Pennsylvania Game News - July 2009 - 36

his son, I learned later, hunting through the thicket. The old man cupped his hand and mumbled a few words and directed his son to leave the area with several hand motions. I identified myself to the older hunter and asked why he was warning his hunting buddy of my presence. He denied the hand gestures and told me he was wiping his nose. I conducted a field check while maintaining a safe distance and trying to focus on the second hunter. I could only see an occasional flash of orange through the trees. Eventually, the second hunter exited the stand of hemlocks and walked my way without a gun. I told him my name and affiliation and asked what he was hunting. He quickly denied hunting and told me he was just putting on drives for his dad. He had a valid hunting license, but repeatedly denied hunting. I inquired why his dad motioned him to leave, but he denied any such movements. The two exhausted my patience, so I finally told the son I knew there was a gun hidden amongst the trees and it would be very easy for me to find with all the fresh snow on the ground. Finally, he admitted he left his shotgun leaning against a fallen log in the thicket. We back-tracked and found the gun buried in snow under the log. He said he placed it there because he didn’t know who his dad was talking to and felt safer if the gun was left near the log. Thinking he may be using slugs to help his dad harvest a deer, I checked all his shells. All were legal bird shot. Things just weren’t adding up. He was properly licensed, wore the appropriate orange and had legal arms and ammunition. I still could not figure out why he hid his gun. All three of us returned to our vehicles, and with the help from a region dispatcher and supervisor, I ran the guy’s name for warrants. Finally things started making sense. He had a rap sheet from other states and a warrant from South Carolina for not appearing to a hearing. Although I was not able to send him to his day in court in South Carolina, he and his father were issued a couple of citations and paid them within the legal timelines. Books in Brief Pennsylvania Big Game Records, The Complete Official Listing of All Trophy Big Game Animals Taken in the Keystone State. Available from the Game Commission online at The Outdoor Shop, www.pgc.state.pa.us, or call 1-888-888-3459 with your credit card. The 60-page booklet costs $5, which includes sales tax, plus $1.25 for shipping and handling. You asked for it, and now it’s available — Pennsylvania’s big game records in a bound, printed version. The big game scoring records have been updated on the Game Commission website, and will continue to be so, but now they’re available in a bound booklet form. This new record book contains a wealth of information, including the minimum scores required for each big game category, some Boone & Crockett Club and Pope & Young Club information, a few photos, but most importantly, the trophy listings. In each big game category the trophy is ranked, the hunter listed, and the county, year taken and the trophy score are listed. The record book is not only interesting, but it can be used as a tool to identify where the “big ones” are being taken. 36 GAME NEWS

http://www.pgc.state.pa.us

Pennsylvania Game News - July 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Game News - July 2009