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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Outdoors blog

Young hunter pulls his weight

Gabe Bancroft, 14, with a whitetail buck he bagged with a .50-caliber muzzleloader at 22 yards with the help of his dad,  Chris Bancroft. (Shawn O'Kert)
Gabe Bancroft, 14, with a whitetail buck he bagged with a .50-caliber muzzleloader at 22 yards with the help of his dad, Chris Bancroft. (Shawn O'Kert)

DEER HUNTING -- Gabe Bancroft, 14, enjoyed the complete package of being a successful deer hunter last weekend. Taking advantage of the late muzzleloader season that opens as the whitetail rut begins to ebb, he joined his uncle Shawn O'Kert to get in position where deer had been moving.

The buck was still on the prowl, and Bancroft bagged it at close range with a .50-caliber rifle. "He came in to a grunt tube at 1:30 p.m.," said O'Kert, who also called in a buck the previous day.

But the job wasn't over when the shot was fired. The photo above shows Gabe putting his muscle into dragging his trophy back to the vehicle.

Will this be a lesson that leads him shoot a spike next time?

I'm betting no.



Rich Landers
Rich Landers joined The Spokesman-Review in 1977. He is the Outdoors editor for the Sports Department writing and photographing stories about hiking, hunting, fishing, boating, conservation, nature and wildlife and related topics.

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