Dalton Laubenstein, of English Center, has a drive to hunt. His parents, Lori and John, said he has been like that practically since he could walk.
Last year, while he was 13, Dalton shot a deer, bear and turkey, and achievement commonly called the "Triple Trophy."
In 1966, the state Game Commission created the Triple Trophy Award for hunters who harvested an antlered white-tailed deer, a black bear and a wild turkey all within a single hunting license year.
However, the commission no longer gives out an award for the achievement.
"The program ended in 1972, as it was determined that the award was causing some individuals to break the law in order to achieve the criteria," said Jerry Feaser, spokesman for the state Game Commission. "We started it because it is a difficult triple to achieve in one license year. The award consisted of a patch and certificate."
Family afield
Dalton spends much of his time with his dad, hunting or trapping in the Pennsylvania woods.
His sister Samantha, 12, and their mother also hunt.
As the Game Commission's mentored youth hunting program began, Dalton got a chance to harvest a few deer and turkeys before becoming a junior hunter.
He made the Triple Trophy something of a goal this past season and hoped to achieve it before his 14th birthday. He had hoped to crown his birthday with a successful turkey hunt.
And, he almost did it. Dalton ended up shooting a bird one day before his birthday.
The three-point buck he shot in archery season on Oct. 1 is what started his journey to the Triple Trophy.
"I got it the second day, after school," he said.
His mom said Dalton often will get home from school, change right away and head out to the woods.
He is an eighth-grade student at Wellsboro Middle School.
"I got home, got changed and went over to where we (he and his Dad) were sitting. I think it was probably later in the evening. There was a big bank, and I (saw) him come across the creek and he was standing there," Dalton said of the deer.
He said he grunted to the deer and the buck looked up at him. Dalton grunted again.
As the deer came within 20 yards, he took the shot. It was a nice, clean, broadside kill, Dalton said.
Next came a 166-pound black bear harvested on the last day of the season, Nov. 21.
Dalton was hunting with his grandfather, Donald Laubenstein, while with a group on a drive.
"We were standing on a log, and I was standing with my pap and he said, 'Here comes a bear,' " Dalton said.
He said the bear stepped on top of a rock and looked at them.
It fell with one shot from Dalton's .243 Ruger.
Two days later, Dalton and his dad were hunting turkeys. John broke up a flock.
"We had some come in from below us but didn't come up. One came in from behind ... and it flew up in a tree and I shot it," Dalton said.
Carrying on tradition
The teen's interest in hunting and the outdoors has been fostered by his dad.
John said hunting has been a generational activity in his family.
"You get to go out and see stuff," Dalton said about going out in the woods.
Archery is Dalton's favorite way to hunt because "it's more challenging. You have to have them (game animals) in closer and make a better shot," he said.
