Muskoka Outdoors Network

The 'proof of life' displayed on the game cam photos was as real as the racks these huge bucks were hauling around. These big buck photos were taken from a field adjacent to our hunting acreage west of Huntsville.  We knew they were out there. These photos (see end of post) confirmed we 'missed' them.

It should also be noted that the dates, of these photos, were within 2 days after the close of our 2010 Muskoka deer hunt season.  This startling reality is what makes this collection of buck photos so bitter sweet.

On one hand, I am excited they live for round 2 of the 2011 deer hunt. On the other hand, it is frustrating knowing these deer 'danced' all around us in 2010.  A couple of them showed up on our trail cam photos after legal shooting time, while the others were just 'flips' of white tails or barley detectable rustles in faded, fall leaves.

I tip my cap to the bucks in this monster reunion. You won the first round.  If you spot movement atop a tall oak - you'll miss the opening bell for round 2 in 2011...

Contrary to popular belief, these kind of scopes do exist. These ‘diseased’ scopes surface in normal populations of rifle scopes across North America. There is no vaccine or inoculation to help the hunter protect their scope from this malady.

The most apparent symptom is missed deer (or other wild game) following a large volley of shots. The symptoms never presents themselves at the shooting range. The Deer Proof Scope disease (or DPS) is usually accompanied with a secondary infection of Buck Fever. There appears to be NO fast-acting cure for either disease.

If your scope is not infected randomly, the exact transmission vector of the disease is not clearly known.  Preliminary studies have the manner of infection linked to 4 methods:

-Making fun of your hunting buddy who has an infected scope

-Telling your hunting buddy that THEIR scope is of lesser quality than your own scope

-Making outrageous claims that it is “virtually impossible” to miss deer with your current scope set-up

-Assigning your radio call sign to be ‘SNIPER’. (this infection vector is still under debate by scientists)

I hate to mention it, but my scope got infected by one of the methods I just listed above. I think my scope contracted it from my cousin, Kevin.

Kevin, has one of the greatest shooting abilities I have ever seen in a hunt camp. There were several times where he would shoot two deer that he startled out of their beds to or from his deer stand. Consistently, he would make incredible ‘one-shot’ kills from any distance. We gave him the nickname, Terminator. It seemed fitting to honor his shooting prowess in this way.

Then, without warning, his scope was randomly infected.

His shooting stats declined for a few years and he would often be the topic of discussion around the supper table in the camp. It was during those dark years that I would make fun of his ‘cheap’ scope on a regular basis.

At the peak of my jesting about Kevin's scope - my scope got infected. It got the more dangerous strain of the disease. This mutated DPS strain remains dormant until the most inconvenient times.

I did not self-diagnose DPS until one particular encounter with the Ghost Buck.

As usual, we crossed paths again at the deer watch we call, The Pines. One of our hunters in our party pushed him off a sunny ridge and sent him running right towards me. I could see the buck looking behind him as he reached full speed beside me.  The wind whistled in his ivory head gear.

He did not see me as he ran by. He was close enough that I could have put my foot out to trip him up.

Honestly.

He was no more than 15 feet from me when I brought my gun up to my shoulder and started firing. My fifth (and final) shot was at 50 yards. I could see the dirt at the buck’s feet spraying were my bullet had hit the ground.

During my reload, I had time to reflect on what had just happened. I theorize that the disease made it impossible from me to find the deer in my scope and caused me to actually not even effectively use my scope on the next 3 shots. On my final shot, the DPS mutated my vertical settings and caused my shot to go low.

I think I tried to explain the dangers of this disease around the camp’s supper table that night. They did not seem to take my claims seriously as  their laughter over the event drowned out any concern.

I believe that the next day, Kevin, landed a headshot, on a running deer, from a distance of over 100 yards. His scope was cured.

That was bittersweet news for me. It means there is hope for scopes everywhere. It also confirms that my scope is infected.

Is yours?