Deer Hunter's Goal: Ten Triple Trophy Awards In 10 Years

CAVE SPRINGS

Winning the Triple Trophy Award for deer hunting was a big enough thrill for Rick Sayre that once wasn't enough.

Archery Deer Season

Dates: Sept. 27-Feb. 28. Shooting hours 30 minutes before sunrise until 30 minutes after sunset.

Seasonal statewide bag limit: Six deer, no more than two legal bucks. Zone limit: Four deer, no more than two legal bucks. Hunters may take deer with archery during firearms deer seasons, but must wear hunter orange.

About The Triple Trophy

The Triple Trophy Award program started in 1984 to promote the harvest of does and recognize the outstanding skill of many Arkansas deer hunters.

Hunters must take at least one doe to win a Triple Trophy because only two bucks may be harvested. By doing so, hunters help the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission manage the deer herd for the best benefit of the resource while enjoying the challenge of muzzle-loader and archery seasons.

Get an application at www.agfc.com. Applications must be received by April 10, 2015.

Source: Arkansas Game & Fish Commission

Two shelves at his home in Cave Springs display six framed Triple Trophy certificates that the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission awards to hunters who take a deer by all three hunting methods -- archery, muzzle-loader and modern gun -- during a single season.

When archery deer season opens on Saturday, Sayre will resume his quest of a lofty goal. That is, to win the Triple Trophy Award 10 years in a row.

He'll try hard to take a deer with his crossbow in the next few weeks. If all goes well, Sayre will get a deer with his muzzle-loader in mid-October. He'll try for deer No. 3 when modern gun season opens in November.

Getting a deer with his crossbow in the first half of archery season is key, even though the season runs until Feb. 28.

"After Christmas, bow season gets really hard," Sayre said. Deer seem few and far between. There's no leafy brush or trees in the forest. It's easier for deer to spot a hunter.

Sayre won his first Triple Trophy Award in 2006. Back then he didn't own a muzzle-loader, but borrowed one from a friend to get his muzzle-loader deer. Sayre was excited when his certificate arrived in the mail from Game & Fish, as well as the embroidered patch that comes with it.

The hunter was feeling pretty confident, thinking hey, this Triple Trophy business isn't so hard. Then next season rolled around. Sayre tried to win the award, but didn't.

"That season really opened my eyes that it's not as easy as I thought," Sayre, 46, said.

The off year didn't matter. He buckled down during the 2009-2010 season and earned his second Triple Trophy. He's won the award every year since. Sayre will do his best to ensure this season brings another. Most important, he says, is spending enough time in the woods.

Dedicated Deer Hunter

Sayre hunts more than most people can even imagine. Archery deer season runs for more than 150 days, this year Sept. 27-Feb. 28, with muzzle-loader and modern gun seasons in that time frame.

"There was one season when I hunted all but five of those days," Sayre said. Some are short hunts before or after work. "If I can squeeze in an hour or two, I'm out there."

Sayre is director of public works for the city of Cave Springs. If something needs fixing in town, it's Sayre's cellphone that rings. In fact, his phone was ringing last year when the hunter shot a trophy buck. The phone wasn't on vibrate, either.

It was mating season and the big buck was after a doe. "I got a page from work and two phone calls while I was watching him. That deer didn't even pay attention," Sayre recalled.

His grandfather started taking him along on hunting trips when Sayre was a kid. "He'd say, 'I'll teach you to hunt and fish and you can feed yourself for the rest of your life.'"

Taking three deer or more in a season means Sayre has an ample supply of venison. He doesn't eat the meat himself, but has his deer processed and enjoys giving the nutritious bounty away to family, friends and co-workers.

It's trophy deer that really get Sayre revved up. "Every year I try to kill a big buck," he said. Most of his hunting takes place on private property outside of Rogers.

Go For Two

Sayre's mission is to win the Triple Trophy for 10 consecutive years, but he's pondering another challenge. Sayre wants to earn two Triple Trophy Awards in one season. Is that possible, since the season limit is six deer?

"Now that's a question that's never come up before," said Joe Huggins, hunter education coordinator at Game & Fish.

Huggins and some of the agency's wildlife experts discussed it. The answer is no. A hunter can win only one Triple Trophy Award per season.

That doesn't mean Sayre can't get two deer by all three hunting methods, but he will receive only one certificate.

Getting a six-deer limit requires some travel. By regulation, a hunter may kill four deer in one hunting zone. He or she must hunt in another zone to get another two.

Sayre hunts mainly in deer Zone 1, which takes in Northwest Arkansas. He'll have to hunt outside of Zone 1 to get six deer. That's not a problem, Sayre said. He has plenty of places to hunt outside of Zone 1.

Huggins said Game & Fish awards 650 to 700 Triple Trophy Awards each year. The quest begins Saturday when archery season opens.

"A lot of people are excited," Huggins said. "This cool weather has everybody revved up, and I can't blame them."

Outdoors on 09/25/2014

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