By Rob Potter
CALLICOON — December 3, 2010 — The page on the calendar has turned to December, but the leaders of the two divisions in the Democrat’s 37th annual Big Buck Contest remain the same.
Tom Price of Monticello continues to lead the Biggest Rack division of the contest, while Jerry Dagostino of Rock Hill is still on top in the Heaviest Deer division.
Back on Nov. 20, which was the opening day of the regular firearm deer hunting season here in Sullivan County, Price shot a 10-point buck in the Town of Thompson. He took the buck to Cannie D’s in Neversink, which is one of the official measuring stations for the Big Buck Contest. The buck scored 77.5 in the Democrat measuring system.
The Democrat system includes the length of the two main beams, the width from outside to outside of the beams and the number of points that are at least 1 inch long. Those four numbers are added together for a total score.
Also on opening day, Dagostino shot a large buck and took it to Neves Taxidermy in Bethel, which is one of the official weigh-in stations for the Big Buck Contest. The buck tipped the scales at 175 lbs.
Bob Kackos of Neversink is in second place in the Biggest Rack division. He shot a 12-point buck on opening day which scored 77.25 in the Democrat measuring system.
Several other hunters have taken bucks which scored in the 70s in the Democrat system. A chart of all the entries for the Biggest Rack division appears on page 1B of this issue.
Mike Chanov of Liberty is in second place of the Heaviest Deer division.
On Nov. 20, he shot an 8-point buck and took it to Cannie D’s, which is also one of the official weigh-in stations for the Big Buck Contest. Chanov’s buck weighed in at 170 lbs.
Geoffrey Sheppard of Cochecton is in third place in the Heaviest Deer division. He shot a 5-point buck on Nov. 21 in the Town of Thompson which weighed 165 lbs.
The Democrat’s Big Buck Contest is open to hunters who legally take deer here in Sullivan County or in Wayne County, Pa. and then have the deer measured and/or weighed at one of the official contest stations. A list of all of the official measuring stations appears in an advertisement on this page.
The Big Buck Contest continues through the rest of the regular firearm season in both counties. The last day of the season here in Sullivan County is Sunday, Dec. 12, while the last day of the season in Wayne County, Pa. is Saturday, Dec. 11.