Fifty Years Ago (Rol P)

[DrMike]

50 years ago this season... shot with a 16 gauge slug, on the run in a cut corn field.
Nice western NY Whitetail...
Miss those olde days, fewer deer but great memories.

l]

I know what you mean, Rol.

 

[salmonchaser]

Great memories, I like it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[AFG270]

I agree, great memories. Nice buck and handsome young man, who is that again? lol

DrMike do you still have that 16ga? I have a Ithaca M37 16ga, my dad bought me when I was a kid, still in great shape today.

 

[DrMike]

That is Rol P in the picture. I'm merely assisting him in posting this great picture.

I never had a 16 gauge and I've never lived where I was constrained to hunt with a shotgun. I've certainly taken a few rabbits, squirrels and dove as a younger man in KS and TX, but never any big game. Maybe Rol will give us the lowdown on this shortly.

 

[NYDAN]

That is a great buck. Especially for Western NY in those days. In those days something like 90% of all the bucks were killed at age 1-1/2 years old.

Dan

 

[AFG270]

That is Rol P in the picture. I'm merely assisting him in posting this great picture.

I never had a 16 gauge and I've never lived where I was constrained to hunt with a shotgun. I've certainly taken a few rabbits, squirrels and dove as a younger man in KS and TX, but never any big game. Maybe Rol will give us the lowdown on this shortly.

My apologies, DrMike, I missed that part.

Would love to hear the story of the hunt, Roland. What is the 16ga, a Browning?

 

[DrMike]

No apology required. I'm pleased to help.

 

[cloverleaf]

Sure looks like a browning or a Remmington Model 8 I believe (same Gun). In 16 that would be cool. I have a Ithica 37 in 16Ga. Sorely tempted to take that every year. Its OLD and I know its taken a few. Trouble is, I know my "Mooseberg" will do it at twice the range. Since I'm stationary that matters. The 16 has a mythical reputation as a "deerslayer", but the 20 gauge has way better ballistics. Still it would be fun....VERY Cool pic, nice deer. CL

 

[longrangehunter]

Looks like a Browning to me! I know I've seen Rol before seeing that photo. That's a dandy buck with a shotgun, I would have thought it was a 12 ga. though since most people didn't use a sweet 16. I still have mine, and a 12, but both are Remington Wingmasters.

 

[Elkman]

Cool picture and as you say memories especially ones like this are great ones to have.

 

[lefty315]

Rol, you still got those old lanterns in the background? I absolutely love those old photos!

 

[Rol_P]

The picture was taken in my Dad's garage, the old lanterns are long gone. My Dad and I hunted together back when I was a young fella. The shotgun is my Browning Sweet Sixteen, a birthday present from Mom and Dad. It has a place of honor next to my Dad's Browning Light 12 in the gun cabinet that Dad built for me.

Dad and I awoke to fresh snow the morning that I shot this buck. The snow had stopped and we were in Dad's truck headed to a spot that he knew was likely to hold deer. As we drove along we spotted a single deer track, crossing the road. It was headed toward a property known as the town water works, a headwaters of forest land. There was open cropland before the forest. Being young and energetic back in the day I said to Dad. "I want to follow that track, please come back tonight to pick me up". In addition to my gun and shells, I carried my knife and a little lunch in a WWI gas mask bag, which had been used as a book bag at Paul Smith's College when I was in Forestry school.
(No, I did not carry the bag during WWI, I was not even a twinkle in my father's eye back then.)

Dad agreed, so off I set on the trail as he drove off.. The trail went across an open field, crossed another road and into a cut corn field, total distance probably less than five or six hundred yards.
As I came over a slight rise in the corn field my eyes spotted the buck, about the same time he saw me and he took off running full speed. I fired one shot and missed, pulled the trigger again and nothing. The first shell had not ejected, so I worked the bolt to eject the empty and insert a new shell, fired a second time and heard a terrible crash. At that point I thought to my self, "Oh no, you have busted that beautiful rack." It was not the antlers breaking, but the corn stubble crashing that I heard as the buck fell, the slug had made a fatal neck wound.

With the buck at my feet, I remember looking out at the road to see if my Dad was still in sight but he was gone. After field dressing the deer I dragged it to a farmer's house and asked to use their phone to call my Mother. There were no cell phones back then... She came over to me and I put the buck on the truck family car to take it home.

Then I drove to where my Dad was hunting and put a note, which I still have, on his truck, "Dad, no need to pick me up, I found something in the corn field"

God has blessed me in many ways along this road of life, for which I am very thankful.

 

[DrMike]

Isn't it amazing how fresh our memories can be after so many years? That is a great story, Rol.

 

[lefty315]

That is a great story. Many a time I walked to this old farm and used the phone they had in their milk house to call for a ride home. Carrying a small lunch and a knife were all you ever needed. For some reason now I carry a backpack with entirely too much. A cherished memory you have there.

 

[FOTIS]

Nice. BTW shrunk the picture a bit

 

[Europe]

Isn't it amazing how fresh our memories can be after so many years? That is a great story, Rol.

You are so correct Dr Mike. I was thinking about this the other day and wondering if my memory had gotten better when remembering things that happen over 70 years ago and I was thinking maybe, I just have more time to remember whatever I was remembering at the time. Either way, you are correct Dr Mike

Great story Rol, enjoyed reading it

 

[35 Whelen]

Great old photo, common to that era ,no one ever had a camera in the field, most had to wait till they got home;To take a picture........ the old checked wool jacket, still commonly used here in Maine, looks like a Johnson Woolen Mills ????? Thanks for posting!
Here is my Dad with a decent one 42 years ago, Same "checked jacket"...
Lol

 

[cloverleaf]

Love the story Rol P! Sounds a lot like one my father in law tells about a big MN buck his Dad shot. Will see if I can get those photos....

 

[SJB358]

Great story and excellent buck! The old 16 gauge took a whole slew of bucks where I grew up. The Ithaca 37 Deerslayer was the gun to have back when we had to use shotguns.