Ron, Joe and I all punched our doe tags in the mornin'. Ron saw 19 deer in the mornin', and finally took a big ol' doe with a well-placed shot from his 7mm Short Mag. I broke in my M91/30 Mosin Nagant at first light, and Joe made a beautiful 140-yard shot on a runnin' doe with my Winchester 94 open-sight 30-30. That little shit is the only one lucky enough to put a .30" projectile straight through the top of the heart under those circumstances, but I digress.
Ron decided he hadn't had enough, so he went out in the afternoon and put the smack-down on a big ol' eight-point.
Not to be outdone, Ron's brother Jimmy decided to one-up all of us and whacked a beast of a nine-point on Tuesday, easily taking sole control of the buck pool. The brute had an inside spread of over 19".
A few years back, the PA Game Commission implemented antler restrictions and undertook some pretty drastic policy changes aimed at improvin' herd quality and habitat. I personally ain't about to argue with wildlife biologists, but you shoulda heard all the bitchin' when the new rules were first laid out. There was a lotta gripin' back then, but there seems to be less and less each year as everyone starts gettin' a chance at bigger bucks. Our camp has brought in some of our best bucks in just the last few years, and you'll get no gripin' from us.
I am in awe...and jealous.
ReplyDeleteNice looking bucks. We've had game management in place down here for quite a while (mainly on private ranches), and it works.
ReplyDelete140 yard shot with open sights at a running deer?!? I'd rather be lucky than good... although you can't argue with a deer on the ground.