Crack Shot MN Conservation Officer Spares
Trophy Buck
|
August 24, 2007
 When
Minnesota DNR Enforcement’s pistol team enters competition, they can
count on Conservation Officer (CO) Greg Oldakowski of Wadena for
both his accuracy and focus on the firing line.
The former Marine was among the members of a CO team that took first
place, for the fifth consecutive year, in a multi-state pistol
competition this fall.
He recently used his shooting skills in another trophy situation
where the prize thankfully got away.
While working north of Wadena recently, he received a call of two
large bucks with locked horns. One of the large bucks, a 10-pointer
weighing about 180 pounds, was already dead. A 14-pointer that
weighed probably more than 200 pounds was dragging his dead sparring
partner out of some cattails.
“He still had plenty of fight left in him when I arrived, so there
was no way he was going to let me get close enough to free the dead
deer,” Oldakowski said. “He was throwing the 10-pointer around like
it was a rag doll.”
Because of the strength and agility left in the 14-pointer,
Oldakowski made the decision to attempt to shoot the tines off the
dead animal to free the live buck.
Using his .40 caliber pistol, Oldakowski closed within 15 feet of
the deer before blasting off one tine of the dead deer. A couple of
other shots missed their mark.
“The 14-pointer was trashing around quite a bit by this time; when I
got another clear shot I fired, breaking off a second tine of the
dead deer,” Oldakowski said.
Finally free, the 14-pointer ran away, unharmed except for maybe
some ringing in his ears, but with no broken antler points.
Oldakowski said it was one of the biggest deer he’s ever seen.
|
| |
|
|
Outdoor News
|
|
ADVERTISERS
|
|
|
|
