The saying, “What goes around comes around,” usually carries a negative connotation.
But not always. And certainly not in the case of one of the biggest bucks — if not the biggest buck — shot this season in Leelanau County.
The lucky hunter was Brooks Bunbury of Leland Township, whose deer season ended in rather ordinary fashion if you discount the size of the deer and what Bunbury sacrificed earlier this fall to get someone deserving in the woods.
“Four or five does were moseying around most of the evening, eating,” Bunbury recalled. “He popped out with some energy. But he wasn’t chasing them. He did march up and make some passes.”
The drama played out on the evening of Nov. 16, the day after the firearms opener. Bunbury wasn’t shocked to see the buck because other hunters he knew wanted the trophy in their sights. After word spread that the so-called “M-204” buck had been shot, Bunbury was sent a photo taken of the same deer in 2022.
“It was huge back then,” said Clay McNitt, one of the founding members of the Leelanau Whitetails organization that was instrumental in having antler point restrictions approved in Leelanau County more than two decades ago. “That buck was hit (shot by a hunter) a couple years ago and they chased it for a long time but never found it. I spent one winter looking for his antler sheds and never found them.
“It’s in the top 10 for deer shot in Leelanau County, for sure.”
McNitt did not send Bunbury the 2022 photo. It was one of an album of pictures taken on trail cams that emerged after the buck was killed. One video showed the buck casually walking through a yard.
Sheriff Mike Borkovich, who spent his first career as a Michigan Conservation Officer before running for office, connects the Bunbury buck with a good deed Bunbury and others played a part in earlier in the fall.
Bunbury, a graduate of Traverse City Central who played Division 1 football for four years at Western Michigan University, had the rare luck of having his name pulled in a lottery conducted by the MDNR to issue bear hunting tags in the Baldwin Unit that in recent years was expanded to include Leelanau County.
Bunbury loves to hunt birds behind his Brittany spaniels Lorrie and Ellen. And he and wife, Aimee, are enjoying their recent parenting roles with 10-month-old Betsie.
So Bunbury wondered if someone more appreciative shouldn’t have the tag. The MDNR offers a program allowing the transfer of bear tags, which in Leelanau can take 10 or more years of applying to be drawn, to people who are disabled.
Borkovich knew the perfect candidate. He is retired Army major Jon Turnbull of Otsego County, Trumbull and his wife, Samantha, told his story in 2022 through the release of their book, “Zero Percent Chance.”
The intro on the Amazon website reads, “Find out how a U.S. special operations team led the fight to remove ISIS from Manbij, Syria, and how God stepped in to work miracles in the life of soldier Jon Turnbull after he is injured in a suicide bombing. Survival is just the beginning of the battle facing Turnbull and his wife Samantha in this book that celebrates freedom, faith, and heroes.”
Turnbull, the lone survivor in the attack, was blinded and endured 22 life-saving operations. He remains an avid outdoorsman through adaptive equipment.
Borkovich and others helped Trumbull overcome physical barriers to have a successful bear hunt in Leelanau County although they did not fill the tag. Trumbull hunted several times and saw one bear, which instead of walking in the open laid down in cattails 30 yards away. Rather than take an unethical shot, they passed.
“It was a great hunt,” Borkovich said. “This guy’s blinded for life and has stitches all over his body, and he’s never had a bad day. The man never complains about anything.”
The Sheriff absolutely believes that what goes around comes around.
“I said that God sent that buck to Brooks for transferring that tag to a disabled veteran,” he said.
Bunbury doesn’t want to sound ungrateful for the buck — he recognizes its significance — but he’s happy being a father, husband and bird hunter.
“There’s nothing I’d rather do than upland bird hunt. I would say I’ve transitioned (from archery) to a gun hunter. But I’ll keep my eyes open. If another one shows up like that one, I’ll definitely go after him,” Bunbury said.
