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Survivor finds renewal in bagging trophy buck
By JOHN SULLIVAN of the Tribune’s staff
November 1, 2003
His friends told him of a "monster" 12-point deer they had seen in a Howard County bean field.
photo courtesy Travis Parker
Travis Parker of Ashland poses with the 12-point buck he killed this week in Howard County with his Mathews MQ32 compound bow. Parker heard of a “monster” deer in July after suffering gunshot wounds in a gunman’s July 2 shooting spree at Modine Manufacturing Co. in Jefferson City.
As someone who had never missed a hunting season in his life, the tale gave Travis Parker something to think about while recuperating from wounds he suffered in a July 2 shooting spree in Jefferson City.
Parker, 27, of Ashland, thought about the big deer but never believed he would be hunting for it this archery deer season.
Parker was the last victim to leave the hospital after a disturbed worker in Jefferson City killed three co-workers and wounded five others at Modine Manufacturing Co.
One of his biggest worries while recovering from that nightmarish experience, he said, was whether he would still be able to pursue one of his greatest passions - deer hunting.
That question was settled about 6 p.m. Monday, Parker said, as he perched in a deer stand and saw the image that his friends had shared with him four months earlier.
Today, he’s waiting for verification that his trophy buck was the second-largest buck ever taken by a bowhunter in the state.
"It’s a one-in-a-million for an archer to kill a deer of that magnitude," said David Megahan of Columbia Taxidermy Studio, which is mounting Parker’s trophy. "… It’s a tremendous buck, and it’s obviously going to be one of the better deer killed with a bow in the state."
The antlers must dry out for 60 days before an official measurement can be taken. But a rough score of 180 using the Boone and Crockett scoring system would place Parker’s buck within range of one of the top five bucks felled by a bow-hunter in Missouri, said Kevin Hisey.
Hisey is executive secretary of the Pope and Young Club in Chatfield, Minn., a national organization that keeps an account of the largest bow-hunting kills in the country. The state bow-hunting record for a typical white-tailed deer is about 188 on the Boone and Crockett scale, Hisey said, and the second-largest deer is listed at about 179.
"After I took the shot, I was shaking so bad. I could hardly breathe," Parker said of the moment just before he felled the deer.
"It was literally the biggest buck I had ever seen," he said.
Parker said he shot the deer from about 15 yards away on a 240-acre farm between Harrisburg and Higbee. To lure the animal, he said he used a rattle-and-call technique, which some hunters don’t believe works, he said.
"They may think it doesn’t work, but I’m here to tell you it does," he said.
Parker said he waited three hours in his stand before searching for the wounded animal in the dark with the help of friends, he said. When he couldn’t find the animal, he went home to get some fitful sleep before resuming his search at dawn the next day.
When they found the animal the next morning, it was several yards from where they had searched the night before.
Parker still suffers from wounds received at Modine - femoral nerve damage in his left leg and a damaged colon. But he said that his survival has given him a renewed appreciation of life.
"I have a new outlook on life, a new appreciation for friends and family," he said.
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Reach John Sullivan at (573) 815-1731 or jsullivan@tribmail.com.
By JOHN SULLIVAN of the Tribune’s staff
November 1, 2003
His friends told him of a "monster" 12-point deer they had seen in a Howard County bean field.
photo courtesy Travis Parker
Travis Parker of Ashland poses with the 12-point buck he killed this week in Howard County with his Mathews MQ32 compound bow. Parker heard of a “monster” deer in July after suffering gunshot wounds in a gunman’s July 2 shooting spree at Modine Manufacturing Co. in Jefferson City.
As someone who had never missed a hunting season in his life, the tale gave Travis Parker something to think about while recuperating from wounds he suffered in a July 2 shooting spree in Jefferson City.
Parker, 27, of Ashland, thought about the big deer but never believed he would be hunting for it this archery deer season.
Parker was the last victim to leave the hospital after a disturbed worker in Jefferson City killed three co-workers and wounded five others at Modine Manufacturing Co.
One of his biggest worries while recovering from that nightmarish experience, he said, was whether he would still be able to pursue one of his greatest passions - deer hunting.
That question was settled about 6 p.m. Monday, Parker said, as he perched in a deer stand and saw the image that his friends had shared with him four months earlier.
Today, he’s waiting for verification that his trophy buck was the second-largest buck ever taken by a bowhunter in the state.
"It’s a one-in-a-million for an archer to kill a deer of that magnitude," said David Megahan of Columbia Taxidermy Studio, which is mounting Parker’s trophy. "… It’s a tremendous buck, and it’s obviously going to be one of the better deer killed with a bow in the state."
The antlers must dry out for 60 days before an official measurement can be taken. But a rough score of 180 using the Boone and Crockett scoring system would place Parker’s buck within range of one of the top five bucks felled by a bow-hunter in Missouri, said Kevin Hisey.
Hisey is executive secretary of the Pope and Young Club in Chatfield, Minn., a national organization that keeps an account of the largest bow-hunting kills in the country. The state bow-hunting record for a typical white-tailed deer is about 188 on the Boone and Crockett scale, Hisey said, and the second-largest deer is listed at about 179.
"After I took the shot, I was shaking so bad. I could hardly breathe," Parker said of the moment just before he felled the deer.
"It was literally the biggest buck I had ever seen," he said.
Parker said he shot the deer from about 15 yards away on a 240-acre farm between Harrisburg and Higbee. To lure the animal, he said he used a rattle-and-call technique, which some hunters don’t believe works, he said.
"They may think it doesn’t work, but I’m here to tell you it does," he said.
Parker said he waited three hours in his stand before searching for the wounded animal in the dark with the help of friends, he said. When he couldn’t find the animal, he went home to get some fitful sleep before resuming his search at dawn the next day.
When they found the animal the next morning, it was several yards from where they had searched the night before.
Parker still suffers from wounds received at Modine - femoral nerve damage in his left leg and a damaged colon. But he said that his survival has given him a renewed appreciation of life.
"I have a new outlook on life, a new appreciation for friends and family," he said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reach John Sullivan at (573) 815-1731 or jsullivan@tribmail.com.
