There had been a nice 9-pointer feeding near my barn all summer long. Everyone saw him in the early-morning on their way to work. For a deer in our area, he was a dandy. The rack was well beyond his ears and had 8- and 9-inch tines on each side.

This old buck was able to get a little older than most of the deer that are harvested in the area because of a large piece of posted land across the road. He always had a sanctuary in which to hide.

This deer is a classic example of what could roam our fields and woodlands if we had quality deer management. He was 3½ years old and had eluded hunters by hanging out behind some houses and on land closed to hunting.

On opening day, I invaded his territory, but he wasn’t there. When the sun came up, I was just up the hill from his feeding area. He had been hanging around my pond and old meadows, but on Saturday he was off chasing does up the hill. It was his fa[an error occurred while processing this directive]