6-Acre Parcel Produces Unreal Shock Value with Oklahoma Non-Typical

Deer hunting for Dakota and Summer Stowers of southern Oklahoma generally means taking care of clients for their outfitting business, Mesquite Hollow Outfitters. Dakota is the owner and head guide, while Summer is the office manager and head cook. And, although they are both areextremely busy throughout the year with their operation, they both like to do some whitetail hunting of their own when time permits. While most of their clients’ deer hunting takes place on land they lease within the famed Red River Valley, they do own a small patch of ground that Summer had been itching to hunt for themselves. Dakota never thought too much of the small chunk of real estate they owned, thinking it wouldn’t hold much since it was fairly small.

“As an outfit we lease over 70,000 acres for whitetail," Dakota explained. "My wife told me over and over that we needed to check that place and I always brushed it off being that it was only six acres. Well, this year I said ‘let's do it’, and on day one the first picture I got was (their top target). I couldn't believe it. From that day on all I thought about was him. We had him almost every day from then on showing up on camera.”

Then on September 20th the Stowers received some very concerning news — a wildfire had broken out on the ranch adjacent to their property. Dakota is a member of the local volunteer fire department and actually watched what he thought might be the big mystery buck — now known as "Stickers" — heading away from their area. Then, perhaps unexpectedlyy he disappeared from their cameras completely, leading to a few negative thoughts of the buck moving out of the area for good.

Oklahoma’s archery season began on October 1. As luck would have it, they started to get new images of the big non-typical on September 27th, but with one notable caveat — he was only showing up after dark. From October 1-3, Dakota and Summer had a group of four clients in camp, so the duo wouldn’t be able to try and arrow the brute.

But on October 4th, the buck posed for their cameras between 3-7:15 AM. Then, as he’d done the previous week, he showed up again later that evening from 7:15- 8:30 PM. Given the times he was appearing, they fiigured it was pointless to try and set up on him for fear that they’d most likely bump him out while trying to get situated in the darkness.

Since their first clients would be done on the 4th they thought they might get a chance the next day.

“We talked about it and decided that if he shows up in the morning of the 5th again we will try our luck that afternoon,” Dakota said.

Sure enough, the buck did indeed show up once again. They formulated the plan of attack and decided that Summer would hunt and Dakota would video the excursion. They headed out with high anticipation, but the star of the show didn’t play his part. He simply never showed up as they’d planned. So, they then decided to wait to see if he showed up yet again on camera the next morning. Of course, like clockwork, the buck did show up at roughly the same time on the morning of October 6th.

Unfortunately, they had business to take care of and couldn't hunt that morning. Summer, however, would be able to hunt in the afternoon, but she’d be going solo since Dakota had other priorities. At 2 o’clock, Summer headed out to get in a two-person blind they’d previously set up.

At 6 PM, Summer heard the top strand of a barbed wire fence get hit and looked up to see a buck they’d seen on camera — a 135-class 10-point — with Stickers throughout the summer. The 10-pointer worked his way through the mesquites, jumped another fence, walked right up to the corn pile — which is perfectly legal in Oklahoma — and began to eat.

Summer was tucked away in the blind not 15 yards away. Then, exactly how she wanted it to happen, Stickers showed up after the 5x5. She nervously drew back and unleashed an arrow with a perfect heart shot. The buck ran four yards and front flipped. She then immediately called her husband to relate the amazing news, and he headed her way as soon as the message was delivered!

It was a fitting way for a lady archer to end her early-archery hunt. Being the only female to help work at Mesquite Hollows, she takes her fair share of good-natured ribbing from the guys who work for the Stowers. As one could imagine, Summer now had one up on her male counterparts and she reminded them frequently that she took this amazing buck.

The rack on Stickers can best be described as a freak of nature. It’s a massive giant by any account. What it lacks in inside spread (10 2/8 inches) and main beam lengths (16 ⅜” right; 13 4/8” left), it gains in overall mass, tine count, and exceptionality. It sports 27 scorable points and has five mass measurements of at least 6 inches. After subtracting the side-to-side deductions of 28 0/8 inch for asymmetry — on what is already considered a slight typical frame of 132 6/8 inches — it drops the typical frame to 104 6/8 inches. But, then we must add the 58 4/8 inch of non-typical growth for an overall green score of 163 0/8 inches non-typical.

What this unique Red River monster lacks in overall score is no doubt made up for in overall visual appeal, and in its pure shock value. It will certainly go down as one of the coolest non-typicals of the ‘24-’25 deer season.

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