We hear about school-yard bullies, unfortunately, too often. A dominating buffoon can create terror for some youngsters.
The same thing can take place in the world of the whitetail deer, and Simsboro’s Dan Durrett saw it happen this past season. Once a “bully buck” was taken out of the herd, Durrett was able to down a ten point followed 10 days later by a big nine point with the combined measurements of the two trophies bumping almost 300 inches of bone. All three bucks were taken from the same stand.
“I hunt on property I own in Lincoln Parish with some good deer on the 80 acres. However,” Durrett explained, “a big 200 pound 7 point cull buck with inferior antlers ruled the roost. I was able to down him November 12 and four days later, I started seeing trail cam photos of the big 10 point.”
On the afternoon of December 6, Durrett climbed into his stand around 4:45 and within minutes, a doe followed by the 10 point and another smaller buck came onto the food plot in front of the stand. Almost as soon as the deer appeared, the two bucks began fighting.
“I watched them fighting for probably 10 minutes and when the 10 point separated from the smaller buck at 150 yards, I dropped him with one shot with my Remington 7 mm mag,” said Durrett.
The buck was a good one, sporting 10 points on a 17 inch spread and high tines with a rough score of 144 6/8 inches. However, more excitement was just ahead.
“I didn’t hunt for the next 10 days. One reason was the weather was really too warm plus I was letting a friend hunt my stand. On December 16, my friend didn’t hunt and although I had to go bid on a job and my welding machine was over near my stand, I decided I’d go sit awhile to see what might show up, even though my friend said he saw only does and yearlings and not a single buck the days he hunted the stand,” Durrett added.
Durrett climbed onto his stand around 4:40 and within five minutes, the action started out in front of his stand.
“First off, a 4 point buck we had on camera but never seen during daylight hours came out on the plot. In just a minute, a small 8 point I never saw on camera stepped out. I felt encouraged because I was seeing deer I hadn’t seen before. The bucks started acting weird, running around the field with their heads up and I felt there had to be an estrous doe somewhere in the area,” Durrett said.
At 5:20, a doe stepped out at about 300 yards and she was followed by a big buck that had never been seen on the property.
“I knew it was a mature deer with tall tines like most of the deer on my place have. My scope is calibrated for 200, 300 and 400 yard shots and I put the 300 yard pin on him, squeezed the trigger and he dropped,” Durrett recalled.
The buck was another fine specimen, tipping the scales at 185 pounds. It sported 9 points on a 17 inch wide rack with tall G2s measuring 13 and 12 ½ inches each. The buck was green scored at 146 6/8 inches.
With a big cull seven point, a nine and a ten point buck to his credit, Durrett was officially tagged out on bucks for the season. What are his plans for the weeks ahead?
“I’m headed to the lake,” he said. “It’s time to go white perch (crappie) fishing.”
Glynn Harris Outdoor column is sponsored by D.C. Pawn in Minden