News: Couple Accused of Raising Pet Deer

Penn. buck that viciously attacked woman was raised as pet.

Officials: Same buck attacked two others in November

A Clintondale couple has been charged with taking a fawn out of the wild and raising it as a pet -- the same deer that viciously attacked another couple last month, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

Ronald and Tina Underkoffler, of Woodward Avenue, have been charged by the Game Commission with unlawful taking or possession of wildlife after an investigation into the mauling of a Clintondale couple Nov. 15

District Wildlife Conservation Officer Kenneth J. Packard said in court documents that the deer taken from the wild as a fawn in summer 2005 is the seven-point buck that gored Frank Rishel and Linda Yost in their backyard.

If convicted, the Underkofflers each face minimum $300 fines, according to the Game Commission.

Game Commission Press Secretary Jerry Feaser said he could not comment further.

"We will present our case before the district magistrate's office," Feaser said.

The buck attacked Rishel early that morning when he went outside to shoo the deer away from the couple's back door. Yost called state police before running outside with a steak knife to help her housemate, police said.

Instead, she became the second victim.

When two state troopers arrived, they found Rishel motionless on the ground and the buck still on top of Yost trying to gore her, police said.

One of the troopers had to grab its antlers and pull it off of Yost before the troopers could shoot safely and end the attack.

The carcass was taken for necropsy, but no signs of illness were found, Feaser said.

"Our test results came back negative for rabies and CWD (chronic wasting disease)," he said.

A theory presented at the time was that whitetails are in the rut at that time of year, when bucks become aggressive and have been known to attack humans, although on rare occasions.

"If any animal would lose its fear of people and remain in the wild, it could become a very dangerous animal," Feaser said.

Packard could not be reached Monday, and it was unclear whether the Underkofflers released the buck back into the wild at some point.

Source: Centre Daily Times Pennsylvania

Growing Urban Deer Population

As the urban deer herds keep growing stronger in numbers the states are forced to think of new ways of controlling the herds. In many places the elusive whitetail deer is not so elusive anymore. Especially in urban areas and in the suburbs deer are now a common sight in backyards where they have become a nuisance to many hobby gardeners. In recent years the exploding deer population was the cause for a dramatic increase of deer/car collisions.

In desperation to control the deer herds many wildlife agencies open up new hunting opportunities for bowhunters. The city of Colstrip, Montana has adopted a plan to control the size of its urban deer population within its city limits. This plan gives archery hunters a special season with liberal harvest tags. Read the full article here.

Your Shots 2006: Ohio Trophy Buck by Dennis Rulli

Hunter Dennis Rulli submitted this picture of a huge ten-point buck he harvested on December 1st. 2006 on his farm in Greenford, Ohio. The buck has tremendous mass and tall tines. The deer dressed out at 220 lbs. Dennis tells me, “This is a deer of a lifetime…”. I bet it is! What a monster!
Unfortunately Dennis Rulli did not with what he harvested the buck and what he green scored. To me this buck looks like he easily could green score 176 B & C.
Congratulations Dennis on a terrific deer.

Your Shots 2006
To share your outdoor photo with Whitetail Deer Passion readers, send a copy in an e-mail to me and include your name, phone number, when the photo was taken, the photographer’s name and the general area where the photo was taken. Plus any other information you are willing to share with the readers of this blog about the hunt.

Your Shots 2006!

You read my last article 2006 Trophy Bucks. These monster bucks where all taken by ordinary hunters like you and me. This has given me an idea. I would like to give you, the readers of this blog, the opportunity to have your 2006 deer trophy picture published on Whitetail Deer Passion too. A trophy is whatever you want it to be. It has not to be a big buck. The very first deer you harvested or one of your children is most certainly a trophy and so is any other deer, buck, spike or doe that has special memories attached to it.

To share your outdoor photo with Whitetail Deer Passion readers, send a copy in an e-mail to me and include your name, phone number, when the photo was taken, the photographer’s name and the general area where the photo was taken. Plus any other information you are willing to share with the readers of this blog about the hunt.

2006 Trophy Bucks

It looks like that 2006 is shaping up just nicely to become yet another trophy record year. Her I have colected just a handful for pendable state trophy buck records harvested this hunting season.

Maryland:
This magnificent Maryland buck has been harvested by hunter Bill Crutchfield, Jr. of Charles County watched the buck for approximately two hours mid-day Monday before finding an opportunity to take the massive deer with a single shotgun round. DNR staff confirmed that the buck has 26 scoreable points (13 per side) and a preliminary antler score of 268 5/8 inches


Wisconsin: Lisa Brunner downed this tremendous buck on opening day of the Wisconsin gun season. It is reported to green score 179-5/8 as a typical. The buck weighed 217 lbs.




Massachusetts
:This monster buck was arrowed by Paul Buccacio on October 23rd in Worcester County, Massachusetts. Paul shot the buck from the ground with a traditional recurve bow!
The buck Green Scores over 185" as a typical, and over 195" as a non-typical! Either way, the buck would be the best bow buck from that state, in that category.



Kentucky: This buck was reportedly taken this fall in the Pennyrile Forest State Park in Kentucky. No word on the lucky hunter yet. What an incedible typical frame on this monster deer!


So there you have it. Like I said, just a small sampling of what’s out there. Who knows there might be a monster buck roaming in your hunting area, go and find him. Even if you hunt on public land it is possible to find big bucks there too, see the Kentucky buck above!