Pennsylvania Game News - January 2016 - 7

T

HE FIREPLACE was going, the
house was nice and warm and
I had lots to do to get ready for
Christmas, so it was hard to leave.
But my husband Paul insisted it was a
perfect morning for hunting - chilly with
a breeze and a skiff of snow.
It was the final Friday of the 2014
firearms deer season, and we were headed
with our flintlocks to a spot in Chester
County, about 25 minutes from our home.
I got the usual talk on the drive to our
hunting area - stay quiet getting to your
stand, find a tree on which to rest your
gun, bury your front sight, hold steady
and don't jerk the trigger.
I've heard those instructions so many
times in the many years I've hunted with
my husband, I'll never forget them.
When we got to our hunting spot, I
goofed and slammed the truck door.
Off to a bad start, I knew I had to focus.
But as Paul and I parted ways to walk
to our stands, he stopped me to tell me
I'd just walked past a deer, and that he'd
seen five deer walking across the meadow,
headed for the hollow right where I was
headed. He encouraged me to slow down
and look around before I walk.
"The scenery changes with each step,"
he reminded me.
I listen to what he has to say about deer
hunting. He has harvested 119 deer with a
patched round ball fired from his flintlock.
As I crossed the fence to enter the
meadow leading to my stand in the woods,
I thought about everything he told me, and
knew he was right.
I took it slow. From the edge of the
woods, it took me 45 minutes to walk the
next 60 to 70 yards. I would take several
steps, stop for several minutes and look
around.

To be truthful, I just wanted to get to
the stand, take off my pack and sit for a
spell.
I also wanted to see those deer, though.
And before I got to the stand, I saw
three deer slowly feeding away from me,
and two others on a ridge in front of me.
Those two deer did not see me and the
wind was in my favor. There was no tree
to lean against for a shot, so I worked my
way quietly about 6 feet to a small tree.
Usually when I see deer, a gentle calm
comes over me. Not this time.
I started to shake even before I knew
these deer were bucks, and the larger of
the two was a big one.
Soon, he offered a broadside shot.
I buried the front sight behind his
shoulder and gently squeezed the trigger.
The buck took off with his tail up, and
initially I figured I had missed because
deer so often run with their tails down
when hit. However, while the other deer
in the woods ran off into the meadow at
my shot, the buck stayed, making me
believe I hit it.
Paul always taught me not to rush right
out to see if a deer was hit, so I slowly
reloaded, keeping my eye on the buck.
Seconds later, I heard the deer fall.
Paul had some action, too. The second
buck ran past him, but it wasn't legal.
Hearing my shot, Paul waited a while,
then slowly headed down to where I was.
We found the buck where I heard the
crash. His heavy rack sported 11 points,
making him the biggest buck I've ever
shot.
I thanked Paul for teaching me the
proper way to hunt with black powder
and a round ball. His lectures certainly
paid off for this 71-year-old gal's 2014
flintlock rifle hunt.

A 71-year-old woman's rifle-season dandy.
JANUARY 2016

7
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Game News - January 2016
