Finder’s Keepers

18-year old Lucas Allen with the buck he FOUND while hunting in Putnam County last fall

Many deer hunters will spend their entire lives hunting for a truly unique, trophy buck.   Many never kill one.   Eighteen year old Lucas Allen of Poca, West Virginia still hasn’t killed a trophy, but he did find one.

"They day before this I had hunted and missed a nice eight-point," said Allen.  "I was pretty upset.  That Saturday I was walking back to my hunting spot and just happened to look over.  I thought it was only one side of the rack, but it turned out that it was this monster buck and I could not believe it."

There on the ground, Lucas discovered the remains of one of the biggest bucks he–and many others–had ever seen.    The 20-point monster had antlers running in all directions.   It was an amazing rack that caused Lucas to shake–even though it had been long since dead.

"I have no idea how it died," said the Poca High School student. "It could have been wounded, it could have been hit by a car.  It looked like it had been dead for about a month and there was no way to tell how it died."

Lucas collected the skull and rack of the massive animal and headed for his home on Heizer Creek in Putnam County.  He decided to have some fun with his brothers.

"I put it in the bed of my truck and set it up so that when I pulled in the driveway, they thought I had killed it," laughed Lucas.  "My brother came home from hunting and I told him, ‘I got a 20-pointer.’  He started laughing so I took him up there and showed him and he couldn’t believe it."

Lucas called the local Conservation Officer to ask about the chances he’d be allowed to keep the rare find.   He took it to the DNR office in St. Albans and was issued a non-hunting tag.  A Lincoln County taxidermist took on the task of mounting the big buck with the aid of a new cape to create a lifelong keepsake.  Conservation Officers were thrilled for Lucas and for the way he reported the find, going through the proper channels to keep it.

"It scored 200 3/8ths.  17-inch spread, it’s a decent rack, it’s taller than it is wide." said Lucas after having the deer scored under the Boone and Crocket Scoring System. "It’s non-typical, points going out the side, the back, everywhere.  It’s just a big, non-typical deer."

Lucas says he found the buck on the Saturday in the middle of the two-week buck season.   He was soon on the phone with all of the neighbors and his buddies and word spread quickly on Heizer Creek about the find.   

"I couldn’t believe there was a deer this big on Heizer Creek," said Lucas. "Hopefully he’s got some babies running around here!"

Lucas has only been hunting for a few years, and although he’s killed a doe and a buck, he agrees this is without question his biggest trophy yet.

"I just got into hunting a couple of years ago, my brothers got me into it.  I enjoy it and being out in the woods," said Lucas. "I really wish I could have killed it rather than just finding it."