For The Record

By Ralph Scherder

Anthony Chiappini
165 5/8” B&C
Venango County, PA

In 2004, Anthony Chiappini harvested a buck that scored 165-5/8 inches. Taking this Boone & Crockett buck was no fluke.
“I hunt pretty much everything,” Anthony says. “I’ve harvested a buck every year since I was fourteen. In 1999, I got a black bear in Butler County. I also enjoy small game hunting, but deer season is when I usually take my vacation from work.”
Anthony’s dad introduced him to hunting. “He taught me everything I know. He took me out, put me on stand, showed me how to scout, took me spotting, and had me shooting a bow before I was old enough to hunt.
“The best memory I have of hunting is with my dad. We own ten acres in North Washington, PA. My dad made a tree stand for me and I shot my first doe and first buck from it. My dad was only about fifty yards away, within eyesight, and saw me shoot both deer. It was neat because it was on our land and I was a using a stand he built for me.
“If it wasn’t for my dad, I wouldn’t know what I was doing. Every year we take our vacations at the same time so we can hunt together.”
His dad was a good teacher, and Anthony was a good student. He spends every spare moment in the woods looking for whitetails.
“I like checking out the deer trails in the winter,” Anthony says, “after all the seasons are closed. It’s a good way to see what’s there for next year. I keep my trail cameras out all year. I do a lot of scouting and spotting before the season. Most of the areas I hunt are thick, so I try to find an opening in the woods that will serve as a funnel. It definitely keeps me busy.”
The hard work paid off in 2004 when Anthony harvested his biggest buck. In his own words, here’s the rest of the story of how he got this record book deer:
“The past few years I’ve been hunting a piece of property that borders the northern edge of Butler County and the southern part of Venango County. The first year I hunted the property, I knew this buck was there but didn’t see him. Then I started hunting a different stand location and saw the buck consistently.
“The last week of archery season, during the rut, I climbed up my tree and saw him right away. It was about 3:30 in the evening, and I watched him till dark. The whole time I was in my stand he was there, chasing does. The leaves were real crunchy that night so you could hear every little movement in the woods. A red fox came through the area and the buck chased it. The buck was chasing anything that came by, but never came within range.
“Finally, at dark, a doe came down out of the pasture and he stayed with her. They stopped seventeen yards broadside. I shot and heard a big smack. I could see my arrow and it looked like it was sticking right in his vitals, and I wondered why he was still just standing there. I realized what happened when the deer took off and my arrow didn’t move. So I got out of my tree stand and pulled the arrow from a small sapling. That’s how my archery season ended.
“I moved my stand into a thicker part of the property for rifle season. The thicket opened up on a hardwood ridge, about a hundred yards from a pasture and swamp. Deer were running that ridge down to the swamp.
“First day, I got on stand about 4:30 that morning and could see headlights on the road in the distance as other hunters started moving into the woods. Even still, I didn’t hear a shot until about eight o’clock. It seemed like nothing was going to happen.
“About eight o’clock, two does came through. A little while later, I heard a buck grunting, chasing a doe about seventy yards away. I took the shot and he dropped right there. That’s what made it neat for me. It was like archery hunting with a rifle. The deer was on natural movement, not pushed by other hunters.”
The rack has ten-inch tines and an eighteen-inch spread. Even more impressive, however, is that the left beam has a circumference measurement of seven inches.
“It’s by far the biggest buck I’ve ever seen while hunting,” Anthony says.

Marcia Maslonek
167 -1/2” B&C
Jefferson County, OH

“1999 was my first year of hunting,” says Marcia. “I went the first few years with my husband and realized how much I loved it.”
Since then, Marcia has grown to love it even more, especially after harvesting a 160-class whitetail in 2005. The giant buck is her second.
“It was first day of gun season and I was up in my tree stand,” recalls Marcia. “It was about nine o’clock in the morning and freezing cold. I get cold easily, and I was tempted to head back to warm up, but decided to give it another half hour or so.”
As it worked out, she didn’t even have to wait that long. Shortly after nine, “antlers popped up over the horizon,” says Marcia. “My heart definitely skipped a couple beats. Not to the point of hyperventilating, but close.”
The buck appeared at the edge of the woods near a field and followed a fence line quartering toward her. When the buck got within eighty yards, she pulled the trigger.
“I use an H and R Ultra Slug,” says Marcia. “At a hundred yards, I can hit just about the same hole every time. I love that gun. We bought it from a friend, so it has lots of history.”
An accurate gun in the hands of a good hunter often translates into success, and Marcia’s first shot found its mark behind the buck’s front shoulder. The deer ran straight toward her and fell near her tree stand. Just to be sure the deer wouldn’t get away, she shot a second time.
“I’ll certainly remember the feeling for a long, long time,” Marcia says of walking up to the deer. After I harvested this deer, though, word got out about how big it was and the hunting pressure in the area increased.” The buck sports a 21-inch spread with heavy mass and long tines.
Marcia says that what she enjoys most about hunting is being outdoors. “Hunting’s a great excuse to sit out there and be part of nature. It’s hard to describe that feeling to non-hunters, the feeling of taking part in the ecological process.”
Ecological process is something Marcia is very familiar with. She used to work as a wildlife rehabilitator, rehabilitating everything from birds of prey, such as golden eagles and red-tailed hawks, to deer fawns and smaller animals to be released back into the wild. She is currently employed as a wildlife biologist and helps people manage their land for wildlife habitat. “It’s nice to make an impact,” she says. “We all have something we can do. I try to educate everyone on the benefit of managing the deer herd and other wildlife to create healthy habitat and populations.”
And, as if all that weren’t enough, Marcia is an advocate for getting more women involved in hunting. “I show the pictures of my deer to every woman and girl I meet and try to get them interested in hunting,” Marcia says. “I want them to think, ‘If she can do it, why can’t I?’ Hunting is such a wonderful experience. I know I’ll never forget the sight of those horns coming up over the horizon.”