VT- Who knows what the future will hold. Had a friend sell his camp in Pittsburgh and get one up in Greenville , ME area and we still have ours up in Columbia, NH. We have every intention if and when we hunt ME and NH to hunt Benoit style. My buddy is a diehard. Not sure if you recall first weekend of Dec last year (O3). We dogged a huge northwoods buck for 2 days while we accumulated 16 plus inches of snow. The ass end loked like a Belgian Draft horse. Rack looked like a tangle of brush with legs. First day we cut his track at 7:30am and came off his track at dark. We jumped him 5 times that day. Second day we scanned the area we left him at and picked up his track around 9Am again tracked him to dark. First day we travelled over 3 ridges and came out a 45 minute ride from our truck when family picked us up. Second day he led us in circles and zig zags. We came out 4 miles from the truck on the same logging road. We saw him 3 times that day but again he never presented a clean shot. All in all we saw him and 2 smaller bucks( 4pt around 160lbs and a spike around 120lbs) and a 1/2 dozen does. What a way to end the season. I am glad in a way that that last Sunday came because day three would have been a physical killer logging miles in snow that deep for 3 in a row.

We could have chanced taking the big boy with some less than lethal shots but we decided a monarch such as he deserved to die in a noble and majestic manner such as he has lived. Our guess based on sightings and print analysis as we tracked him was he would go around 250 to 260 on the hoof.

I literally have a calendar going for the following in '05. Firearms in WI, WV,NJ,ME,NH. Bow in NJ,NY,NH. NH would fall off but my 4YO son likes to go for a walk in the woods with his BB gun and dad during deer season a few times. Unfortunately, many of the States conflict to be there for the openers. WI may win out over WV as they open within a day or 2 of each other. Both are great places to hunt with some dynamite folks but I have never hunted WI and my buddy who lives there I haven't seen in 5 yRS. ME is close as I have friends who hunt near Portland which is 1 1/2 hrs from me and my buddies place in Greenville. Bowhuntercop has invited me to hunt with him in Jersey during firearms and I will most probably venture that way as NJ is originally home and I bowhunt there a few times a year and it is only 4hrs. So many choices so little vacation time!!! I will miss WV if I don't go down this year. Good amount of deer and good folks. Both family and the locals!! I would have even hooked up with MASON and bought him a frosty draft!! So good I have seriously considered relocating there. I am fortunate as my line of work can afford me the chance to move anywhere in the USA. NY, WV are high on the list. I am looking to purchase 50 to 100ac's and plop a new house down. Both of those States have attractive Land prices to someone coming from NE.