On Saturday, November 14, 2009, Wes O’Brien was just about to end an evening hunt when he stumbled onto a buck of a lifetime. O’Brien spotted a large buck standing on a field edge a couple hundred yards away. A few minutes later he dropped the 38pt non-typical giant at 100 yards with his rifle. It wasn’t until O’Brien took the deer to the Schramm Park State Recreation Area check station that discussion of a state record started.
To date, the largest ever whitetail taken by a firearm in Nebraska scored 242.5 points and was taken by Robert Snyder in 1961 in Genoa, located in Nance County. O’Brien’s buck which has been said to be in the 281 range would easily surpass Snyder’s in the firearm category. But there has also been talk that the O’Brien buck might top Nebraska’s all time state record, the infamous Del Austin buck, also known as “Old Mossy Horns.” Austin’s buck was taken in 1962 in Hall County and scored 279.7 points.
It is great to hear of a hunter like O’Brien taking a record book buck, but after you read an account of the story, something feels like it’s missing. Does O’Brien’s buck have the makings of a legend? Does this buck have an incredible story line that will stand the test of time? O’Brien, a native of Texas, joined a friend to hunt a private farm in Nebraska for the opening day of firearm season. They were hunting the property for the first time. By the end of the first day, O’Brien had stumbled onto a trophy buck standing on a field edge. According to the Lincoln Journal Star, O’Brien said he got lucky and that’s why he was naming the buck “Too Easy.” Compare O’Brien’s account of Too Easy to the years of exhaustive hunting, missed shots, encounters, and characters that made the legend of Old Mossy Horns. If O’Brien’s buck goes on to topple Old Mossy Horns, it will be reflected in the record books, but will it become a legend?
Read the story that made Old Mossy Horns a legend: Click Here
View pictures of Wes O’Brien’s 38pt non-typical Nebraska buck: Click Here
Side Note: One can’t help but wonder if somewhere in Nebraska there is modern day Al Dawson who picked up the newspaper to read the story of O’Brien’s buck. Bittersweet, maybe he sat back and smiling he remembered some incredible encounters he had with a buck he never had a chance to harvest. Memories like that are what legends are made of.
(This original article, found only at whitetailroundup.com™)
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