Monster Buck Gives Son the Slip, Dad Kills It Instead

Billy Blackburn made a perfect 125-yard shot to collect this 170-class buck just before dark on the Kansas muzzleloader opener. Image courtesy of Lil’ Toledo Lodge

In September 2023, Kase Blackburn anchored a 161-inch buck while hunting at Lil’ Toledo Lodge in southeast Kansas with his father, Billy. That buck was featured in a Realtree Rack Report that same fall. It was a screamer whitetail for the then-9-year-old hunter.

The Blackburns didn’t draw Kansas tags in 2024, but they pulled them this year and were right back at Lil’ Toledo in September. Billy has been hunting there for more than a decade and has anchored some impressive bucks during that time.

Father and son headed to Lil’ Toledo for the Kansas youth hunt, which ran Sept. 6-14. Kase was after a particular buck for several days while hunting under Billy’s guidance, but to no avail. He’s in school and plays football, and he was missing games. Billy knew the best thing was to switch plans and try to help Kase fill his buck tag, even if it was on a different deer. The plan worked. “I decided to switch up spots for the final day,” Billy explained, “which was against our guide, John’s, advice. In the morning, we hunted a different spot and saw a huge-bodied 10-pointer. I bet he was 300 pounds or more on the hoof. Huge deer.

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“We went back to the same spot that afternoon, and Kase decided he’d shoot the 10-pointer if it came out,” Billy continued. “A storm blew through, and we weren’t seeing any deer. I texted John to ask how things were looking at the other stands. He sent us a trail camera picture of the buck that Kase had previously been chasing at around 6:40 p.m. Kase looked at me like I was crazy for having him move.”

The target buck showed up during daylight while Kase Blackburn was hunting at another spot. Image courtesy of Lil’ Toledo Lodge

Toward the end of legal shooting time, a big 9-pointer walked out, and Kase made a great shot on the buck. But the recovery was a bit more complicated than anticipated. At first, the blood trail was heavy, but then it vanished. Perplexed, John, Billy, and Kase kept searching.

“Kase is afraid of snakes and was worried about stepping on a water moccasin,” Billy said, “so he was shining his flashlight down at his feet. In doing so, he found some blood. We followed it, which led us right to a 30-foot drop-off into a dry creek. The buck had fallen into the creek bed and broken a brow tine, which we never found.”

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With Kase’s buck on the ground, the Blackburns headed home to Oklahoma and back to school and football. “I told Kase I would kill the buck in the trail camera picture for him when I returned for the muzzleloader hunt. He said, ‘Yeah, right, Dad!’”

This isn’t the buck that 11-year-old Kase Blackburn originally had his sights set on, but with his hunt winding down, he wasn’t about to pass it up. Image courtesy of Lil’ Toledo Lodge

Billy returned to southeast Kansas on Sept. 14 so that he could hunt the muzzleloader opener the following day. With the big target buck still frequenting the area, Billy had the big target buck on his mind for the week ahead — the deer was still frequenting the area — but he didn’t go after it right away.

“On opening morning, I hunted a different location,” Billy said. “The idea was not to spook our target buck since he had been on camera off and on late that night. Walking in there in the dark would have been risky. I saw six different young bucks and some does that morning.”

That afternoon, Billy went all in on the monster buck, his anticipation soaring as he made his way to the spot. A tall 9-point that he estimated to be 3 1/2 or 4 1/2 years old came out, and later on, he spotted another deer moving his way.

“I thought it was a good nine-pointer about 200 yards out in tall CRP,” he said, “but I could only see the tops of his tines. When it got within 100 yards, I realized it was my target buck! He disappeared, and I thought he had bedded down. Instead, he had slowly curled downwind into the timber and came out on the opposite side without me even realizing it. He held tight until right before dark. Finally, he stepped out 125 yards away, and I shot him.”

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Billy’s hit was perfect, yielding a nice, clean kill. The buck bolted for 30 yards before piling up in a creek. The antlers have 15 scorable points, lots of mass, some cool mushroomed tines, and a whopping 24-inch spread.

Billy broke the news to his son. “I FaceTimed Kase and said, ‘I got him!' I also mentioned that we could hang this one in his room. He said, “Not a chance, Dad!’”