If you’ve read many of my posts, you know that I’m proud of my Western NY roots. It was there that my passion for the outdoors was developed and where the majority of my time in the woods is spent – even now when I live some 500 miles away.
That said, there remains a different level of anticipation when you’re sitting 18-feet high in a tree in NY as opposed to another tree in Iowa or Kansas. It’s best explained as a mananged anticipation. That’s because the number of bruiser bucks there is much smaller than the classic whitetail belt of the Midwest. And you rarely hear about many bucks killed to reverse that feeling.
My buddy Greg passed along a couple of noteworthy posts from EmpireHunting.com this morning that will go a long way in helping that level of expectation rise when I return to the stand in New York next Fall.
The first was of the Mctarnaghan buck, which was killed in Livingston County on Nov. 6 (coincidentally, that means that I was sitting in a tree just roughly 45 minutes away when he arrowed this deer).
Matt McTarnaghan arrowed this deer on Nov. 6, 2009. Image borrowed from http://www.empirehunting.com
Not too far from where Mctarnaghan took this deer, and on the opposite side of my family’s land, a diehard hunter found matching sheds for a true monarch typical buck that will clear the 200″ barrier! Imagine that, the deer is still walking.
Corey Wiktor found this pair of sheds recently in Cattaraugus County, NY. Image borrowed from http://www.empirehunting.com
Both deer represent what can happen in New York when deer are able to reach their potential. It’s a discussion I annually have with members of my extended family. Changing a half-century long practice of killing whatever buck you see has become a greater challenge than turning the Titanic. You can bet your lucky Buck knife though that both of these pictures will be passed around our camp next fall as a reminder of what could be. To think, our property lies right between where these whoppers have stepped hoof …
A Hunter's Tales - Hunting Blog 
January 16th, 2010 at 8:43 am
Good work. Maybe I can provide you with material this year and end my 2-year holdout for a mature whitetail.
January 17th, 2010 at 8:08 pm
I’m seeing more and more trophy-class bucks being taken in the northeast, including New York. I credit this to a more educated hunting public. There are still a high percentage of people who will shoot the first buck they see, but I think there is also a larger percentage than ever before who are showing some restraint. Hopefully those percentages will continue to go in the right directions.
January 19th, 2010 at 3:23 am
It has been reported that this is a set of replica antlers. The original set was from Iowa.
Looks like someone likes to be in the spotlight.
Check out the link you provided now!
Or better yet check out this link.
http://www.empirehunting.com/269/new_york_hunting_2010_Antler_Gate
January 20th, 2010 at 4:33 pm
It’s about time,There was always something fishy about this guy.Everybody works and hunts hard in this area.We don’t need cheaters.Give us our buck pool money back.
January 21st, 2010 at 1:18 pm
Does anyone know where to find these antlers on the internet. All of his huge Bucks have no witnesses and he just shows up with them in the back of his truck. It’s been known for awhile he’s been buying penned deer.(they are just way to big for this area) Also now this is out maybe someone will shed some light on where he’s been getting them.
January 21st, 2010 at 8:33 pm
Corey has been claiming to have killed some extremely large deer over the past 4 years. There are a lot of people who thought they were “too big to be true”. I have even seen some friendships suffer due to arguements over their validity. It sure would be nice to get the truth on this situation.
January 22nd, 2010 at 8:13 am
The replicas can be found at http://www.replicaracks.com If anyone wants to check them out.
February 9th, 2010 at 6:35 pm
If he’s not really hunting these deer, he must be a magician. His father and several hunting friends go out hunting together on their leased land and they have their tree stands right near each other and they actually help him drag the deer out of the woods. Corey spends all of his time in the woods. He has no many cameras set up in order to see what kind of deer are out there. Corey and his family are the most honest people ever and I doubt if he was a cheat he wouldn’t spend every waking minute in the woods either shed hunting or hunting. If he buys the sheds, he must be bankrupt because his house is filled to the brim with them.
March 27th, 2012 at 12:22 pm
He’s no magician. Read my reply below. you will see that he got this deer on a high fence preserve. Powder horn preserve in pennsylvania. Tell me that its not the same deer. NO DOUBT they are the same deer.
February 17th, 2010 at 4:53 pm
If corey killed all those deer he claimed, and wants to prove people wrong, how come he don’t tape the hunts? He is a member of the north-east sportmans, right? They film their hunts and they have never had one of corey’s hunts on their dvds. Filmimg a world class buck getting harvested would surely send their dvd’s in to a top seller, plus the endorsments.
PS> Pay back the archery big buck pool money.
February 17th, 2010 at 4:59 pm
Any new news on the shed? They are fake or what? I seen the articles in the new york sportsman news letter.
February 17th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
IF corey killed those deer and wants to prove the people wrong, then film the hunts. He is a member of the North-East Sportsman. Right? They have dvd’s and never have I seen one with corey killing a deer. Film him taking a world class buck and that dvd would go up in sales and the endorsments would go up. That would put all the non believers to rest. Simple.
PS. pay back archery big buck pool money
April 6th, 2011 at 7:56 pm
Check out powderhorn hunting preserve website. you will find a photo of corey’s archery buck alive behind the high fences before he bought it.
October 6th, 2011 at 12:47 am
Thanks john. I have spent alot of time attempting to locate the bucks on the web. I knew they where there. I made sure this is out there. This dirt bag took me for a couple hundred bucks when he took first place and stuck me with secound in a big buck contest. It wasent the money, I knew he was a fraud. Thanks Steve
October 6th, 2011 at 12:39 am
Thanks John! great investigating. I have made sure this is out . For sure its the same buck. This guy is such a scum bag . Steve
March 27th, 2012 at 10:17 am
Steve I’m glad somebody has finally responded to my comments about wiktor’s buck at powder horn hunting preserve in pennsylvania. I’ve been trying to out this guy for years. No one seems to want to take on the contoversy. Tell everyone, spread the word. Wiktor’s record archery buck can be found in the trophies section of their website. What a con. Sorry to hear about your money loss too. I hunt just a stones throw from wiktor’s lease and we always new something was amiss. No one ever captured his bucks on trail cams and his stories filled with holes….