Pennsylvania Game News - December 2008 - 12

possible he was lying behind one of those. I followed another 100 yards or so till I totally lost the trail. I was relieved that I found no blood and had apparently not wounded the animal. I then decided to retrace my tracks to the spot of the shot to see if I could find where my bullet had struck. As I got to the top of the hill and looked down where the deer had been, I saw a patch of white behind a rock just behind where I had shot. I slid down the hill, hoping against hope that the white spot was the underbelly of a buck. As I got closer, I could see that it was a deer, but the head was still behind the rock. I could see antlers sticking up and it looked like one of the 8-points I had seen. I was wrong, though, as after counting points I ended up with 10. It wasn’t a Boone and Crockett Club rack, but a real trophy to me. I knelt over him and said a silent prayer of thanks to the Lord and to Mom. And to the buck, who would provide my family with meat for the winter. I was now soaked in sweat from the 70-degree temperature and from the climb up the mountain and the exhilaration of getting the buck, but I still had work to do. I got him field-dressed and started the drag — it was more like a slide — down the mountain. I finally tied the rope to his back legs and let him go ahead of me head first, until I got off the steep hillside. Then I put the rope on the front end and finished the drag in the conventional manner till I reached the truck. Back at camp I inquired around as to who the “dog” was who had pushed the deer to me. Nobody from our camp said they were in that area. Nobody we know of hunts our property on the first day without permission, so it was a puzzle, but then, like I said, Mom never was one to be outdone. Books in Brief (Not available from the Game Commission.) Classic Deer Camps, by Robert Wegner, Krause Publications, 700 East State Street, Iola, WI 54990-0001, 800-258-0929, www.krausebooks.com, 224 pp., 100 color photos and 50 b&w photos, $29.99, hardbound. Like his previous books, Legendary Deer Camps and Legendary Deerslayers, this book is another great compilation of deer hunting accounts, photos and artwork of deer camps and hunters of years gone by. Richly illustrated with artwork from the Remington Arms Company’s archives and the author’s world-renowned collection, Classic Deer Camps recreates the flavor and romance of the deer camps of the Golden Age of American deer hunting. From the backwoods primitivism of Wisconsin’s Echo Lake Camp to the rustic opulence of Maryland’s Woodmont Rod and Gun Club, author Robert Wegner paints an unforgettable portrait of a bygone age when camaraderie, good cheer and song were just as important as the deer itself. One chapter is devoted to the Still House Inn, located in the South Mountains of Franklin County, Pennsylvania, where the legendary Fred Bear first deer hunted. This chapter traces not just the history of the camp, but of deer hunting in Pennsylvania. Another chapter is about the legendary Potter County Pennsylvania deer hunter E.N. Woodcock. Everyone who appreciates our rich hunting heritage will enjoy this book. 12 GAME NEWS

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Pennsylvania Game News - December 2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Game News - December 2008