Fifty Years Ago (Rol P)

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.

Great memories, I like it.


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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.

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.

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

DrMike":obpb52mj said:

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.

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My apologies, DrMike, I missed that part.

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

No apology required. I'm pleased to help.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

Nice. BTW shrunk the picture a bit

DrMike":2ug6uzft said:

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

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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

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

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....

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.