Pennsylvania Game News - April 2009 - 37

Advertised, Too YORK — During the early goose season I came across five friends who were hunting out of two boats. The group had several hunting related violations, as well as some boat violations. I couldn’t help but notice some spray painting on both the sides near the back of one of the boats, and when it became obvious to the group that I was trying to read what was painted, one of the group in the other boat yelled, “I told you not to paint that on there.” Spelled out in paint was, “Outlaw.” — WCO GUY HANSEN, RED LION Where’s the Example? ALLEGHENY — Two years ago I cited a grandfather for roadhunting and taking an illegal spring gobbler. This deer season he got caught roadhunting again and killed a buck. Both incidents took place when he had his teenage grandson along. — WCO GARY M. FUJAK, CORAOPOLIS Filled Tank and Freezer PERRY — After loading a roadkilled deer onto my vehicle’s rack, I pulled into a convenience store in New Bloomfield to gas up. While I was pumping, a small car pulled up to the pumps behind me. I asked the driver if he wanted the deer and he said he would be happy to take it off my hands, because he hadn’t gotten a deer during hunting season. I wrote a permit for the deer and then chuckled thinking about the man returning home and explaining how he ran down to the store and got a full tank and a deer. — WCO STEVE HOWER, ICKESBURG Reprieve VENANGO — The day before Thanksgiving, Deputy Lynam and I crested a hill above an old 1-room schoolhouse and saw 23 wild turkeys walking down the road in front of the schoolhouse. It was as if they were having an early dismissal on the day before Thanksgiving. I guess they sure could use one. — WCO LEONARD C. HRIBAR, OIL CITY Helping Hands WESTMORELAND — At the Ligonier bear check station on the first day of bear season, the last hunter of the day had just sat down beside me so I could enter his harvest data in the computer. Shaking with excitement, the older gentleman explained that it was his first bear, and as he gave me his license I noticed he had used his buck tag in archery season. I remarked that he was having a lucky year, to which he replied that he was just lucky and thankful to be hunting, having had a heart attack in June. He then told me that some hunters he didn’t know had driven his bear out, and when they heard of his heart trouble, they dragged the bear out of the woods for him. So, guys, whoever you are that helped the man who got a bear near the Loyalhanna Gorge — thank you. You not only made that gentleman’s day, you made mine, too. — PGC WILDLIFE DIVERSITY BIOLOGIST TAMMY COLT, SOUTHWEST REGION APRIL 2009 Safe Bet ERIE — For years I’ve been telling hunters that if they want to get the biggest bucks here they need to don hip boots, because the big deer hole up in the swamps to avoid hunters. This year I checked my first deer hunter wearing chest waders. He had drawn the short straw and was driving the swamps for fellow hunters. I bet the officers from the big woods seldom check deer hunters in waders. — WCO DARIN L. CLARK, ELGIN 37

Pennsylvania Game News - April 2009

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