Interview With VP/Awards Chairman of The Northeast Big Buck Club

by Steve Remington

Rick, Skinny Moose blogger over at Tails and Trails, was able to get an interview this weekend with the VP/Awards Chairman of the Northeast Big Buck Club, Mr. Paul Chapdelaine. Rick attended his first Annual Awards Banquet of the NBBC and said he had a good time. The following is the interview and a picture he was able to get of them together. Mr Chapdelaine is on the left and Rick is on the right.

Rick – First I want to say thank you for taking time out of your Sunday to answer a few questions and I also wanted to say that the club put on a very nice awards banquet, everyone put a lot of time and hard work into it and it showed. I had a wonderful time and I appreciate you taking the time to have this picture taken with me.

Paul – You are very welcome and I’m glad you were able to come and enjoy what has become our most favorite event of the year.

Rick – I would like to start by asking you how long you have been with the NBBC?

Paul – Well, It was back in 1998 when I attended a sportsmen show and came across a booth that the NBBC had and I watched them as they were scoring antlers. I thought that was really interesting and as I thought about it I thought I would join. I have been an avid hunter for years.

Rick – Did you join the club as a VP/Awards Chairman?

Paul – No, I joined as a regular member and shortly after that I was trained and certified as a qualified scorer. I spent the next couple of years going to shows and events helping to score some of the most amazing racks I have ever seen.

Rick – How did you become the VP/Awards Chairman?

Paul – It was around 2000 I had arranged to have a game dinner and I invited some of the new friends that I had made when I joined the NBBC. It was a great time and dinner all around. That is when I was approached by the club officers and said this is something that the club needs and that is someone who can get events such as this scheduled and running. They offered me the position. I did not have a lot of experience in what I was about to take on but, I gave it a try. I spent a lot of time going to events such as these and mostly learned what not to do. The more you try the more you learn.

Rick – What do you feel is the best part of your job?

Paul – I would have to say the best part of my job is the people I meet and hearing their stories about their successful hunts and the unsuccessful ones. Being the Awards Chairman keeps me very busy but I still like to get my hands on a nice buck’s rack so I am still a scorer.

Rick – What type of hunting do you like to do?

Paul – I started out gun hunting and I still do but, I really don’t like the noise part of it. I would say 95% of the time you will find a bow in my hand. That has got to be the most exciting type of hunting. I like the challenge of bow hunting. I tend you hit what I am aiming at better with a bow than with a gun. It tends to rattle me when I am sitting out there and all of a sudden on the next ridge someone fires off a gun and the next thing you know you have jump off your seat. I like the quiet when nobody knows your there, even the deer. I have shot at deer with a bow before and missed but, being so quiet they were not spooked and came back where I was able to get a second shot. If that was a gun and I missed than everything in the neighbor hood would disappear.

Rick – Do you have a favorite place to hunt?

Paul – I have a bow hunting only area up in New York that I like to go to. I also enjoy going to the mid west. I didn’t like the mid west at first being so open and flat but I got used to it. I figured using deer decoys works very well out there, it helps take the attention off of you and puts it on the decoy. That with a little grunting and a little rattling and you can generally get them to come right in.

Rick – You really like to use decoys?

Paul - I very much recommend them. They are another tool you can use to attract those educated bucks to come in closer when you ordinarily would not be able to. I have even been known to do seminars from time to time on bow hunting and the use of decoys.

Rick – What states does the NBBC actually cover?

Paul – When the NBBC started out they covered Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Now we cover New York and all of New England. We would like to branch out and next year we hope to set up in Pennsylvania.

Rick – I wanted to ask you this and it is probably a stupid question but why does the NBBC measure Whitetails only?

Paul - Basically that is a simple question, There is only Whitetails in the northeast. Some of us can measure like say Moose and others but we tend to stick with just Whitetails.

Rick – Do you feel deer hunting in general in the northeast is stable, declining or expanding?

Paul – I feel that deer hunting as far as the quantity of deer is expanding due to the fact that people are slowly thinking more of antlers than freezer so they are letting a lot walk, that and the numbers of hunters are declining. That is why we are trying to preserve our hunting tradition and trying to keep people interested and more involved more. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing better than putting meat in the freezer but hunter today are also interested in letting the smaller ones go so they have time to grow and reach to their potential.

Rick – How long is the training process for someone who is interested in becoming a certified scorer for the NBBC?

Paul – Typically these types of classes can be like four days long but being we only measure whitetails that we hold one day classes which can be intense and last about eight hors long. We try to keep the size of the class to twenty or less.

Rick – How many classes do you have?

Paul - We try to hold two classes a year and we move the classes around so as to be assessable to everyone. The last class we had was in Rhode Island and the next class which is in August will be held in Pennsylvania.

Rick – What else can you tell us about becoming a scorer?

Paul – New scorers will learn both the Boone & Crockett and the Pope & Young scoring methods but, we only use the B & C standard. When you become a scorer we usually start you out by helping at shows and events. We do require that you score so many racks a year to keep your certification up to date but, we also realize that everyone does have a life and other responsibilities so we try not to be to demanding.

Rick – Well Paul I just want to say you are very knowledgeable and care very much for what you do and I want to say thanks again for your time.

Paul – We at the NBBC care about the preservation of our hunting traditions for us and generations to come. We also care a lot about the scoring part of our club that is why we recognize the gross score and not the net score. We feel that the Whitetail Buck deserves full credit for everything he grew without deductions to his rack.