Saskatchewan hunter bags world record mule deer
A Saskatchewan hunter has set a new world record after bagging what conservation officials are calling a “deer of a lifetime.”
Dennis Bennett, a member of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation (SWF), was hunting in the Arm River area when he managed to shoot a massive non-typical mule deer on Oct. 1, 2018, according to a news release from the SWF.
The deer was measured on Oct. 7 by officials with Henry Kelsey Big Game Records, the official record-keeping system for big game in Saskatchewan, and scored a 2936/8. The previous record of 290 was set in the 1920s by Nelson Clark.
The deer also broke the world record as classified by the Pope and Young Club, which records animals taken by archery only. The previous record was set by Kennet Plank in 1987. Pope and Young scored Bennett’s deer a 291-1/8.
“It was a pleasure to be part of the panel recognizing this beautiful non-typical mule deer from Saskatchewan as a New World Record,” Eli Randall, Records Director for the Pope and Young Club, said in a news release.
He said photos of the animal — which dropped in its tracks after it was shot — “do not do it justice,” noting the deer will be a “must see” during the organization’s convention from April 10 to 13 in Omaha, Neb.
Bennett’s non-typical mule deer is the second animal killed in Saskatchewan that has set a world record, Warren Howse, the SWF Henry Kelsey Chair, said in the release. Milo Hanson’s whitetailed deer, killed in 1993, was also a world-record harvest from Saskatchewan.
“It is indicative of the quality of wildlife resources we cherish here in our province,” he said.