Jerry Pepe with his 2009 Allegheny County, PA trophy 10-point.

Again, let me first apologize for my limited number of posts lately. Same reasons!

I had the opportunity to score a great buck taken by Jerry Pepe of Allegheny County, PA during the 2009 archery season. Upon first glance, I could see that it was a really nice 10-point with a uniform rack. It wasn’t until I put the tape on him that I realized just how uniform he was. Amazingly, the deer had just 4/8 of an inch of total deductions. That’s impressive for a small six-point that scores 50 inches, let alone a 158 7/8″ gross score rack! Of all of the deer I’ve measured, I can’t recall one that was as close to perfect as this one.

The main beams were just 1/8″ different in length with the longer one measuring 23 2/8″. The brow tines were responsible for the largest deduction, still just 2/8″ as the left one was slightly longer. The only other deduction was on the G-3s, which measured 9 5/8″ and 9 4/8″. The circumferences were perfectly matched on both sides.

Jerry had been hunting this buck for three seasons before finally connecting on November 7 last year. He told me that he thought the buck had been shot during the 2008 season because he hadn’t seen it yet in 2009 until that fateful day. He made a quick and clean kill, and now has a tremendous trophy to show for it. He also shared with me photos of another bruiser that’s hanging around his area, which he hopes to get a shot at this fall.

Putting my hands on a great deer might have been the motivation I needed to finally get at least a trail camera or two out there. We’ll see how the rest of the week goes. Congratulations on a great deer Jerry!

I thought I should put together a brief post to let my readers know that I’m still out here, despite my lack of new posts lately. I’m still trying to figure out the balance between work, baseball, and a master’s degree, while getting a bit of time here and there to do things like update Rub Lines.

Despite my swamped lifestyle, I have had to focus a bit on the upcoming archery season. Illinois out-of-state permit applications are due this month, as is my second payment to my outfitters. Talk about a reminder that hunting season really isn’t that far off! A big hit to the wallet will get your attention, let me tell you. Still, I know how much I’ll enjoy the trip when it comes around, and I think it’s well worth the investment.

I still haven’t found the time or energy to put out a few of my trail cameras. I truly think I’m going to go lighter on them this season, while generally trying to stay out of the woods more. Although I’ve gotten great pictures over the last few years, I’ve been seeing fewer mature bucks while hunting. Before cameras were popular, it seemed like I was seeing more of the big guys during hunting season, and it makes me wonder if it was because I wasn’t in the woods as much checking cameras. Who knows. We’ll never know, and I guess that’s what makes it so fun.

Although I need to dedicate a full post to the topic, I’ll just say that the BP oil leak (which seems like a ridiculous understatement) has me pretty upset, angry, etc. I don’t think the general public really understands what a tragedy this is, and from the people I’ve heard from who have been on the ground, BP seems to have total control of the area and is making it terribly difficult for volunteers to come in and do what they can to help. The death and suffering toll on the Gulf’s fish and wildlife is unfathomable. The expense to those who live along the Gulf as well as those who rely on it for survival (fishermen, etc.) is astronomical. Is it even possible to adequately punish a company for their negligence that led to so much pain and suffering?