Outdoor show features record-breaking deer
By Randy Whitehouse
Staff Writer

LEWISTON – Records come and go in game hunting. But some records are hard to break.

One of the more elusive record holders in the world will be in town this weekend, on display at the Sportsmen’s and Outdoor Recreation Show at the Colisee.

The three-day show will feature a variety of exhibits and displays including hunting, fishing, boating, ATV’s, rafting, canoeing, kayaking and taxidermy, among other outdoor activities.

But the highlight of the weekend may be the first appearance in Maine of the “Hanson Buck”, a world record typical whitetail deer harvested 11 years ago in Canada.

Joe Kelly of Kelly and Son Outdoors bought the buck four years ago from Milo Hanson, a farmer and hunter from Biggar, Saskatchewan who bagged the animal on Nov. 23, 1993.

“It couldn’t have happened to a nicer person, either” said Kelly, a South Carolinian. “He told me he’s not a real good hunter. He was just in the right place at the right time.”

The deer, with its balanced 12-point rack, has an official Boone and Crockett score of 213 5/8, shattering the previous world record “Jordan Buck” at 206 1/8 that stood as the standard for 47 years.

Kelly, who has his own collection of southern white tail deer, takes the trophy buck around the world to about 15 shows per year and says it always gets hunters buzzing.

“It will draw a crowd,” he said. “I’ve been in this business a long time and I was fortunate to land this buck.”

Jay Collier, the show’s promoter, expects the same to happen in Lewiston this weekend. The show also features a number of other attractions, including a climbing wall, “micro-reality” stock care racing, live wooden boat building demonstrations and numerous featured speakers.

Lewiston hasn’t exactly been a hotbed for outdoor recreation shows over the years, but Collier thinks that could change.

“We’ve been looking at Lewiston the last couple of years and we’re a little bit curious why the Lewiston/Auburn area didn’t have an outdoor and recreation show,” said Collier, whose Showcase Events is based out of Brunswick. “We did a survey and found that 84 percent of people within a hour’s drive (of the Twin Cities) participates in some form of outdoor activity.”