19-Year-Old Luke Lohan harvested a monster Ohio buck, scoring over 220 inches!
Three years ago, 19-year-old hunter Luke Lohan captured a trail pic of a 170-inch buck.
Luke, of course, was enthralled by its size, however the buck didn't seem to show himself much. He decided to pass up this particular deer because he wasn't sure of its whereabouts.
The next deer season rolled around and again he sees this same monster. Not only was it bigger than the previous year, it also showed himself a little more often. Luke says that it was around 190-inch buck as of last year.
However, he thought the buck was just passing through like the previous year. Instead, he tagged another deer.
But this year it all changed for Luke. The now 220-inch buck was on his property to stay. Luke said that he got anywhere from three to four trail pics a day of the beastly buck.
After studying the deer, Luke decided to put a hunt on it, and got it done! Luke bagged the buck and scored it at 221 5/8 inches with 27 points. A true Ohio monster!
I recently had the opportunity to talk with Luke about his monster buck. Here's how it went:
Blake Alma: Luke, how did you get into hunting?
Luke Lohan: My knowledge of hunting is mainly self-taught, like reading stuff online and watching videos. I've been hunting as long as I can remember. My dad would take me out when I was younger. Even if he didn't take me hunting, I would have more than likely gotten into it because it seems everyone in this area hunts.
How did you respond when you saw that monster buck on your cams?
When I first hung cameras, I saw some bucks with potential, but no antlers had really started growing yet. Hence, I quit running cameras for about a month. When I hung them back up, I had gotten pictures of the buck about halfway developed, and I was really at a loss for words. This was the first time I had ever gotten a buck that's ever had antlers this early in the year.
The very second before shooting, what rolled through your mind?
The moment when he was coming in, I was oddly calm. Nothing more than a slightly raised heartbeat. It sounds odd because I should have been shaking like a leaf, but once I took the shot, I stood up to watch him run away. I about fell out of my stand I was shaking so bad! I think that's when I realized that I just harvested a deer that would easily push the 200-inch mark.
How long did you pursue the buck?
You could say I chased the buck for three years, but the first year he floated around the 170-inch mark. He never really showed himself so I didn't spend much time hunting the deer. I decided I wasn't gonna hold out for him, and I hunted other deer on my property. The same was true the second year. He was around the 190-inch range, but I only got a handful of pictures all year. Again, I just figured he was passing through briefly like he had in the past. So I hunted other deer on my property, but then all of that changed this year when I got pictures of the deer sometimes three to four times a day!
I am absolutely astounded by the size of that buck coming from my home state of Ohio. I'm overjoyed to see my generation love the pursuit of the hunt and then being hugely rewarded by it.
Did you enjoy this post? CLICK HERE to view more articles by Blake Alma. Blake is a 17-year-old TV & radio host, published author, hunting activist, and creationist. You can check out Blake's site at www.blakealma.com.
