10-year old, 80-year-old among successful deer hunters

If you’re going to spend a lot of hours in the woods during deer season (which I do) and  you’re going to end up seeing very few deer (which I am), it’s oddly reassuring when emails keep showing up in your in-box that prove that deer do actually exist.

Of course, if I was the pessimistic type, I might take those near-constant email barrages differently. I might consider them taunting, for instance. Or I might consider them bragging.

Luckily for me, I take them as they’re intended: As celebrations of memorable hunts by Mainers.

Today, I’ve got two short tales to share.

Aidan Weaver, 10, of Gouldsboro, poses with the six-point, 134-pound deer he shot while hunting with his father, Ed Weaver, on Nov. 3. (Photo courtesy of Jodi Weaver)

First up: Congratulations are in order for 10-year-old Aidan Weaver of Gouldsboro, whose proud mom, Jodi, emailed with word that her son had shot his first deer.

As deer go, it’s not massive, but that doesn’t matter: Aidan will surely remember his Nov. 3 hunt forever. Aidan was hunting with his father, Ed, and bagged a six-pointer that weighed in 134 pounds.

A highlight of the day, Jodi Weaver said, came when Aidan was greeted at the tagging station by local game warden Dave Simmons.

“Mr. Simmons congratulated and shook hands with Aidan (another proud moment), pointing out that the deer was about 2 1/2 years old and looked real healthy,” Jodi Weaver wrote.

So congrats, Aidan.

On the other end of the age spectrum, reader Darrold Dorr sent a message celebrating his hunting buddy’s big deer.

Here’s some of what Dorr had to say:

80-year-old Barry Joy of Franklin recently shot this 219-pound deer. (Photo courtesy of Darrold Dorr

“After seeing your article in Saturday’s BDN a friend of mine (who does not use a computer) shot a big deer that afternoon,” Dorr wrote. “His name is Barry Joy of Franklin and he is 80 years old, just a few years ahead of me.

“Barry’s buck weighed 219 pounds dressed-out and was weighed at the Eastbrook Variety on Route 200,” he wrote. “I am enclosing a picture of Barry I took the other day and hope you can use it as there aren’t that many 80-year-old hunters that make that claim of getting into the Biggest Bucks Club.”

Darrold’s certainly correct. So congrats to Barry, too.

 
John Holyoke

About John Holyoke

John Holyoke has been enjoying himself in Maine's great outdoors since he was a kid. Today, he's the Outdoors editor for the BDN, a job that allows him to meet up with Maine outdoors enthusiasts in their natural habitat. The stories he gathers provide fodder for his columns, and this blog.