Syracuse.com - Auburn hunter, 83, bags biggest deer of his life on opening day (and it was filmed)

[HuntingNY-News]

He's old school," the grandson said. "He never hunted for trophies -- just the meat." The hunt will be shown on TV, his grandson said..

Gus Ventura, 83, of Auburn, poses above with a massive, 8-point buck, the biggest deer of his life. He shot the buck in Mentz on opening day, Nov. 16.

His grandson, Nick Ventura, also of Auburn, tells the following story:

"My name is Nick Ventura and I recently had a great hunt with my grandfather who is 83 years old. It has been my goal for a while to get him a deer.

"On opening morning, I was fortunate enough to go beyond that. I left my gun home and brought my camera with me in an effort to film the hunt.

"Mid-Morning, this beautiful 8 point stepped out working his way towards us. The deer caught us and ran 50 yards and stopped broadside before my grandpa made a great heart shot (with his Ithaca Deerslayer 12-gauge shotgun). The deer went 75 yards before expiring.

"To say this was a memorable hunt for my grandfather, my father and I, is an understatement. The footage is amazing and will be on Time Warner Cable, and the Pursuit Channel as I am associated with a TV show all filmed in the Northeast called The Crossroads TV.

"My grandpa has always been a fan of your articles and always shows me the stories of peoples success. He hinted at me yesterday saying you should email that guy and tell him to put 'old guy gets a deer.' "

The grandson said the deer is currently at the taxidermist and will be his grandfather's first ever trophy mount.

"He's old school," said Nick Ventura. "He never hunted for trophies -- just the meat."

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog