Old Hickory - The Hickory House Buck

New York State 16 point. Dressed weight 175 pounds
Sat. November 17, 2007

Click here for a copy of New York Big Buck Club Score Sheet
It is now officially scored by, Mike Deming, at a gross of 180 2/8 with a subtraction of 17 6/8
This comes to a Final Score at 162 4/8  

This buck will be entered into the NYS Big Buck Club and is the 2nd largest typical whitetail buck ever taken in Chemung County and the largest taken in the last 21 years. (The largest was taken in 1986)

Now officially scored by Boone and Crockett scorers, Glenn and Timothy Bowers, and the score is over the minimum and will be added to the record books. Gross score 176 and net score of 160 4/8  Click here for a copy of the Boone and Crockett score sheet.

Now determined that the two large points previously G3's are non-typical by Jack Reneau of Boone and Crockett. Score of 178 2/8 so it does not make Boone and Crockett now. Need a minimum of 185 for Non-Typical.
Here is the Non-Typical Scoresheet.

Officially scored by  Rick Lowe of Buckmasters. Official Score 171 - 0  with the composite score of 190 4/8.  Click Here for a copy of the Buckmasters scoresheet. Now that it has been received at Buckmasters, I have received the Award. Upon asking about the ranking I was informed by Mike Handley, Buckmasters Trophy Records Chairman, that going by the last published record book, my buck is a new state record for New York. - among semi-irregulars in the centerfire rifle category. In the "world" is is about 120th. 

Officially scored by Jeff Frey for Safari Club International. Official score of 189 3/8 as a non-typical. This score will placed it as #4 in the top ten of Northeast Non-typical whitetail bucks. Click here for a copy of the scoresheet.

Northeast Big Bucks Club. At 190 4/8 gross, it would be the second largest gun non-typical killed in 2007 (for all entries so far) and the 12th largest in that category all-time. But, I was able to enter it as a typical, the gross score then is 180 4/8" after subtracting the extra 4 points. It is now the largest from 2007 (so far) and ranks #3 all-time in the typical gun category. 

Cell phone image

Cell phone image with Brian's phone

A Pennsylvania Game Commission Biologist guessed his age at just 4 1/2 years old, maybe 5 1/2.
He told me it is the biggest buck he has ever seen. Measures 24 inches around the neck.

I was in a ground blind at a location on private non-posted land behind the Elmira-Corning airport with my grandson Brendon. I had come up several weeks prior to clear some brush and low hanging branches where I planned to set up the blind. This was just inside the edge of a big power line that is becoming overgrown with brush and tall goldenrod weeds.

The location overlooked a heavy main trail that cut back into the woods area to the left side of our stand. I had walked this trail when I prepared the blind location and there were many scrapes along the trail all through the woods. The brush and branches I trimmed was to give us a better view of the main trail and also out across the power line right of way. This being the first year to be able to use rifles in Chemung county I knew I could shoot farther out across the power line which is why I had cleared out the area for a possible longer shot.

The morning was quiet and we heard few shots and really nothing close. A little after 9 AM we heard movement behind us where we walked in and could not see. Suddenly a large doe came running down the edge of the power line right where we walked down to get to the blind. She was running pretty hard and there was a buck right behind her chasing her. They were no more than 25 feet from us and never slowed down. No opportunity for a shot we just watched them run down past and disappear into the thick bedding area below. Hearing movement again we watched yet another buck run right past us in pursuit of the doe and he never slowed down either. I grunted with a tube and bleated a couple times with a can bleat in some hope of something coming back but they of course paid no attention at all and were long gone.

I told Brenden that it seems as they were not pushed past us but seemed to be rutting and maybe she would come back our way again along with her two suitors and give us an opportunity. Several minutes went by and we heard movement again from behind us and looking over to the power line all I could see was antlers moving down the hillside. They were just a little farther out into the thick overgrown power line and moving slowly but steadily down the hill side. From the white rack and size of it I knew it was a good buck. We never actually saw the deer itself, just saw these antlers moving down the hill. At about 35 yards he stopped for a moment. He was right past the area that I had cleared out weeks before. I know that if I had not cleared the branches and small brush we would not have been able to see him down there. I put the scope up but could not see the deer. I still could only see antlers and at this point not very much of them. I had a Savage .270 with 130 grain core-lokt bullets. I put the crosshairs where I figured he should be and pulled the trigger. 

All I remember seeing was a flash of white in a horizontal line, not like a flag that would go up vertically. Brenden says "Ya got him Grandpa, ya got him". He started trying to open the zipper on our blind and I stopped him. I wanted to watch to make sure he didn't get up and run. If he did I wanted to be in the best position for another shot. After maybe 30 seconds to a minute of trying to hold him back he said to me "He is lying right there on the ground". I asked if he could see him and he said he could. Well off we went out the door and started down the hill. I fell once over the cuttings and broken branches of fallen trees on the ground. We were going straight for the location and not walking around the stuff. Once we got past the last of the stuff and the goldenrod where I saw him laying there on the ground I realized what I just took. I just looked and started to tremble with excitement and just said "Oh my god, look at that animal"!  Started counting and could not believe it, 16 points and the deer was huge. I have never seen anything like it and surely never thought I would kill one. 

The single shot hit him in the base of the neck right in the spinal column at the junction of his shoulders and backbone. He dropped instantly and never knew what hit him.

The following image is from my cell phone in the spot he fell instantly from a single shot to the neck.

Don't go below if you are gonna be squeamish about an open belly