Pennsylvanian Ed Moninghoff Jr. aid if his third hunting trip to Maine ended again without a deer, he’d still be satisfied.

That’s easy for him to say now, as he tagged a 10-point, 297-pound buck Friday in Kokadjo.

“It doesn’t really matter if I get a deer,” Moninghoff, Jr. said. “We saw lots of signs. The woods are so big and thick, you’re lucky to see a deer here. Even if I shot nothing, I’d be more than happy. To get one like that is overwhelming.”

The 22-year-old hunter from Quakertown, Pa., said he had kicked up a few does, but hadn’t seen a deer in the week he spent at Kokadjo Camp. Then he went to a spot where his friend had seen a buck the day before.

Within a few minutes of when they sat down, they were rewarded for backtracking.

“It came up out of the hollow, it was 40 yards away. It came into view and went back down,” Moninghoff, Jr. said. “It grunted, so my friend used my grunt call and it came back and stood broadside.”

The veteran hunter took one shot, hitting the buck behind the shoulder to bag his fourth buck, and first in Maine.

Lt. Pat Dorian, the area warden, was flabbergasted by the buck’s size.

“That is the second largest deer I’ve seen. Hanging, it was impressive,” Dorian said. “But when they hung it next to two other deer in the barn, it dwarfed them. I saw one that weighted 306 in the Forks, but that was 14-15 years ago.”

Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife deer study leader, Gerry Lavigne, said the state record was set in 1955 by Horace Hinckley who bagged a 355-pound deer near Anson.

Moninghoff Jr. was stunned by his luck.

“When it came up, I had no idea how big the body was,” he said. “When I walked up to him, I said, ‘Oh. I don’t believe it.’ When it went up on the scale it was unbelievable.”

Firearm season for deer ends next Saturday.

Myths of little deer and big bucks

Working in Central Maine, biologist Jim Connolly sees it all the time.

A hunter comes into a tagging station with a 120-pound buck and a 6-point rack… and the hunter will say it’s a sorry excuse for “big” game.

Or a hunter south of Bangor will take a 230-pound buck with a magnificent 10-point rack and think he’s lucky.

In fact, Connolly said, both perceptions are off the mark.

Simply put, the DIFW biologist said smaller deer with larger racks are overachievers as yearlings – not the other way around.

“The older deer are more vulnerable as the rut sets in and as they go chasing does. Young male deer are taken early on,” Connolly said. “People are confused as to why they have small racks. A yearling with spike horns or crotch horn ones, you typically think of. You see 6 to 8 points and relate it to age. You can’t do that. It could be a yearling with a rack that size. They are not undernourished deer with 6 to 8 points. The deer are moving along in the winter feed. They are in good shape.”

Undernourished deer will show poor body size, and starving yearling bucks will have stunted antler growth for the first set of “horns,” according to a 1997 article written by Lavigne. On the other hand, the first set of antlers on a yearling buck can range from tiny spikes to well-formed, 8- or 10-point racks, according to Lavigne.

“Even though the herd is growing, they are still in great condition,” Lavigne said. “They are not anywhere near their biological maximum.”

DIFW biologist Tom Schaeffer reports from Machias that yearling antler growth that is limited to spikes is found on the coastal islands and interior woodlands. But he said that on “good range, yearling bucks” antlers can have as many as 8 or 9 points.

“The antlers are usually lacking the base diameter, mass, and sweep of the main beam found on the older trophy bucks,” Schaeffer reports, “but they can be impressive for the size and age of the animal, nonetheless.”

As far as needing to head north to tag a big buck, Lavigne said this is a perception that holds true only for those who want to track deer in snow.

“Three years ago there was a 299-pounder shot within 30 miles of Portland,” Lavigne said. “It could happen anywhere.”

Connolly reported last week that a 228-pound buck was taken in the Belgrade Lakes area, and a 213-pound buck was tagged near Lewiston.

In southwestern Maine, biologist Phil Bozenhard reported “several bucks in the 200-pound range” were taken last week.

Assistant regional biologist Mark Caron in the Western Mountains reported a deer there dressed out at 263 pounds.

“The north is traditionally considered the place to find big bucks as the north is lightly hunted, so it does not deplete the supply as quickly,” Lavigne said. “A greater percentage of the bucks live to be 4 to 10 years of age or older. While that’s true, the deer population in the north is lower than in the past. So, when you look at where the total number of mature deer are, they are not in the north anymore. From sheer numbers, there are more 200-pound bucks out of central Maine now than anywhere else in the state.”

Lavigne said most hunters in Maine merely want what the state has to offer while some are looking for a big buck.

“I think what you find is the majority of hunters don’t focus on getting after a big buck. They want to see plenty of deer,” he said.

Deer wintering area established

The DIFW entered into a Deer Wintering Area Management Agreement with Mead Oxford Corporation in Rumford. This agreement ensures that deer will have wintering habitat comprised of mature coniferous forest stands in parts of Magalloway Township and Merrill Strip Township.

The area covers 3,314 acres and it is Mead’s first such agreement.

“This agreement represents an increasing effort between the department and several industrial forest landowners to adopt a cooperative approach to deer wintering area management,” said Mark Stadler, director of DIFW’s wildlife division. “It is quite good news for those who value Maine’s wildlife.”

Deer yards provide shelter for wintering deer by providing an area composed of mature, close-canopy softwood stands

Outdoor Calendar

Sunday River is guaranteeing top-to-bottom skiing and riding for all ability levels by Thanksgiving. The Newry resort opened for the season on Thursday with the T-2 trail on Locke Mountain. For information, call 1-800-543-2SKI.

Deirdre Fleming covers outdoor sports and recreation for the NEWS. She can be reached at 990-8250 or at dfleming@bangordailynews.net.