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McManus Camp - 2008
Please Note: Hunts are posted in reverse order. The first hunt of the season will be at the bottom of the page. The most recent hunt will be found at the top.
Also note: Click on a photograph to enlarge it and get more information.
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Hunt 5 Nov. 11-14
More often than not, McManus Camp hunters find the trophy whitetail they are looking for fairly quickly. The fifth and final hunt of the season saw three of the hunters collecting bucks on the first day of the hunt, but it took one hunter until the third morning to finally put one on the ground.
Darl Hospelhorn from Waynesboro, PA has become a regular hunter for Beaver McManus. He has been a fixture in the McManus Camp the past several seasons and will be returning each year for the foreseeable future. He says we need to keep his name permanently in our McManus Camp reservation book. In 2008, he was accompanied by two friends who were newcomers to us - Jeff Hastings from Hagerstown, MD and Ned Myers from Chambersburg, PA. It was these three hunters who all tagged out on bucks the first day - Ned that morning with Darl and Jeff holding out until that afternoon. All three collected nice bucks. Both Ned and Jeff took does in addition to their bucks before the hunt concluded.
While looking for a possible second-buck, Darl passed on one which he reported to be similar to, if not better than, the two extraordinary bucks taken back on the first hunt of the season at the McManus Camp. Why would he pass on such a magnificant creature? Here is Darl's story: after giving the buck a good looking-over, Darl finally focused on what was below that tremendous set of antlers. Tragically, the buck had no hair on his head or neck - or at least very, very little. Was it the mange? Could it have been lice? Was he diseased with some unknown malady? As good as those horns were, his cape would have been a distraction, to say the least. So Darl let him walk.
Ned Myers had no such trouble in finding a second buck. On the third day of the hunt, after having taken a doe on the second day, Ned got his photo made with Buck # 2 that was wider and had more points that did the first one.
The fouth hunter in camp was a new hunter for us - Scott Touchet, from Orange, TX - way, way down in Southeast Texas. He was the lone hold-out, waiting until the next-to-the-last morning before finally finding the kind of buck he was looking for. The day before, Scott had taken a doe with his pistol, a 44 mag. Ruger. Altogether, Scott harvested a couple of does - meat for the winter.
So the four hunters collected five bucks and a total of four does - a fitting conclusion to a very successful season.
Indeed, every hunter at the McManus Camp in 2008 took home at least one buck. Several took two bucks. 100% success has been the track record of the McManus Camp almost every year since way back in 1989. We can think of only a couple of times in the past twenty deer season when a hunter left for home without taking a buck. Congratulation to Beaver McManus and all his 2008 hunters. Very, very well done.
It is no wonder that upwards of 80% of next year's hunters at the McManus Camp will be repeats.
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Hunt 4 Dec. 4-7
For several years now, the same four hunters can be found on the fourth hunt of the season at the McManus Camp. And they all intend to keep returning, God Willing, year after year. As a party of two and two parties of one, they have formed a fast friendship for their annual get-together here in West Texas.
Frank Harris and Conrad Miller, from the Millersburg area of PA have hunted the McManus Camp countless times. Justin Carrisio, from Wilmington, DE and Alan McKeithen, from Riverside, CA are the "newcomers" to the group, but this must be something like their fifth hunt together.
We remember that it was Justin who collected the Adobe Lodge "Buck of the Year" last season on this very hunt. That impressive dude scored in the 170's and remains the largest buck ever taken by an Adobe Lodge hunter.
This year, these guys wasted no time in finding bucks that suited them. Frank, Alan and Conrad all scored on the first morning. Justin would have joined them, too, if it hadn't been for that missed shot.
Then that afternoon of the first day in camp, Justin redeemed himself and connected on a nice buck while Frank took a second buck. So, needless to say, Beaver's skinning shed was one busy place on that fateful day. Later on, Alan took a couple of does.
Things somehow have a way of working out. It is fortunate that all the bucks were taken early. Beaver McManus had to clock-out on the third day to attend a funeral. And since he was all done, Alan McKeithen left camp early in his big motor home, headed back to sunny California. So by the time our professional Adobe Lodge photographer showed up on Saturday for the official photograph of all the hunters, it was too late to get everyone in the picture. Frank, Conrad, and Justin were relaxing outside, soaking up the warm Texas sunshine, hoping to take a bit of it home with them to help make it through their coming winter.
One more 2008 hunt remains next week. Even with all the nice bucks taken so far this season at the McManus Camp, there are still some good ones left to be found - the evidence of which is the buck Beaver encountered on his way to town with the laundry after the hunt. He just happened to have his camera handy and found a buck along the road that most anyone would like to hang on their wall. A couple of photos of this dude are posted below.
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Hunt 3 Nov. 20-23
So who said Senior Citizens have to stay home in rocking chairs during the hunting season? Not us.
How about this: the McManus Camp hosted a group of amigos from the western side of New Jersey who average seventy-three years of age. Not only are they still quite active and still hunting, they did a darn good job of taking some nice bucks with Beaver McManus. And what's more, most of them will be back next year and the year after.
John Hubschmidt, of Bridgeton, has been hunting with us for ten years in a row. Once again in '08, he was accompanied by Oscar Simkins and Ellsworth Harris, both of Elmer. The newcomer for this trip was Richard Bell from Bridgeton.
Three of the four were tagged out by noon of the second day of their hunt. But John Hubschmidt likes to "shop-around", so to speak, and rarely takes a buck until late in the hunt. Unfortunately, when he finally found the one he wanted, he missed him. John assurred Beaver that the lucky buck would have rivaled the two taken on the first hunt of the season at the McManus Camp. Despite an extensive search, no blood was found and John continued his quest for horns.
John brought a buck into camp on the last morning. Although taken on the final day, John's buck could hardly be described as a "last-day-buck". You will see his photo below. Many, many of our hunters admit that here they will pass on bucks that would readily be taken back home.
And John's miss wasn't the only one. Oscar Simkins shot at a bobcat one morning but failed to hit him. Just our luck. There goes another predator off to practice his dastardly trade. Too bad. The quail and turkeys better be on their guard.
None of the hunters elected to take a doe. But somehow the excitement about hunting was still strong. Consider Richard Bell: he didn't trust himself to forego a second buck. He wasn't wanting the expense of doing so. To prevent an emotion-driven decision, he left his gun in camp. Despite being totally weapon-less sitting in one of Beaver's blinds, he saw a buck which made his heart thump and pound anyway. Indeed, taking a good photograph of an exceptional buck is ever bit as challenging as harvesting one. When the time comes where a hunter doesn't get super-excited in the presence of a big trophy buck, it is time to take up a different sport.
The stats of this Hunt 3 at the McManus Camp are easy: four hunters, four bucks. Once again, the Good Lord Willing, John Hubschmidt and Company will be returing in 2009. It is always a delight to see the New Jersey guys.
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Hunt 2 Nov. 13 - 16
There is simply nothing to take the place of hunting with long-time friends.
So you want to talk about long-time friends - how's this for longevity? Three of the hunters on this second date at the McManus Camp were boyhood friends BEFORE they all started the first grade together just prior to World War II. Yep, Glenn Wise, Bob Putt and Ed Blemler have known each other a long time. Indeed, they don't remember when they DIDN'T know each other. The fourth member of the hunt was Tim Miller. Tim and Glenn have hunted the McManus Camp numerous times. Bob Putt was here for the second year in a row, but this was Ed's first time to hunt with Beaver McManus.
It would be hard to think of a way the hunt could have gone any better than it did. All four hunters collected two bucks apiece. Four hunters, eight bucks. Actually, five of the bucks were all taken on Day One. There is a photo of their astounding accomplishment posted below.
Ed Blemler, the first-timer, thought he had missed a buck early on his first morning's hunt. After his shot, he went for a look but found no sign of the buck being hit. So he returned to his blind and waited. After a bit, here comes another buck, and this time Ed dropped him. But uh-oh. When he walked down to admire the second buck, good grief - what's that over there? Yep, it was the first buck laying stone-cold dead. Ed had just missed seeing that rascal on his first trip. So now Ed was the proud owner of two bucks from his first morning's outing at the fabled McManus Camp.
At the close of the hunting on that first day in camp, the other three hunters had all taken nice bucks, as you will see in the photos below. We'll never know for sure, of course, but maybe it was Ed's having taken two bucks that morning which caused a chain-reaction in the rest of the hunters. When the second day dawned, the blood-lust for second bucks began to bubble in earnest. For the uninitiated, this is a powerful emotion which afflicts most all deer hunters.
By noontime on the second day when we paid a visit to the McManus Camp, Glenn Wise had already taken his second buck, and a good'un he was. A twelve-pointer with a high, handsome rack. Before the day was over, Tim had similarly taken his second buck. Not to be outdone, Bob Putt finally took his second buck, but he had to wait until the third day to find one he liked.
While all this buck harvest was taking place, Bob Putt and Glenn Wise somehow managed to take some does, as well. Chalk-up Bob with two and Glenn with one.
If you have followed the numbers enumerated above, you will count that four hunters took eight bucks and three does in 3 1/2 days. Made for plenty of work in the skinning shed, it did. Beaver and Mario Rangel had their hands full.
So coming back around to the question of how the hunt could have been better? No way, Jose. These four hunters from the Carlisle area of Pennsylvania knocked the ball out of the park, right smack into the basket between the goal posts. (If you're going to mix a few sports metaphors, you might as well go all the way. Just like these old friends did on this hunt.)
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Hunt 1 Nov. 6-9
If there is a better way for the McManus Camp to start the 2008 season, it would have to come out of a story-book somewhere. Since way back in 1989 when Beaver McManus first signed on with the Adobe Lodge, he's never had a kickoff such as this one.
Get this: there were four bucks taken by the three hunters. Counting the total number of points on the four, you will find no less that 50 points on the four bucks. Good grief - that's an average of 12 1/2 points per buck. Get outta here - it just can't be. Someone made a mistake with the numbers somehow. Not so - just wait till you see the photos below.
In camp were brothers Chris and Randy Webb from North Carolina. Chris hails from Macclesfield and Randy lives in Ahoskie. The third hunter, E.J. Deseta from West Chester, PA, wasn't acquainted with the brothers until they all arrived in camp, but it is fair to say everyone has now made a good new friend on this Texas trip.
Chris put his tag on his first buck the first morning of the hunt - a nice ten pointer. But things were about to get a whole lot more interesting. That night, brother Randy brought in a 22" seventeen pointer that had about 155 inches of antlers on his head.
That should have been the climax, but it wasn't. The next day, E.J. found a 19 1/2" dude with fourteen points and when the tape was put to this'un, he had a couple inches more horns than did Randy's buck. It is impossible to describe the excitement of the trio. They were all convinced they were hunting in heaven.
You will notice in the photos below that Randy's 17 pointer had kickers and stickers everywhere. It was a supreme challenge for Master Photographer Beaver McManus to get every single point in one lone photo and so we are posting a couple of photos of Randy's rack to let you see as many as we can. E.J.'s buck, on the other hand, had nothing but main-frame points, albeit some veered off the exact angle of the rest of the tines. Both trophy bucks are tremendously impressive representatives of the whitetail species.
Chris elected to take a second buck, and although he didn't quite compare with Randy's or E.J.'s trophies, nevertheless that second buck was a mighty fine animal. He was 16 1/2" wide with a tall, seemingly eight point rack. On a closer examination of his photo below, you can find another point right at the hair line. So we'll call him a nine pointer with 132 inches of horns. As a matter of interest, Chris hunts with a "smoke pole". We don't see many muzzle loaders in these parts, but Chris is deadly with the smelly old thing.
All three hunters were talking about a future return visit to hunt with Beaver. No doubt we would welcome such an event, but we cautioned all three that the bucks taken on this 2008 hunt would be mighty hard to duplicate in the future. These kind just don't grow on trees, we told them. Be thankful for what you got this year, but please don't come back expecting to take similar bucks in the future. Especially for E. J. and Randy, those bucks they took might be described as "Bucks of a Lifetime."
When you stop and think about it, all hunters are after that "Lifetime Buck", but perhaps it is better to consider the "Lifetime Achievements" of hunting instead. Just being out in the woods is a special blessing for all of us. The sights, the sounds, watching the day awaken - or ending - , the wildlife out and about, Mother Nature in all Her finest, seeing new or unfamiliar country. Mercy - how can you top that kind of adventure? But beyond that, it is the entire experience which will be savored from then on - the fellowship of the camp most of all. Meeting new people with a similar interest is the spice of life. What fun it is to be hunting where fun is the Number One goal. Collecting a nice buck, even a "Buck of a Life" is just icing on the cake.
All three hunters collected a doe apiece, but no other critters were seen or harvested. No matter - their hearts could not have survived any more excitement anyway. There is a short video of the hunters and their trophies. Click the video link below the photos posted below this text.
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