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Hillman buck pole features 21 fresh kills

21 total bucks took part in the 2018 Hillman Buck Pole.

HILLMAN — The Hillman Chamber of Commerce hosted yet another buck pole as the 2018 firearm season began Thursday.

The event was free, though participants were instructed to shoot deer within a 30 mile radius of Hillman.

There were 5 “grand prizes” for achievement: largest youth rack (shot by someone 16 or younger), largest rack, largest antlers by a lady, heaviest buck by a man, and heaviest buck by a lady. The rack prizes won gun packages, while weight prizes came from Don’s Tractor and Equipment Sales.

Hunters had from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m. to bring a deer in for measurement. By 4 o’clock, there were 13 bucks hanging outside of the Hillman DairyQueen. That number would shoot up to 20 by 7 p.m; and finish at 21 with a last minute entry at 7:53 p.m.

The last minute entry, submitted by Steve Wicks, ended up winning the largest rack prize with 10 points and a 15 and 5/8 inch spread. “Northeast Michigan is a big hunting paradise. You know there’s a lot of good hunters here, especially in Hillman.”

Event organizer and Chamber of Commerce President Jim Paczkowski was very pleased with the results, “I expected us to have close to 20 bucks before it was all over.”

Points were determined by the number of points on the antlers plus the spread.

PLACEMENT BY SCORE
1) Steve Wicks 25 5/8 (10 points, 15 5/8 spread) 155 pounds
2) Brent Cadieux 24 1/4 (10 points, 14 1/4 spread) 132 pounds
3) Krista Andrews 24 1/8 (8 points, 16 1/8 spread) 155 pounds
4) Chuck Hubert 22 3/4 (7 points, 15 3/4 spread) 142 pounds
5) Brady Firman 22 5/8 (9 points, 13 3/8 spread) 171 pounds
6) Ken Munroe Jr. 22 1/2 (8 points, 14 1/2 spread) 129 pounds
7) Katelyn Tucker 22 1/4 (9 points, 13 1/4 spread) 153 pounds
8) Chad Ruthke 21 1/2 (8 points, 13 1/2 spread) 176 pounds
9) Charles Spencer 21 3/8 (8 points, 13 3/8 spread) 118 pounds
10) Ron Floer 20 3/4 (8 points, 12 3/4 spread) 139 pounds
11) Raymond Schlok 20 1/2 (7 points, 13 1/2 spread) 110 pounds
12) Dylan Steinke 20 3/8 (6 points, 20 3/8 spread) 132 pounds
13) Ashleigh Chapin 20 1/8 (7 points, 13 1/8 spread) 163 pounds
14) Laurence Potter 19 7/8 (7 points, 12 7/8 spread) 138 pounds
15) Charlie Baur 19 3/4 (8 points, 11 3/4 spread) 102 pounds
15) Jeffery Klew 19 3/4 (7 points, 12 3/4 spread) 158 pounds
17) Darren Schultz 19 3/8 (7 points, 12 3/8 spread) 128 pounds
18) Devin Cook 19 1/8 (7 points, 12 1/8 spread) 119 pounds
19) Jim Stoddard 18 7/8 (6 points, 12 7/8 spread) 143 pounds
20) James Proderut 18 3/4 (6 points, 12 3/4 spread) 145 pounds
21) Nora Steinke 14 1/4 (8 points, 6 1/4 spread) 139 pounds