By Peter Schoonmaker

Bob Cuozzo of Pine City, N.Y., began hunting deer when he was 12 years old in northern Pennsylvania. Leading up to the 2006 season, he'd bagged 53 bucks, everything from spikes to 10-pointers.

Last year's season was his best, even if he'd never ventured afield on Dec. 6. Early on, while hunting in Pennsylvania with his dad's bolt-action .308, he shot an 11-pointer - his biggest ever!

But not for long.

In preparation for New York's southern zone shotgun season, Bob sighted-in his new bolt-action shotgun with just four shots. After such a productive shooting session with his new deer gun, he was confident in his shooting ability for shot No. 5.

Bob hunts in the vast Region 8, one of the state's top deer zones. Western New York continues to lead the state in deer harvest densities. The county where Bob hunts yielded 1,232 bucks in 2006, or three bucks per square mile. One of those was Bob's. Bob's spirit was still soaring from his 11-point Pennsylvania buck when the New York season opened. The first week, during which he babysat stands within a QDM unit, was a bust. His game plan changed for the second week.

Every year, Bob and some local farmers stage deer drives through the woodlots on several farms. A great buck had been seen on one of those farms for a couple of years. Back in '04, someone photographed it as it stood alongside a road. A year before that, a local dairy farmer had it in his sights, but waited too long for a better shot opportunity that never came.

Bob had a 7:50 a.m. flu shot appointment on Dec. 6. Afterward, as is his custom, he picked up doughnuts for his hunting friends - working farmers who had been up since 3 a.m.  Once assembled, they decided to organize a man-drive of a narrow 25-acre strip full of thickets, pines and a benched hardwood ridge. Two would be drivers; the others standers.

Bob was a stander, and he took a position where the hard- and softwoods met. At 9:30, a very nice buck wandered within 45 yards. Bob wasted no time in firing his new shotgun.  

Even after he approached the downed buck, Bob didn't think it was extraordinary - mainly because it had a narrow rack. He was left slack-jawed when it was later measured.

BTR Score: 195 2/8

-- Peter Schoonmaker
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