Although voting in Kansas and much of the country was four hours from closing on Tuesday, Nov. 8, Dustin Norris was dying to know what exit polls were predicting. He wanted to see the map.
The redder the better, to his way of thinking.
The 35-year-old, laid-off welder was eager to see who was going to take the economy's reins, but he also wanted to take advantage of the pre-rut.
"I was torn," he said. "I wanted to go hunting, but I also wanted to get home and see how the election was going."
Given the closeness of the presidential race, Dustin made the right choice - taking his crossbow to the woods - when he left HVAC school at 3:00 that Tuesday. His destination was a double ladder stand tucked in the corner of an old clover field.
The first deer he saw was a small 6-pointer that walked underneath his perch. Another buck with a broken antler chased it away.
"As soon as that show was over, I heard a ruckus and turned to see yet another buck, right beside me. It was broad daylight," he said.
Dustin had only a few seconds to act. As soon as the deer was under his stand, obviously in a hurry to further establish the pecking order, he took the 10-yard shot.
"Even if I'd been hunting with a regular bow, I could've drawn on that deer. It was paying no attention to me whatsoever," he smiled.
The buck ran only 20 yards after the thwack. Less than two minutes had elapsed between the sighting and the shot.
"It was probably the easiest recovery I've ever had," he said.
The whitetail was never weighed, but Dustin says it was definitely the largest he's ever shot. Based on the three years of photos he has of the buck, he's guessing it was 7 or 8 years old.
Its BTR composite score is 202 inches.
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Long Poke at a State Record: David Lecuyer / BTR Composite Score: 213 6/8