It looks like it’s been a very successful deer hunting season, so far, for Northern Zone gun hunters and bowhunters. Here are a few of their tales.

Due to complications from

diabetes, Mike Suriano III of Hudson Falls, an avid deer hunter all his life, has been confined to a wheelchair for several years and was forced to stop hunting. But in October, with a little help from his friends and family, he was back

behind his deer rifle and again sitting in the deer woods.

Through the efforts of the Adir­ondack Sportsman Alliance, his

dad, Mickey, and other family members, they constructed a natural platform blind on private woodlot in Wilton with a ramp and surrounded it with hay bales and pine boughs.

The Sportsman Alliance is a

6-year-old hunting club of about 25 members, very involved in conservation and the promotion of annual venison donations, which offers several college scholarships to needy young men and women in the area every year.

As for Mike, from his platform, he got back into deer hunting in a big way. On watch late in the

afternoon, he needed just one shot at about 150 yards with his Thompson Center Omega 50-caliber muzzleloader to drop a 10-point North Country buck. The trophy buck dressed out at 200 pounds. From all of us who take our trips to the deer woods for granted: “Mike, we’re glad to have you back.”

The persistence and many years of deer hunting savvy, coupled with a good shot, helped Bob Schnebel of Johnstown score his first bow-and-arrow buck. It took a few grunt calls and doe bleats to lure it in to the tree stand, but at a distance of about 121⁄2 yards, one arrow launched from his Matthews Outback compound bow put the six-pointer down.

The Newcomb Sportsmen’s Club reports three bucks and one bear have been harvested by club members this season.

The first buck, a spike, was taken by Paul Ritchey of Scotia, who was hunting with Peter Fiorello Jr. of Mayfield. The shot was taken with a Ruger 44-magnum at abut 75 yards.

Mike Lis of Castleton bagged a nine-pointer, while Bill Hickey of Saratoga Springs shot a six-pointer. And Pete Fiorello Jr. of Mayfield shot a black bear that dressed out at 185 pounds. The Newcomb club,

established in 1958, is on 7,000 acres of leased land in Essex County.

The adkhunter.com Web site says the following have already filled their buck tags:

Mike Spirowski of Kingsbury took a nice eight-pointer in Granville opening day of bow season. It tipped the scales at 160 pounds dressed, while JD Durling of Hartford arrowed a big eight-pointer in Washington County that tipped the scales at 187 pounds, field- dressed.

In Northern Zone archery, Matt Miller and Chris Beckoff, both from Wilton, bagged Saratoga County bucks. Matt shot a seven-pointer that dressed at 132 pounds, and Chris got an eight-pointer that dressed at 128 pounds.

John DiCaprio of Amsterdam was hunting from a tree stand when his eight-point buck came in. At 25 yards, one well-placed arrow launched from his Reflex compound ended the hunt. The backyard buck weighed in at 175 pounds.

Here are two bow and arrow buck tales — one good and one bad.

The good one happened opening day on a seven- to 10-acre wood parcel in Saratoga County. Due to a family commitment, I was unable to get out in the morning, but by 2:50 p.m., I was settled into the stand.

At 3:15 p.m., I saw a buck coming through the brush, and at 3:44 p.m., I was standing over an eight-pointer — a 54-minute hunt. The buck, which I shot with a BowTech General at a distance of about 20 yards, only traveled about 30 yards from the point of impact before

expiring. It was 6-7 years old and field dressed, weighed 190 pounds.

As for the bad news, it was a crossbow hunt in Pennsylvania where on the last day of a three-day hunt, I got a 30- to 35-yard shot at a big doe. Sneaking into position as the doe approached, I steadied my Horton Crossbow and centered the scope’s crosshairs just behind her front leg. It was a solid hold and good release, and I really thought I got her. However, I found out that I was right on target until the

arrow found a lone half-inch branch about four feet from where the doe was standing. It would have been my first whitetail deer with a crossbow.

crossing the line

Three Tupper Lake men were arrested by Department of Envir­onmental Conservation police

recently for taking a deer using an artificial light (deer jacking). All were issued a summons to appear in Harrietstown Court Dec. 3.

If you have information regarding illegal activities, contact the DEC Turn in Poachers & Polluters program at (800) 847-7332.