Other great firearms bucks from New York's 2005 season included two outstanding 10-point typicals -- Donald Davenport's 172 5/8 monster from Oswego County and Mitchell Baxter's 171 7/8-inch buck from Cattaraugus County.

How did New York's gun hunters compare to the rest of the Northeast?

In addition to Bob Cuozzo's 209 6/8 non-typical, there's John Klucky's 14-point typical from New Hampshire, Chris McKay's 17-point non-typical taken in Massachusetts, Blake Gowen's 15-point Granite State non-typical and a 185 0/8 17-point Maine non-typical taken by Alan Ross.

New Yorkers will be proud to note that the best buck of the Northeast's 2006 firearms season came from the Empire State. Cuozzo's great buck was by far the largest in the region last year.

However, Klucky's New Hampshire buck was the only typical to make the top five in the region, although several very impressive typicals were taken that grossed in the mid-170s in both New York and New England.

FRANK WALTMAN'S MUZZLELOADER BUCK
Muzzleloader hunting is growing in popularity all across the Northeast, with a growing percentage of the total harvest falling during "primitive" seasons. In addition, more hunters are opting to use their muzzleloaders during firearms seasons.

All of this adds up to more big bucks falling to muzzleloader hunters, and 2006 was no exception. Frank Waltman shot an outstanding typical in Livingston County with his muzzleloader during regular firearms season in mid-November.

His big 10-pointer grossed 168 1/8 and netted 161 5/8 Boone and Crockett points. The impressive typical is wide, with an inside spread of 20 5/8.

The rack has very long main beams at 26 7/8 inches (right) and 27 7/8 inches (left). Main beams over 25 inches are quite impressive.

The buck had good mass, with bases of about 5 inches on both sides, and good tine length with three tines over 9 inches long.

According to NBBC records, Waltman's buck is the second largest muzzleloader buck killed in New York in recent years, behind Greg Radford's great-looking 174-inch 11-pointer from 2002. Coincidentally, this buck also came from Livingston County!

The NBBC did not score any other muzzleloader bucks over 150 inches in 2006. But in 2005, New York's muzzleloader hunters took some monstrous bucks as well. Topping the list was Larry Jenson's 162 7/8-inch non-typical 12-point from Chenango County.

Some impressive typicals fell to Mike Walker (a 151 2/8-inch 10-pointer from Steuben County) and to Mark Malys (a 150 2/8-inch 9-pointer from Cayuga County).

According to the NBBC's gross-score rankings, the best muzzleloader bucks from 2006 were Bill Tatro's Bay State 17-pointer, gross-scoring 170 2/8; Chad Baker's Massachusetts 11-point non-typical scoring 168 1/8; the Waltman buck; another Tatro 10-point trophy scoring 165 0/8; and Michael Williams' 154 6/8 10-point typical from Rhode Island.

As this article was written, note that Waltman's great buck is the best typical taken by muzzleloader from the entire Northeast in 2006, and is the third-largest gross-scoring muzzleloader buck from the region.

Tatro's Massachusetts monster is the new No. 1 non-typical muzzleloader bucks for his state. And notice that he also took a second huge typical with his muzzleloader!

OUTLOOK FOR 2006
Many other quality bucks were taken in New York in 2006. We could never list them all in a single article. But when we compare the results to the previous few seasons, it's obvious that New York's hunters continue to take trophy bucks in every category, in every corner of the state.

New Yorkers will be proud to note that the best buck of the Northeast's 2006 firearms season came from the Empire State.

Also interesting to note is that each year, this state's best bucks tend to be among the top bucks taken in the Northeast.

Given that many hunters in our region hunt in more than one state, I find it helpful to look at the Northeast Region and compare results.

Based on general comparisons of the past few seasons, New York remains one of the most productive trophy-buck states in the Northeast and should be considered a prime destination for hunters, whether armed with a shotgun, muzzleloader, rifle or bow.