Archer draws Ace of Spades
Edmond man takes highest-scoring buck at McAlester Army Ammunition Plant

By Ed Godfrey Comments 1
Published: October 26, 2008
Modified: October 29, 2008 at 1:35 pm

A lucky hunter finally drew the Ace of Spades.

Ronny Lambeth of Edmond harvested the Ace of Spades, a big non-typical buck that deer hunters in chat rooms across that state have been talking about for years.

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Hunting: Ace of Spades

Oct 26Footage of Ace of Spades, a large buck taken in McAlester.

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Once-in-a-lifetime buck

Even though Ronny Lambeth's buck likely will make the Boone & Crockett record book, a Claremore archer has claimed an even higher-scoring buck this bow season.

David Nance, co-owner of JP Archery in Sapulpa, arrowed a 23-point typical off his hunting lease in Pawnee County earlier this month that green-scored 207 6/8 and has a net score of 200 ¾ after deductions.

“I'm just an old country boy who likes to deer hunt and work on bows,” Nance said. “I never expected anything like this to happen. It's a once in a lifetime buck.”

The big buck is proof that letting the young ones walk can eventually pay off.

Nance said he and his business partner have shared the hunting lease in Pawnee County for eight years and repeatedly have passed up shooting smaller bucks.

“We've worked hard on deer management,” he said.

The state non-typical record is a buck scoring 248 6/8 taken by Michael Crossland in Tillman county during the 2004 gun season.

Deer hunting at the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant

About 15,000 hunters apply each year for the hunts

About 1,600 hunters are selected each year

Hunting is held on six consecutive weekends beginning the first weekend in October.

Only hunting with traditional archery equipment is allowed.

As many as 275 people hunt each weekend.

Ten Pope & Young bucks have been taken each of the last two years.

Two Pope & Young bucks have been harvested so far this year.

Ace of Spades earned his name several years ago because of a single drop tine and the belief that he is a descendant from another big buck called Spade.

Hunters who harvest a doe get a pass to come back to McAlester the next year.

Last year, sportsmen from 16 states hunted at the plant.

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Ace of Spades is the highest-scoring buck ever to be harvested by a hunter off the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant.

When officially scored, the 23-pointer likely will be one of the five best non-typical archery bucks ever taken in the state.

The 8½-year-old buck grossed 201 4/9, netted 197 2/8 and had an inside spread of 26 7/8-inches.

"He’s been hunted hard,” said Ryan Toby, wildlife biologist at the Army Ammunition Plant. "He probably would have scored another 20 inches two years ago. That’s when he became famous all over the state.”

Lambeth, 47, said he felt like he won the lottery. This was his fourth time to hunt McAlester but his first deer.

He had seen photos of Ace of Spades but didn’t know when he arrowed it that it was the legendary buck.

"I just knew I was looking at a really good buck, with a whole lot of points going in every direction, Lambeth said.

Lambeth nervously watched the buck for 30 minutes from his tree stand before getting a shot.

"I think I shook all of the leaves out of that tree,” he said.

The U.S. Army allows bow hunting on the grounds of its McAlester bomb-making plant through the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation’s controlled hunts program, which is like a lottery.

The hunting is by stick and string only, making it a challenge.

Hunters who win a chance to hunt at the plant are dropped off in one of three 10,000-acre hunt areas. The success rate of hunters is only 13 percent.

But that also means the deer live longer and grow larger.

As a result, the McAlester deer hunts are the second-most sought after hunts in the state, only behind the elk hunts at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.

Bow hunters salivate over the prospects of getting a chance to hunt at McAlester because of bucks like Ace of Spades, who was on the plant’s 10 most wanted list of trophy bucks.

"He probably has the highest score of any on there,” Toby said.

Ace of Spades was past his prime, Toby said. His antler size had diminished from previous years, he said.

Toby was happy to see a hunter finally harvest the deer rather than it dying from old age or an accidental death, like has happened to other trophy bucks at the plant.

"He lived a long life,” Toby said of Ace of Spades. "He’s passed on his genetics.”

Ed Godfrey: 475-3159