November 15th marked the 50th year that I have been deer hunting here in Michigan. I have several deer rifles and am a fan of the Remington pump but it seemed only fitting that I hunt this year with the same rifle (my first gun) that I carried way back in 1973. It's a Marlin 336 in .35 Rem. It still has the original Weaver 4x scope. The only thing I've changed is the lever has been replaced with a larger loop lever. Gloved hands fit better now.
On the morning of the 17th shortly after daylight I heard a deer coming up at a fast walk from behind me. He went past me & stopped in a nice little clearing at about 40 yards. Looking from the rear I could see he was a decent buck but something didn't look quite right. I thought he was a 9 point. Back in '73 and many other years I would have shot him without even counting points. A buck like this was few and far between.
One shot dropped him right there, that shoulder is a real mess but there are benefits to not having a blood trail sometimes.
Turns out what looked a little odd was that he had broken off a back tine from each side of his rack. I really don't mind. Nice to take a good buck with my old rifle again.
I always look forward to reading here how everyone is doing at deer camp. Good luck to all of you.

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