camouflage colors and his body liberally sprinkled with chemicals to hide his animal scent, Peterson planted himself next to a tree in the woods and prepared for hours of still, quiet waiting.
He was rewarded some hours later when a large buck approached his stand and came to within 30 yards of the hunter. Peterson fired an arrow, it hit the mark and the stricken deer moved off into the woods. After a long, arduous search, Peterson finally found his game lying in a thicket.
It was not until several days later that friends and fellow hunters told Peterson, after inspecting his prize, that they believed he had a record set of antlers.
Peterson said the antlers have four large points on each side and single 2-inch-long brow tines on each side and measure more than 28 inches across the widest part. "To be recorded as a record, the antlers must be at least 28-inches wide," Peterson said.
He must wait 60 days, until about Halloween, to allow the antlers to dry and then will submit them to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources where an expert will measure the antlers and determine whether they can be entered in the record books.
The record has been established by the Pope & Young Club, which is to bowhunting what the Boone and Crockett records are to hunters who use guns.
Whether the antlers are a record of not, Peterson says, hunting is a wonderful sport and his experience in finding the deer on the recent bow hunt was "an unforgettable experience."
Stealth is the name of the game when it comes to bowhunting, he says. "You have to be perfectly camouflaged and hidden. Animals can't know you are anywhere around or they will be spooked and run away."
He said he was so well hidden during the recent hunt that birds came to within a foot of his head and sat on tree branches not knowing he was hiding beneath them. A porcupine ambled to within inches of his leg and a skunk came so close Peterson said, "I held my breath in fear he would sense me and I would be scented by him. That would have ruined my day for sure, he said, smiling."