Eds Pa Buck

My friend Ed from the wounded warrior group took a nice buck on opening day.  Here is his story..

As anyone who hunted on the first day of Pa buck season is aware, it was a little damp to say the least. With the mud situation in mind, I decided to hunt from a different stand.

To clarify, for me, a stand is anyplace fairly flat where I can park my Kawasaki Mule, when I’m not using my manual wheelchair.  It helps if there are some bushes I can park behind to break up my silhouette.

If you are familiar with the property that WPA Wounded Warriors leases from Consol, you might know where I mean when I say that I was hunting the south end of the "gas pipe" field.  I set up fairly early and was into my spot by 6:00 am.  It was still quite dark and overcast, but there wasn't much rain.  The temperature was warm enough that I was more worried about falling asleep than freezing.

I was warm, comfortable, had plenty of water and snacks on hand, and was prepared to stay put all day, BUT, a little after 7:00, I saw something to my right.  It was obviously a deer, but at that time of day it was just starting to get light.  There was a little haze hanging in the air, in the small saddle I was overlooking and visibility was not the greatest.

The deer was walking across my shooting lane quickly enough that I didn't feel I had time to use my binoculars, so lifted my .270 model 70, in order to check it out.  I still couldn't see how many points he had, since the rack was twice the height of his ears, I felt pretty sure he was worth shooting.  Besides, having a disabled license and hunting in 2B, I could shoot a buck or doe legally.

I squeezed the shot off, and he never took another step. I chambered another round and waited, but it wasn't needed.  This white tailed deer was down for the count.

I drove down to check him out, it was 72 yards. I quickly found that he was a legal buck for anyone even though he was only a six point buck, because he had no brow tines.  Still, his is the widest rack I have taken, at 15 inches inside and 14 inches high.

He isn't a wall hanger, but I'm more than satisfied.  I am a little disappointed that my buck season was over so quickly, but I still have a doe tag and I’m looking forward to the extended season.

I'd like to tell all those volunteers, who helped to make this possible, how much I appreciate all their efforts.  Without you guys, and girls, it couldn't have happened.

Thank you!!!