Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, September 20, 1993 TAG: 9309230293
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
``Four of those eight were nice big bucks,'' Weaver said.
Big bucks, for Weaver, who lives in Bassett, mean trophy-book candidates. The season before, he had put four trophies into the Pope and Young book, which is the national record keeping system for bowhunters.
Many bowhunters spend their lives just dreaming about getting a Pope and Young buck in their sights. Weaver had killed two the same day, three the same week, four the same season.
So what was left for an encore?
Well, the past season Weaver killed five more bucks that have met Pope and Young standards. That will give him a total of 18 in Pope and Young and three in the Longhunters Society book, which recognizes outstanding trophies killed by muzzle-loader hunters.
Weaver rapidly has become one of the best known names in Virginia trophy hunting. Earlier this year, he purchased a custom-built trailer to haul his mounted bucks to outdoor shows. He took 30 whitetails and two mule deer to the Virginia Deer Classic near Richmond in August.
For a long time, Weaver shunned publicity.
``I didn't want any part of it, because I didn't want people knowing where I hunt and killing my big deer,'' he said.
But you don't kill four big bucks in a single season without people beginning to take notice. And when you kill five more the next season, people begin lining up to get your secrets.
Weaver has discovered that the attention isn't all that bad.
``I enjoy talking to the people. They say they've never seen deer like these out in the woods. They are just deer.''
As for secrets, there are none, he insists.
``It is being there, putting in the time, and some little things.''
\ LITTLE THING N0. 1: Establish your stand between a buck's feeding and bedding areas. He is going to be moving back and forth between the two daily.
That's where Weaver was positioned the Monday following last year's opening day.
``An eight-pointer came through and I started do draw back on him. Then I caught the glimpse of another deer coming, and I just eased off and waited. Five deer came through. Any five of them would go on the wall. I waited for the nine-pointer [the largest of the eight he'd seen during preseason] which was the last one to come through. He got probably within 12 yards of me. That is when I dropped him.''
The buck scored 150 1/8 Pope and Young.
\ LITTLE THING NO. 2: Nine times out of 10 the biggest buck in a group will be the last to come through. He is going to let the lesser bucks take the risk. Waiting for him is a gamble, but the reward can be your name in the record book.
Weaver spent the next couple of weeks hunting from the same stand, knowing that the other bucks he'd spotted would continue using the area. About 10:30 one morning a 12-pointer showed up. It scored 139 3/8.
\ LITTLE THING NO. 3: Preseason scouting will boost your confidence and your success. But you don't want to let the bucks know you are looking for them. Wear rubber boots to mask your scent. Carry a stick so you can push aside brush without touching it.
Weaver hunted from the same stand a couple more days, then switched to a different area where he'd been playing hide and seek with a huge buck for three years. He hunted it without success for about a week and a half. Then he moved back to the stand where earlier in the season he had killed his two bucks.
On Nov. 9, two eight-pointers traveling together moved by. Weaver recognized them as deer he'd seen earlier.
The smallest was in front. Weaver killed the second one, which scored 132 5/8.
\ LITTLE THING NO. 4: Sometimes gimmicks work, like deer grunt calls, rattling antlers and doe-in-heat scent. But commercial scent won't overcome human scent, so you must be clean when you go into the woods, and you must watch the wind to make certain it doesn't drift your scent to a deer.
The next day, while hunting from the same stand, a four-pointer moved through, then the eight-pointer Weaver had seen the previous day. Weaver dropped it about 10 a.m. It scored 130 1/8.
\ LITTLE THING NO. 5: If you hunt your own land or other private property, you can manage the deer herd for big bucks by passing up shots at small ones. This year's four-pointer might be next year's eight-pointer.
Weaver moved to a new area and spent the next six weeks attempting to outfox a 10-point buck.
``The very first day I hunted him I got ready to leave my stand and he was lying probably 80 yards out in front of me. He had been there the whole morning and never moved.''
Some time later, Weaver got a glimpse of the buck when he was walking out of the woods. He trailed him to a large cutover that the animal was using as a bedding area. Weaver established his stand along the deer's trail.
\ LITTLE THING NO. 6: Be persistent. ``I've never killed a deer in my living room or in a restaurant. I hunt every day of the season, no matter the weather.'' It helps to own your own business and be your own boss. Weaver runs an auto repair shop along U.S. 220 north of Martinsville.
It was four days prior to Christmas when Weaver finally caught up with the 10-pointer. He had to move his stand again to do it. The buck, which scored 145 7/8, came by at 11 a.m.
\ LITTLE THING NO. 7: Don't leave your stand too early. Notice the majority of Weaver's bucks were showing up between 9:30 and 11 a.m.
At the recent Virginia Big Game Trophy Show in Harrisonburg, which judged deer taken west of the Blue Ridge last season, Weaver made an impressive impact on the bowhunting division. He was fourth in the category for bucks 12-points or above, he placed second and third in the category for deer nine to 11 points, he was second and fourth in the category for deer seven and eight points.
The big question: Can he keep on rewriting the record book?
His scouting efforts for the coming Oct. 2 bow season have turned up seven big bucks.
``I'd say five of them are definitely Pope and Young. They are out there running around and I will be after them. I will put in the time, put in the days. There are big deer out there that nobody has seen and they never will be seen.''
\ LITTLE THING NO. 8: Keep a positive attitude, and spend plenty of time practicing with your bow so you will be ready when the big chance comes.
by CNB