I remember when I started hunting deer back in the 60s. If we were able to tag a six or eight-point buck with a 16-inch spread, we were off to the taxidermist to get our “trophy” mounted. A lot has changed since those days, not only regarding the size of our deer racks but how we hunt them.

These days, we have some additional tools that greatly increase our chances of success, and one in particular is the trail camera. We can now see deer even when we are not able to be in the woods, and better yet, we are not in our hunting area disturbing the deer on a regular basis. The legal practice of putting out food plots has also added a lot to our chances of success. In years past, we hunted near a farmer’s corn field where we knew deer were feeding, but now, if you own property, you can put your own food plots out, and that additional food source no doubt helps to increase deer weight and rack sizes.

In addition to the deer hunting practices we now utilize; it also seems that more hunters are willing to let smaller bucks go in hopes of tagging a bigger one. Of course, part of the reason that those small bucks are passed over is the Game Commission’s regulation that in most of the state, hunters are required to abide by the three-point ruling: three points on one side counting the brow tine.

The changes in regulations and how we hunt deer these days must be paying off since I seem to be seeing more and more photos of good-sized bucks that have already been taken during the early part of the archery season. Just a few days ago, I got word of a long-time acquaintance, Rich Rodarmel, who was fortunate to bag his largest-ever buck. I spoke with Rich and had him tell me the story.

Rich, along with several family members, was out archery hunting on the second Saturday. Rich’s son Kaden and Rich’s brother and father were also out in stands at various locations on the property that they own in the northcentral part of the state. Thanks to several trail cameras, they had been seeing one real nice buck on a regular basis, visiting several food plots. The problem, however, was the buck wasn’t showing up at that plot until after dark. Rich, being the experienced hunter that he is, decided to locate his climbing stand away from the food plot in hopes of intercepting the buck on its way from its bedding area.

Rich did admit to me that while in his stand, he was catching a glimpse of the Phillies game on his cell phone, but he was also scanning a logging trail with a pair of binoculars. At around six o’clock, while looking through his binoculars, he caught a glimpse of something 80 yards away on a logging trail but unbeknownst to Rich, the big buck known as “Lucky” to some but “Thor” to Rich, had moved to within about 20 yards of his stand. Rich spotted the buck, raised his crossbow, and took aim at a now nervous-acting buck. The shot pierced both lungs, and the buck headed down the hill on a dead run. His brother, Rennie Jr., was some distance away but heard the crossbow go off and called Rich. By the time Rich got out of his stand, Junior had already found the expired buck.

Although these guys have taken some nice bucks, this was the biggest they have taken to date. The deer weighed around 250 pounds and had a sixteen-point rack that they believed to be in the 160 range. Needless to say, the deer head and rack are at the taxidermist.