Syracuse.com - Hunter uses handgun to take nice 9-pointer in Marcellus

HuntingNY-News · November 28, 2011

"When it was even with does at 75 yards it stopped between two trees. I put the crosshair on its kill zone and squeezed the trigger. It dropped on the spot and never moved," he said.

Submitted photo

Mark Griffin, poses with his nice 9-pointer, which he took with a handgun in Marcellus.

He wrote: "Hi Dave- I've been hunting for 26 years (I'm 54 years old). I've never shot a deer with a shotgun or a rifle.

"I've always hunted with a pistol or a bow. Bow hunting is nice because you can get so close to the deer and see a lot of things going on in the woods while you're waiting for a deer to walk by.

"I've managed to shoot 3 bucks with the bow but elbow problems forced me to quit bow hunting in 2004. This year I've had to have spinal nerve blocks for back pain and when I asked the doctor if I could still hunt deer he asked me if I (wanted) to hunt. I said "yes."

"So, he told me to go ahead and hunt. On Friday, 11-25-11, I sat on top of a hill in Marcellus (72 acres of private land) with my 44 magnum T/C, loaded with Black Talon bullets and waited.

"At 7:10 I saw 2 deer walking down a ridge about 100 yards away. I got ready and as minutes passed thought they had gone over the other side of the ridge. Then, all of a sudden, I saw them walking towards me.

"The hillside is full of trees and they were about 75 yards away with no clear shot available. As I followed the 2 doe I noticed another bigger deer, just parts of it. Then I saw it start to rub it's head on a tree. After rubbing for just a couple times it turned and started to walk away.

"When it was even with does at 75 yards it stopped between two trees. I put the crosshair on its kill zone and squeezed the trigger. It dropped on the spot and never moved.

"It's a 9 point and weighed 150 pounds. I had to call for help to get it out of the woods and don't know if I'll be able to hunt much longer with my back problems.

"I haven't noticed many hunters using handguns in your pictures so thought you might like seeing this one."

Thanks for sharing, Mark. And good luck with your back.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog