Our 14th Annual Webb Weekly Uncle Ron’s Monster Buck Contest is in the books. What an amazing hunting season it was. The best part for me is it’s like being a member of Pennsylvania’s largest hunting camp. I get to talk to so many folks that are passionate about God, Country, family, and, oh yes, the great tradition of hunting Penns Woods for the elusive whitetail buck.

Thank you to everyone that reached out to me to share their hunting experience and all who entered the contest. A total of 101 hunters took the time to get registered. Webb Weekly will be making a donation on behalf of every hunter to help fight the battle against MS. As most of you know, the contest is named in honor of my Uncle Ron Maietta, who tried to never let MS get in the way of a good hunting or fishing opportunity. And also, after my Monster Buck Contest keeper and long-time member of my Webb Weekly family, Ron Mingle. Alys, his daughter, has now taken over his sales duties since he retired. The Mingle family is very familiar with MS as Steph, the mother of the household, faces the disease each and every day. Siblings Alys, Andi, and Jake, along with Papa Ron, have taken a very active role in raising money and awareness to fight the dreaded disease.

So, on behalf of the 101 that are passionate about not only hunting but about their fellow man, this year’s donation will be $1,414 to represent our 14th year of the contest.

Before I get started with the winners, a shout out to 81-year-old Jay Decker. His wife, Joan, gave me a call and got Jay on the line as he was one of the last hunters to get registered. Jay harvested a beautiful 7-point up on Bobst Mountain with his trusted 280 Remington Model 700. Jay was hunting by himself and has enjoyed hunting his entire life. It was great to talk with the couple.

The winner of the Savage Axis Rifle package courtesy of Sauers Trading is Cole Ingraham. Cole shot a beautiful 10-point with a 16” spread. I got to talk with both Cole and his father. Great people who love the outdoors and love to get out and hunt. Congrats, Cole!

Thank you to the father/son duo of Jon and Don Sauers for again being part of the contest and taking care of registration and all the legalities for the winner.

Our 4th place finalist was Jim Douglas. Jim shot a tank of a 12-point. With a 16 1/2-inch spread, it scored 144.5 SCI. Its double brow tines and wide bases really gave it some great character. Congrats, Jim!

We had a tie for 3rd place. Ken Cooper’s monster sported 10 points a 21 1/8” spread, scoring 150.7 SCI. The bruiser looks like it has a goal post on top of his head. Great job, Ken, and outstanding shot placement, my friend. John Esh also came in at 150.7 with his 15-point trophy with a 16” spread. A gorgeous buck with an extreme drop tine. Congrats to both.

This year’s runner-up was Jeff Dincher. Pictured below with his younger brother, Jonathan, and their father, Joe. A proud hunting family. Jeff set the bar high for his younger brother harvesting a perfect 10 with a 22 7/8” spread. An absolute beauty of a typical buck. Total SCI score – 155.7.

A special thank you to the great folks at Stoltzfus Butchering. This is their first year joining the event.

They provided $100 gift cards to our 2nd through 4th place winners for venison processing. They make outstanding hot dogs, bologna, sausage, jerky, and much more. Even more important to many hunters, they provide full-service deer processing. Just get your harvested buck there, and they’ll take care of the rest.

So, that gets us to our monster buck winner, which I refer to as the Lingle father/son buck. Father, Bill, had watched the buck mature, hunted the buck for several seasons, and even found last year’s sheds. He had spent much time just enjoying this experience, hoping fate would provide a meeting during hunting season. Son Matt didn’t have as much time to spend in pursuit of the amazing whitetail but loves hunting with his father and family. On that fateful day when hunter and this monster finally met up, it was Matt who was there waiting.

Total tale of a tape — 23 points, a 21” spread, and SCI score of 212.7. Which makes it one of the biggest bucks ever harvested in Penns Woods.

Tip of my Webb Weekly hunting hat to Matt Lingle for holding steady on this beast of a buck and Dad Bill for the years of pursuit and tracking.

Our first-place winner receives a shoulder mount courtesy of Poust Taxidermy. Thank you to Dana for providing a place to register and taking care of the scoring since we began the contest. Dana and Taxidermy lady Sam’s work is second to none; they are truly wildlife artists. They will make the Lingle father/son buck look like the rest of it is on the other side of the wall.

Thanks again to everyone that entered.

Get out and about and enjoy the outdoors together.

God Bless America.