Just the two of you - second week deer hunting - Part I

The late L. James Bashline, noted outdoor writer, and at one time editor of the Pennsylvania Game News, wrote a deer hunting story in that publication many years ago with the same title as is this column. I avidly read Jim's article, which described a time when he was out of Pennsylvania during the first week of buck season, and thus could not hunt. He could only hunt bucks during the second week of deer season. He was able to kill a buck when he was alone.

That story has always stayed with me and changed the way that I hunt bucks. Prior to Jim's column, I subscribed to the popular notion that if a deer hunter did not kill a buck on the first day of the season, his/her chances were greatly reduced. There is a lot of truth in that statement. Yet the fact remains that the buck deer hunter always has a chance to kill a buck if he/she is afield. Some of us would attest that the second week is even a better time to hunt bucks than the first week, if one has the time off to do so.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission buck harvest records reflect that 65 percent of white-tail deer bucks are killed on the first day. Another 10 percent are killed on both Saturdays. That totals 85 percent of the buck kill on those three days. Another way of looking at the numbers show that only 15 percent of the buck harvest is on the other nine days of the season. That is of course natural since most deer hunters are afield during those three days. Yet 75 percent of buck season remains. I like those odds.

I will state here and now that I do not sign on to the concurrent 12 days of buck and doe season that we have these days in some wildlife management units. It just does not seen like the old days; of course my take on this concurrent season may or may not be correct. Maybe time has passed me by. I do know that a lot of my deer hunter friends agree with me. But then, some hunters may not; it is your choice.

There is no doubt that many, if not most bucks that are killed the first day of deer season are simply unable to elude the large number of deer hunters. A wily buck may elude several hunters, but still fall to another hunter. Rifles these days are quite accurate; a wild-tailed buck has no chance against one in the hands of an experienced deer hunter. That is why, while some rifle hunters carp about the six-week archery season prior to the rifle season, that I have absolutely no problem at all with the length of archery season, even including the newly approved crossbows. The archery hunter has to be within 40 yards or less to take a killing shot. Many archers will attest that the range is less than 30 yards for a kill shot.

While I avidly hunted bucks on the first day of the season and both Saturdays if my work permitted, I was aware of the other nine days of the season. I became convinced of the value of those other nine days when I has able to take off work on the first Friday of buck season in the early 1970s. That day, and during the second week of buck season, I saw many deer and several bucks, sometimes as a hunter; other times as a driver to help other hunters in our party to kill a buck.

Next week, I will relate some of my experiences during the second week of buck season and the later stages of the first week especially on Fridays. Those are precious memories, especially when I was alone in deer country.

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Jim Collins is an outdoor columnist for The Sunday Review. He can be contacted by e-mail at jimcollinsinsurance@frontiernet.net or by mail at Outdoors with Jim Collins, HC 1; Box 60; Alba, Pa. 16910

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