HARRISBURG - With cameras, recording devices and notebooks poised media members gathered at Pennsylvania Game Commission headquarters in Harrisburg last week ready to document what was rumored to be the new No. 1 typical buck ever taken in Pennsylvania.

Jeff Lenzi had taken the buck with a crossbow, Friday, Oct. 10, during the archery season while hunting not far from his home in Allegheny County. He knew the deer would easily qualify for the "Pennsylvania Big Game Records" book, and amateur scorers were getting green scores that indicated the buck may rank No. 1 overall.For official scoring, a rack must have a minimum 60-day drying period and be measured by accredited, qualified scorers. As word of the buck spread, in part because of feature articles and columns that appeared in newspapers that included a cover story in "Pennsylvania Outdoor News," the PGC decided to open the scoring session to both media and the public, who gathered hoping to record history.Instead, following the measuring session by accredited PGC scorer Bob D'Angelo, everyone was reminded once again that appearances are indeed deceiving when it comes to estimating the size of a rack. Because of deductions used to score racks by both Pope and Young records, which are used for archery, and Boone and Crockett, which are used for firearms, the rack scored less than expected, but it easily qualified for the record book.With a score of 166 inches the buck taken by Lenzi ranks No. 13 in the archery category for Pennsylvania. Ranking No. 1 in the archery category is an Allegheny County buck taken in 2004 by Mike Nicola, Sr., of Waterford with a score of 178 2/8 inches.Continuing to hold No. 1 overall among typical bucks is the Bradford County deer taken during the firearms season in 1943 by Fritz Janowsky of Wellsburg, N.Y. That deer scored 189 inches and remains the standard for hunters hoping to take a deer for the record book.D'Angelo explained the scoring system rewards symmetrical racks and calls for deductions when a rack's points are abnormal or points on one side of a rack that don't exactly match the other side. Racks also will typically shrink over time.A rack classified as typical cannot have many abnormal points. Lenzi's buck had a gross score of 175 inches.In congratulating Lenzi on his record-book buck, which will also be entered into the Pope and Young book, PGC executive director Matt Hough said that regardless of the rack ranking No. 1 in Pennsylvania, it nevertheless is truly the trophy of a lifetime.This is yet another example of the large racks on bucks being taken throughout the state and the positive results of antler restrictions that allow young deer to mature."Each year, we have hundreds of whitetail hunters enter the state record books, and many of the top bucks on record were taken in the last 10 years," Hough said. "And any hunter is hard-pressed to match Jeff's feat."Lenzi's buck is an extraordinary animal. I congratulate him on his living out every Pennsylvania deer hunter's dream."D'Angelo said that each year the "Pennsylvania Big Game Records" book grows by about 200 entries across all categories. Included are big-game records for typical and non-typical whitetail deer, black bears and elk taken with either firearms or archery equipment.All entries into the book must be scored by an official scorer. For information on having a trophy animal scored, call Pennsylvania Big Game Records Program coordinator Bob D'Angelo at 717-787-4250, ext. 3311.