Young Missouri hunter harvests record non-typical deer in first hunt

Coleman Wilson thought his toes could shatter during the bitter cold of the early youth portion of firearms deer season in Nov. 2025. Rather than lose his appendages to frostbite, however, he brought home a 16-point buck, 8 of which were abnormal points.

Coleman Wilson poses with his first harvested buck Nov. 2, 2025, in Greene County. (Photo courtesy of Micah Wilson).

The then 9-year-old was as bundled as he could be when he and his dad, Micah, headed to their tree stand on their property in Greene County.

“It was 29 degrees,” Micah Wilson said. “He was cold before we got off the porch.”

Despite the extreme chill, the father-son duo was determined to make the most of it on Nov. 2, 2025. For quite some time, the pair had eyes on a buck that had been wandering the woods.

When the sun finally crested the horizon, Micah spotted the buck following a doe. He helped his son see over the railing and grabbed the buck’s attention with a deer call. Coleman took the shot, and the buck dropped at 68 yards.

“I was too excited,” the now 10-year-old said.

MDC Forester Taylor Kennemer, from left, Micah Wilson, Coleman Wilson, and MDC Conservation Educator Lyle Whittaker gather for a group photo after Coleman Wilson’s skullcap was measured June 26 at the Springfield Regional Office.

The pair got to field dressing the buck, but they called in mom Katie Wilson for a bit of extra help. Coleman’s favorite food is tacos, so the freezer was stocked with ground venison and chopped loin.

Word had traveled fast about this big buck. Many folks in the community had eyes on it, including Coleman’s own father.

“The neighbor across the fence texted and congratulated him and said, ‘Couldn’t have gone to a better hunter than a youth hunter,’” Micah shared.

After months of drying the antlers, Coleman and Micah visited Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) staff at the Southwest Regional Office in Springfield for an official measurement. MDC Forester Taylor Kennemer and Conservation Educator Lyle Whittaker completed the scoring.

The non-typical buck ended up being 178 3/8 inches, which qualifies Coleman to enter his harvest into the Missouri Show-Me Big Bucks Club record books. The minimum score for a Missouri Show-Me Big Bucks Club non-typical is 155 inches.

“This was Coleman’s first deer.” Kennemer said. “The vast majority of hunters will hunt a lifetime and never shoot one this big.”

Hunters interested in scoring their deer can call their local MDC office. Find contact information online at mdc.mo.gov/contact-engage.