It was blowing rain and getting dark in Otisco when R.J. Shaver, of Apulia Station, gave a few bleats on his doe call. With a great crashing sound, a big 8-pointer burst through the thick brush about 50 yards away. He put on quite a show, grunting, scraping, and shreddding a tree with his antlers.
“I never once saw that buck on my cameras,“ Shaver said. ”He was just passing through at the right time for me.”
Shaver waited until the buck was 35 yards away before letting his arrow fly. The buck disappeared in the brush. It was raining so hard Shaver worried it would wash away the blood trail. But when he shined a flashlight, the buck was just 40 yards from where Shaver had shot him. The buck dressed out at a hefty 220 pounds.
First thing Shaver did was call his dad, who doesn’t get out in the woods as much as he used to.
“He’s been a huge part of my life and taught me how to hunt,” Shaver said.
Bob Wojtecki, of East Syracuse, was hunting private land in Marcellus in early November when he arrowed a bulldozer of a buck at 15-yards. The 9-pointer dwarfed the other 9-pointer he’d shot last year. Wojtecki had to call his boss, who was watching the Bills game, to help him drag the 175-pound deer out of the woods.
“Deer of a lifetime,” Wojtecki said. “You have to love Central NY deer hunting!”
Gregory Drummond, of Brewerton, got his first buck, a 150-pound (dressed) 8-pointer, while hunting with his grandpa in Michigan. It was his second day afield, and he got the shot off with only 15 minutes to spare before the cutoff.
“He made it his mission to get a buck this year,” said Gregory’s mom, Andrea DiFrancesco, “and he made it happen!”
Dave Maneri, of Tivoli, didn’t think he could top last season’s buck, but a big 11-pointer appeared on his trail camera right before gun season. On opening day, Maneri locked eyes with the big boy at about 100 yards.
“I took two shots through hardwoods yards with my 20-gauge shotgun, which wasn’t an easy feat!” Maneri said.
A discouraging lack of blood caused Maneri to think he’d missed, but he found the buck piled up about 30 yards away. Later, he noticed something sticking out of the buck’s side—Maneri’s broadhead from two years earlier.
“What a tough animal,” Maneri said. “I’m truly blessed to have harvested this beast!”
Send us your big game pics!
Email them to sfeatherstone@syracuse.com 1) Hunter needs to be in the photo. 2) Name and hometown of hunter. 3) General location of where and how the animal was shot (bow, firearm, etc.). 4) Any measurements (weight/points/spread). 5) Add interesting details—we all love a good hunting story!
