Pennsylvania Game News - August 2013 - 11

In 1996, I had found the time to
scout for deer near home in Northampton County, and I had spent time
afield during archery season. I saw two
8-pointers and a 10-point the day after
Thanksgiving and decided it would be
wise to hunt in that area on opening
Monday. I took a 10-point buck that
year at 11:45 a.m. Then the next year
I dropped an 8-point buck at 1:20 p.m.
in the same general area. Both were
shot from a ladder tree stand. I figured
my luck was changing. And I realized
the importance of staying in one spot!
Since that time, I’ve continued
hunting near home, harvesting an
antlerless deer during most years, but
no legal buck has come into view since
the 1997 8-point. According to the
current antler restrictions, an antlered
deer must have at least three points on
one side to be legally harvested in the
area where I live and hunt, Wildlife
Management Unit 5C.
Last year I had major right rotator
cuff surgery in June. The surgery and
rehab prevented me from going archery
hunting and small game hunting. I had
planned to go to my local rod and gun
club’s rifle range to practice shooting
left-handed with my Remington .308
pump, but my busy schedule, property
damage repairs from Superstorm Sandy,
and the loss of one vehicle to a traffic
accident had put major crimps in those
planned practice sessions.
My wife Bev and I usually have
marinated venison steaks or several
small butterflied venison chops, cooked
to perfection, on the patio grill about
once a week. That is the only red meat
we eat and the final package of venison from last year’s antlerless deer was
grilled in mid-October. The pressure
was on to refill the freezer with meat.
AUGUST  2013

My shoulder was still too sore to
climb my ladder tree stand, so I sat in
two different places on the ground on
my adjustable webbed seat during the
first day of the deer firearms opener.
The antlered and antlerless firearms
seasons run concurrently in WMU 5C.
Hunters can take an antlered deer or
an antlerless one (with an antlerless
permit for the specific WMU) during
the two-week season.
I spent the first morning and afternoon observing a beautiful red fox,
a chunky groundhog (latest day I’ve
observed a groundhog) dozens of gray
squirrels, two pileated woodpeckers and
many songbirds. But no deer. When
I felt a bit bored, I practiced sighting in the crosshairs on my Leupold
variable 2-7x scope using my right
eye. Shooting left-handed obviously
involves holding the front of the rifle
with the right hand and arm, steadying the rifle butt against the crease
of the shoulder at the top of the left
armpit, and resisting the rifle’s recoil
against the left shoulder. I rehearsed
this procedure from time to time
throughout the day. I was not able to
hold the rifle for very long before my
right shoulder began to ache. There
was no doubt that I would have to
shoot left-handed if the opportunity
presented itself. And there was no
way my right shoulder and rotator cuff
could stand the recoil from a wellplaced shot.
I took a short walk about 3 p.m.,
deciding to sit on a fallen log at the
other end of the small swamp until
the end of legal shooting time. Shortly
after sitting down, I heard noise in the
dry leaves behind me. I slowly turned
expecting to see another squirrel. A
small bodied 5-point buck was mak11
Pennsylvania Game News - August 2013

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