Bradford County man arrows monster buck

I've heard from a lot of deer hunters this fall that whitetails seem to be scarce.

Chris Radney doesn't seem to have that problem.

Several members of Radney's family, including his father, son and daughter, have tagged deer this year — but Radney himself topped them all.

Radney, who lives in the Bradford County community of Canton, shot a monster buck with a crossbow during Pennsylvania's archery season, and the brute has been turning heads ever since.

Radney, a truck driver by profession, didn't even want to go hunting Nov. 10 because it was unseasonably cold, but his 13-year-old son pestered him to go out until he finally relented.

Radney and his son hunted from a ground blind on a friend's farm in Franklin Township, just southeast of Towanda. He actually had his eye on another nice buck that was hanging around some does when the giant stepped out. 

"When he came in the field, he dominated everything. It was something like I’d never seen before," Radney said. "We had no trouble seeing horns, even at 200 yards with my bare eye. The smaller one was messing with us all night. We were all jacked up about that one and then this one came across the lane. I don’t know if it was the cold or buck fever, but we were shaking pretty bad."

Radney maintained his composure long enough to make a solid shot at about 50 yards. He got nervous again when the blood trail started to peter out, but he eventually located his prize.

The buck sported 20 antler points and was green scored at a whopping 188 inches. 

Now that he has shot the biggest buck of his life, by far, Radney admits it will be hard to top it.

"Everybody tells me I need to quit hunting now, but I don’t think that’s going to happen," he said. "From now on, it will have to be a pretty big buck for me to consider shooting."

Pa. bear harvest down

Preliminary results show a significant drop in Pennsylvania's statewide black bear season harvest compared to 2016.

Hunters tagged 1,796 bruins during this year's bear season, about a 30 percent decline from the 2,579 bears that were taken last year, according to the state Game Commission.

Wildlife managers point to extensive rain on opening day Nov. 18 as the primary reason for the decline. The numbers don't include archery or other early bear-season harvest data.

The largest bear was an enormous 700-pound male, shot Nov. 18 in Oil Creek Township, Venango County.

Several giants also fell to hunter's rifles in the Northern Tier. Among the biggest was a 595-pound brute shot by Zachery Martin of Wellsboro in Charleston Township, Tioga County.

Hunters tagged 127 bears in Tioga County, 118 in Potter County and 28 in Bradford County this fall, the Game Commission reported.

Pistol permit reminder

New York state residents who possess pistol permits that were issued prior to Jan. 15, 2013, are reminded that, under the state's SAFE Act, they must re-certify their permits before Jan. 31, 2018.

Those who obtained permits after Jan. 15, 2013, must re-certify within five years of the date they acquired them. All permit-holders must re-certify every five years. 

Last January, the New York State Police mailed approximately 350,000 letters statewide to remind handgun owners of the new re-certification requirements. About 175,000 have responded so far. Residents who do not re-certify in a timely manner may have their pistol permits revoked.

For more information or to re-certify, visit the state police website at troopers.ny.gov/Firearms/pistol_revolver_license_recertification.php.

Reach Jeff Murray at 271-8251 or jmurray@stargazette.com. Follow Jeff online at stargazette.com/outdoornotebook, and on Twitter @SGJeffMurray.