Monster Caldwell Parish buck a Thanksgiving treat

159-inch deer makes woman's holiday even better.

Courtesy of Simmons Sporting Goods

Pam Plummer killed this nearly 160-inch buck while hunting her late father's farm in Caldwell Parish on Thanksgiving Day.

Although Pam Plummer grew up around hunters in her extended family, she seldom hunted, preferring instead to enjoy nature and the outdoors experience without a deer rifle in her hand. That all changed after a divorce a dozen or so years ago.

“After the divorce, my son Casey prodded me to get on with my life and find something fun and relaxing to do,” Plummer said. “He thought I should consider deer hunting, so I agreed. I’d go with him and he has always been supportive and a good teacher, showing me tips and hints to help me.”

The lessons came full circle on Thanksgiving Day when Plummer – whose father is the late John McKeithen, the former Louisiana governor – knocked down a buck that has been green scored at almost 160 inches Boone & Crockett.

“My dad’s farm is in Caldwell Parish, the Hogan Plantation, where we get together for special occasions,” Plummer said. “We met at the farm this past Thanksgiving with siblings and cousins and after the meal, we traditionally all head to the woods and get on deer stands.”

At that point, her biggest deer was a fairly nice 8-point. But that buck would be toppled from the top sport the afternoon of Nov. 24.

“I was sitting in a box stand just enjoying being in the outdoors when a doe and two yearlings came out onto the lane,” Plummer said. “It was getting late, and I was enjoying watching them but I felt I should get down and walk back to the house; I don’t like to walk through the dark woods at night by myself.”

Plummer stayed in the stand longer than normal because to get down earlier would spook the doe and her little ones, and she didn’t want to do that.

“I looked up and saw another deer approaching, and I could tell it was a buck – a nice buck. When I saw the size of the rack, I started shaking; I was really nervous,” Plummer said.

From the time she first saw the buck until she squeezed the trigger, Plummer had a talk with herself. The rules at Hogan Plantation is that a legal buck has to be at least an 8-point; however, she already had one that size and she knew it had to be significantly larger for her to consider shooting.

The buck she was looking at obviously filled the bill.

She finally decided that the only way her family would believe the size of this buck was to bag it, so she did.

“I took a deep breath, aimed for the shoulder, squeezed the trigger and the buck dropped in its tracks,” Plummer said. “I couldn’t believe it; deer always run off before expiring, but this one just dropped right there.”

Her first action before she exited the stand was to call her son in Mississippi, telling him what she had just shot; at the time she assumed it was a big 8 point buck. 

“At Casey’s urging, I got out of the stand, walked down there and saw the size of the rack and that it had 10 points,” she said. “Words can’t describe how excited I was, and I’m so glad my son got to share that moment with me.”

Plummer’s buck sported 10 symmetrical points, with long brow tines and heavy mass. The following day, at her son’s urging, she took the buck to Simmons Sporting Goods, where it green scored 159 3/8 Boone & Crockett to take the top spot in the women’s division in the store’s big-buck contest.

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