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A Shot In The Dark
The first day of deer season 2018 was definitely one for the books. Myself, Rob, Robert, Vince, Craig, Dan, Teagan and Aiden headed into the big woods at 5:30 AM. I had decided to set up on the “Jeep Trail Valley” side of the “First Finger” (as we have named them) just below a dip in the ridge or “saddle” of the finger. My decision to go here was only after considerable deliberation between myself, Rob and Ken on Sunday. I made it to the top of the saddle and began to break right down the ridge a hundred yards or so.I planned on going to the spot I had…
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Opening Day 2015
Woke up and rolled over to check time. 4:30 am. Right on time. Rolled out of bed and gathered gear, grabbed a cup of coffee and headed to the truck only to be greeted by high winds and drizzle. Not exactly great hunting weather. Since I was already up, I headed out anyways, contemplating just heading in to work but figured you can’t shoot turkeys at work (at least I think there is something preventing that in the Policies and Procedures Manual). Arrive at destination and see no other trucks-guess no one else is dumb enough to head out. After sitting in truck for a few minutes I decide to…
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Soaked
This past fall Uncle Rob and I had headed to camp for the fast weekend in hopes either one of us could fill one of our many tags. I felt that I spent more time in the woods this year than any other, and still I had nothing to show for it. Uncle Rob made the trip to camp from Cincinnati mid-morning Thursday and made it in camp in time for an evening hunt. Meanwhile, I still had to work Friday and wouldn’t be arriving at camp until Friday night. As I sat in work on Friday morning, all I could think about was getting to camp as I got…
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Freakin Snow!
Although I usually plan to return to camp each year for the last weekend of rifle season, I was really looking forward to this particular year as there was a big snowstorm forecast to hit camp Thursday before that final weekend. The plan was to leave work in Cincinnati, Ohio around noon on Friday and arrive at camp in the early evening. The forecast proved correct and from what I could gather, there would be about 4” of snow when we arrived Friday evening. Driving through “the mountains” and noticing the snow banks along the side of the roads and the great visibility in the woods, I couldn’t help but…
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Help from Above
Probably my earliest and definitely one of my most fond hunting memories was that of Spring Turkey Season 2007. This was my first turkey hunting experience and what a great one it was. I, along with my dad and Craig (a long time friend of my late Uncle Charlie) made the trip up to camp hopeful for a nice weekend in the woods. Now, my Uncle Charlie was an avid hunter like the rest of us. However, he had a special love for turkey hunting in particular. Being as though he had just recently passed away, this was special and emotional trip for all of us. We woke up late…
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This I Believe
I wrote this in January 2015 and thought this would be the perfect place to share: “I believe that everyone should experience feeling small. Not the type of small that comes from criticism – but the small you feel knowing you are a part of a bigger picture. As a child, I often made trips to our family cabin outside of Tionesta, PA, a small town bordering the Allegheny National Forest. “The Camp,” was founded by my grandfather and great uncle as a means of escape for family and friends. For as long as I can remember, my dad, uncles and cousins all went into the wilderness to hunt, hike…
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The One That Got Away
Dad and I headed up to camp to hunt the last day of the archery season 2017, and what a hunt it was. We planned to hunt “Rob’s Spot” from the annual Guy’s Weekend trip just a few short weeks earlier. Rob had what he deemed to be the best few days in the woods that he ever had. It seemed that every half hour he would get some action. Additionally, he had a monster buck that appeared numerous times. Uncle Rob even managed to get two shots off on the buck with his crossbow. However, as old mature deer seem to do all too often, he jumped the string…
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My First Deer
Following our family tradition, we made our annual trip back to the “government road” to hunt the first day of deer season in the big woods. As my dad was taking my brother with him for the first time, I had the pleasure of hunting with my Uncle Rob. I can still remember the morning like it was yesterday. The air was cool and crisp. The warm sun shining through the trees was melting what little snow had accumulated over the previous weekend. We sat on the ridge of one of our favorite big woods locations. The morning started off slow with no sign of deer. Despite the sun shining…
Pennsylvania Hunting Stories
