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Rhode Island Teen Shoots Huge Typical!
This Could Be The Biggest Typical From RI in 2003!
By NBBC Measurer Ed Klosowski & Hunter Matthew Waldman

On November 10th I received an email from NBBC President Jeff Brown asking me to follow up on a big Rhode Island buck shot by a teenager. I contacted the hunter, Matthew Waldman, a 16-year-old from Warwick, and asked him to send me his story. Matthew’s great buck green scored 151 5/8”. After the 60 day drying period we can officially score it, and it should make the top 10 All-Time muzzleloader typicals in Rhode Island. It may just be the biggest muzzleloader buck taken in 2003 in our state! What follows is the story of his hunt, in his own words.

Hunting was the main topic of conversation between my self and my Engineering and Technology teacher at school. Every day there would be a new story to tell and every day I would learn more and more as I would listen to an experienced hunter such as himself. Since the age of 13 I had begun to show an interest in hunting and all of its benefits, from meeting new people, to having stories of my own to pass on to a younger generation. I use to go out with one of my uncles, whenever he would have time to go, and every time I went, I would come home empty handed with nothing but a story to tell my parents about what we didn’t see! After there was an addition to my uncle’s family he could no longer find time to go out with me. So for the next year I hung up my boots and placed my camouflaged clothes and orange vest in the back of my closet because hunting was now a thing of the past for me.

Feeling confident enough in my abilities as a hunter and my nature of responsibility and maturity, my teacher Mr. Lawrence West, offered an invitation to go hunting with him on the weekend, as long as it was ok with my parents. Not one to pass up an opportunity such as this, I gladly obliged. With the consent of my parents I was on my way to experience one of the greatest events of my life.

It was a brisk fall day and the wind was moderate and variable, yet the sun was brightly shinning. Around 1:00 p.m. Mr. West came to my house and picked me up. We then drove to his house to meet his friend Mr. Brad Hautanen, who would be accompanying us on our hunt. Recognizing the fact that I was unprepared with the clothes I was wearing, Mr. West offered me some of his, which I was very grateful for. He even was kind enough to let me borrow one of his guns because I did not have my own muzzleloader; I always borrowed one of my uncles. He said I only have one shot, so make it count. With all of our gear set, we then drove out to some private land in South Kingstown, RI where we would be hunting for the day. When we got to our spot, Mr. West and Brad got dressed in their hunting apparel and we each took turns spraying each other down with scent blocker. Again being unprepared, I left my gloves at home so Mr. West gave me heat packets which I stuck in my pockets so I could keep my hands warm while I sat and waited for any sign of deer movement. When everyone was all set, we grabbed our guns and began walking into an open field. Brad walked out ahead of us and went to his stand while Mr. West took me to the spot where I would be hunting from. It was on the edge of a rocky open field and I would be positioned between a pine tree and a giant bolder. Even though I had a clear shot 180 degrees to either side of me, Mr. West said I should concentrate myself a little to the left of the field because that’s an area where a dominant buck has been making tons of scrapes prior to the rut. After clearing away some branches in front of me for a clear shot, I sat down against the rock and watched Mr. West as he walked off into the woods to his stand. From here on out it was just a waiting game.

There I sat, the gun in my hands resting on my knee, scanning the field from side to side, watching and listening for the slightest sign of a deer.

I’m not going to lie to you; this had to be one of the most boring hunts I’ve been on, most likely because I was cold, and uncomfortable sitting against the rock. But no matter how cold and uncomfortable I was, I was still glad to be out in the middle of nature and witnessing everything that went on around me. From a bird in mid flight, to a leaf caught in an updraft, nothing could replace this sight, and the feeling that I felt. In the midst off all of this appreciation of nature, I had let down my guard and was not searching the field. It was getting late enough so that the sun could not be seen threw the tree line and the light was getting dimmer and dimmer. I was getting to the point where I was losing hope about shooting a deer, but all that was about to change. The faintest sound of a stick being stepped on was enough to grab my attention and look up and see what it was that made that sound. There in front of me, about 80 yards out stood a buck. Its size and shape was not totally visible, but it was enough to insure me that I could take a shot. With my heart pounding and my blood racing, I shouldered the gun and took aim through the scope. The deer was angled to the left with its head down and didn’t show any sign of it turning broad side, but I could see enough of vital area to take a shot. At about the same time I clicked off the safety, the deer looked up straight at me, that’s when I took the shot. Instead of taking my time and letting the gun surprise me, I pulled the trigger rocking the gun upward and shooting high of my target. In a sense I was lucky to hit the buck but in a way I wasn’t. I hit the buck high in the spine paralyzing it so it could not run. So the buck just flailed around trying to run away. The only thing I could do was wait for either Brad or Mr. West to come and finish the deer off, which to me, is the hardest thing a hunter can do. Both Brad and Mr. West were speechless at the size of the buck, and I was oblivious to the scale of what I had shot. I was so excited because I had shot what would probably be the biggest deer of my life. Mr. West and Brad then took pictures of me beside the buck with the biggest smile I’ve ever had on my face. My favorite picture of all is the one of Mr. West and myself beside the deer, because if it weren’t for him, I would have not gotten this chance of a lifetime.