Bow hunter harvests 18-point doe in Shell Knob, Mo.
SHELL KNOB, Mo. (KY3) - Kelly Moore has hunted since he was old enough to hold a weapon. He’s been successful over the years but not as successful as his last hunt.
Moore had been watching a game camera showing a deer with large antlers roaming around his usual hunting grounds for days. He saw it before he gave up for the day and took a shot with his crossbow.
After hauling it out of the woods, Moore and his peers inspected the animal. They realized certain parts were missing from what they thought was a buck.
They quickly determined it was a doe, which the Missouri Department of Conservation confirmed.
To put things into perspective, it’s about a one in 10,000 chance that a doe grows antlers. It’s an even more significant anomaly that it’s grown as many antlers as it has.
Moore hopes to receive some recognition for this trophy, even if it’s just amongst his peers.
“I’m going to take it to the taxidermist and try to get the ball rolling on that because there is special care needed for the velvet on the antlers and all that, and hoping maybe to be contacted by somebody to put it in a museum or maybe Bass Pro or something like that. It’s going to hang on the wall somewhere, even if it’s just in my house,” Moore said with a laugh.
Francis Skalicky with the Missouri Department of Conservation says the fact this deer was found is a good thing.
“This is just a sign that we have an abundant and thriving deer population in Missouri. The higher your numbers are, the more anomalies you’re going to have. So you know, it’s it’s a unique kind of event. It’s just another reason to enjoy the Missouri’s outdoors. You never know what you’re going to see out there, and this is case in point,” Skalicky stated.
It happened to be the first time Moore used the crossbow hunting. A lucky shot with a lucky weapon on a lucky day may be the biggest trophy of Moore’s hunting career.
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