Hunter Hastings has not disclosed whether having a backyard playhouse that doubles as a deer stand affects the value of real estate in Chanute, Kansas.
The 46-year-old manager of a specialty welding company used to lay his hat in a home with 10 huntable acres. He could see his stand from the kitchen window.
The 2018 season was his last to hunt deer on the land he sold three years ago. And his final buck was a doozy.
The deer first came across his radar in 2014, when it might’ve worn 130 inches of antler. It didn’t add that much antler in the subsequent two years, but it reached shooter status in 2017.
Hunter was going to let his wife shoot it, but the deer lost one of its main beams before that could happen.
“It’s a good thing he broke off that antler. Otherwise, we’d have shot that deer,” he said.
Fast forward one year …
About 6:00 on Thursday morning, Sept. 20, three days into the Sunflower State’s early muzzleloader season, Hunter carried his crossbow across his back yard and entered his little girl’s yellow playhouse. He’s preferred the weapon ever since a shoulder injury forced him to trade his compound bow for it.
An hour and 38 minutes after he settled in, Hunter looked out the only window (the others had been blacked out) and saw his tall-browed, heart’s desire a mere 35 yards distant.
After the shot, the buck mule-kicked and choo-chooed out of sight, leaving faint sign. Hunter was supremely relieved when he discovered it had collapsed after traveling only 30 yards.
The distinctive antlers have not been tallied yet.
— Read Recent Blog! What Noise? Some outdoorsmen think their hunts are ruined if they inadvertently step on a stick or fail to stifle a sneeze or cough. In their minds, such are the noises that send deer packing.