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MEXICO — Nine year-old Brycen Waugh, of Mexico, has been in the news recently for accomplishing something unique for a young hunter. From a hunting family including his father, Derrek Waugh, mother Katie Gurney, his Pepere, and Grandparent Eugene Waugh, Brycen got what could be called a “grand slam” for Maine hunters.
Last year, at the age of eight, Brycen bagged a turkey, a deer, a bear and a moose, thus completing his “grand slam” while hunting in different parts of the state. (In 2016 the state of Maine lowered the minimum age from 10 to 8 years old for those wishing to engage in legal hunting.) The story that follows was written by Brycen Waugh himself for the “Maine Sportsman” magazine and is reprinted with his parent’s permission.
“My Mom and Papa and me went turkey hunting early in the morning [April 2016]. We drove out to where we were hunting and set up a decoy. Then we went into a deer blind to sit and wait. Then my papa got his turkey call and we sat there and called in a big Tom. I shot at it and missed and then we called in another small Jake and I shot it. It dropped right there by our decoy. I carried it to the jeep and it was heavy. We brought it to the fire station and tagged it.
“[September 2016] My Dad and Mom and me went to the tree stand. Then my Dad stood up fixing his belt and said, “Don’t move. There is a bear right there,” to me and my mom. He slowly sat down, then reached behind him and gave me the gun. Then the bear took a big piece of bait and took off. I was not scared because bears are scared of you except if there are cubs and a sow that thought you were trying to hurt them. Then the bear came back for more bait and then I shot and it fell right there. Then my Dad dragged it out and put it in the six-wheeler. Then we brought it to Pines Market to tag and weigh it.
“[October 2016] My Dad and Pepere and Great Grampy and me drove 5 hours to a cabin in the woods. Then the next morning we went hunting for ten hours and we saw a cow because she had a calf with her. Then we kept going and we saw a bull across the river but I had an antlerless permit so I couldn’t shoot this one either. We kept going but didn’t see anything else that day.
“The next morning we went back out and never saw any moose. The next day we went back out hunting and saw another bull and cow across the river so we drove really fast to get to the other side. When we got out of the truck the moose must have winded us because they took off running. Later that day we saw another cow but when we got out it took off and we couldn’t find it.
“The next day was the day I shot my moose. Early in the morning we saw a small cow up on a hill on a skidder trail, so we all got out and walked into the woods and I shot it. It took off running up the mountain so we followed the blood trail. It was bedded down and I shot it again. It took us 5 hours to drag it out of the woods to the truck. Then we packed up and went home to show my Mom and Great-Grammy and my Memere the next day.
[November 2016] My Pepere and my Dad and me went hunting down at Pepere’s friend’s house in Readfield and he let us use his tree stand. Me and my Dad sat there for three hours. Then a doe came in and I shot at it but missed, and it went running off. I tried to shoot it again but the gun jammed. Then another doe came and I had to shoot it with my Dad’s 30-O6 and it dropped right there. We brought it to the fire station and tagged and weighed it. It weighed 110 pounds.”
CAPTION: Eight year-old Brycen Waugh of Mexico, with the turkey he shot last April (2016). The bird was the first part of Brycen’s “grand slam,” when he also bagged a deer, a moose and a bear during several hunting trips around Maine with his family. (Photo submitted.)
