Shawn Perich, editor and publisher of Northern Wilds magazine based in Grand Marais, shot this massive, 11-point whitetail buck at 8 a.m. on opening day of the Minnesota firearms deer season hunting in the wilds of Cook County. Perich said it's the biggest rack on any buck he's shot in about 45 years of deer hunting. The antlers measured 24.5 inches across from tip to tip. Perich doesn't weigh his deer, but he said "it was heavier than me, and I'm 215. The real feat was loading him into the truck by myself." Perich, who had been still hunting — walking slowly and stopping in the woods while searching for deer — said the buck fell from one shot of his .270 rifle loaded with non-toxic copper ammunition. It took him nearly two hours to drag the field-dressed buck about 200 yards back to the truck.
