14-year-old Tristian Olsen tagged a nice 7-point buck last Sunday during the Youth Big Game Hunt. OBSERVER Photo by Gene Pauszek.

The Youth Big Game special hunt is paying off for our area youth. 14-year-old Tristian Olsen was hunting from a ground blind on Sunday, Oct. 13, with her mentor Tony Polvino. The blind was set up near a food plot and Tristian normally would have been with her dad Garry Olsen. Unfortunately, Dad had to be out-of-town on Sunday, so Polvino stepped in.

The duo estimated they were in stand for three hours, before the buck came into view. Tristian knew the 7-pointer favored the location, so she passed up on several deer that were hanging around the stand. The buck stayed on the outer edge, but Tristian had plenty of practice with her Creedmore Rifle equipped with a scope. At 160 yards, the cross hairs settled over the mark and the shot was delivered. Tristian replied, that she didn’t even hear the shot, because the adrenaline was pumping so hard. The buck dropped for about 10 seconds, then stood back up. It walked back into the woods, but soon came back out and dropped for the final time. The hunter and mentor cautiously approached the deer, confirmed the kill and proceeded to do the field dressing.

Tristian will have her 7-point buck mounted and the entire family will enjoy eating the venison through out the year. I would like to add that Tristian won one of the Life Time Fishing and Hunting licenses that were given away through the Chautauqua County Sportsmen Federation. There are a lot of old deer hunters that are celebrating the success of our young hunters. Congratulations. Keep the stories coming.

Note that there was an error in my Thursday column, where I accidently reported taking 32 walleye with my brother Ray. We took 3. Anglers will want to note that the nocturnal fishing off the City of Dunkirk Pier has been yielding good catches of walleye and trout.

Calendar: Oct. 1 – Nov. 15 is the Southern Zone Early Big Game Bowhunting Season. The Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club will once again be hosting a Hunters helping the Hungry Program. Members of the “Con Club” are asked to bring non-perishable food items to the club on Tuesdays during the hunting season. All food and monetary donations will then be turned over to our local charities for distribution to the needy prior to Christmas.

Duck Season in our area (Western Zone) is a split season, from Oct. 19 – Nov. 10, then re-opening Nov. 30 until Jan. 5. Canada Goose season for our area, which is considered the south, is from Oct. 26 to Jan. 13, with a daily bag limit of five geese per day.

There will be a pistol permit course at Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club on Oct. 30 from 5:30 p.m. until 10:30 p.m. To register, or for more information contact Gary Dudek at 366-3397.

Nov. 11 is NYS Free Fishing Day to celebrate Veteran’s Day.

A gun show in Lander, PA is on Oct. 19-20. Times are from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. on the 19th, and 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. on the 20th. The proceeds will benefit the Lander Volunteer Fire Department.

Other upcoming gun shows include: Oct. 26-27 at the Ashtabula County Fair Grounds (Ashtabula County Expo Building) located at 127 North Elm Street Jefferson, OH, 44047; Nov. 16-17 Hickory Post VFW 5550 East State Street US Route 62, East of PA. 18 – West of Mercer on 62, Hermitage PA, 16148; and Dec. 14-15 at the Harbor Creek Fire Dept Social Hall located at 7275 Buffalo Road – US Route 20 (located between North East, PA and Harborcreek, PA. All three shows are from 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. on Saturdays and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays. Adults are $5 and children under the age of 12 are free. For more information contact Larry Spicer at (716) 792-9972 or go to LRgunshows@gmail.com or website LRsportingevents.com.

Children of the Stream will present weekly free fly-tying classes every Tuesday from 7 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. in the Costello Room in the Rockefeller Art Center at the State University of New York Fredonia, starting Aug. 27. Children ages 12 and up, including adults are welcome and encouraged to attend. All tools and material will be provided for free.

If your club or organization is holding a hunter safety training/trapping course or a turkey shoot or any other outdoors event, and would like to see it posted in the calendar, send information to the OBSERVER, 10 East Second Street, Dunkirk, NY 14048, or call the sports department at 366-3000 ext. 5 after 6 p.m.

Note: If you have a big game fishing or trapping success story you would like to share, call 366-1772, or 467-2079 and leave a name, phone number and a time you can be reached. You can also call 366-3000, ext. 5, after 6 p.m. or email sports@observertoday.com.