This Wayne County hunter has figured out how to convert a small-acreage tract into a family paradise.
Dr. Scott Tynes’ father, the late Rev. J.W. Tynes, was the type of man who always knew where the right place was at the right time.
Back in the days when Mississippi deer were more rumor than reality, the elder Tynes would play the role of huntmaster in unmanageably large and fabulously gregarious dog drives, and somehow, Tynes always intuitively recognized the sweet spot — the one draw or ridge or saddle where the dogs would inevitably push the deer.
On one such hunt in Jasper County in 1974, he positioned young Scott in just the right place, and the boy pulled the trigger on an impossibly wide-framed buck that fell in its tracks.
Back at the camp, the 12-year-old conquering hero was greeted with wide smiles, slaps on the back and assurances that he was now ruined as a hunter. The deer was the talk of the season, and its rack adorns the office wall of Tynes’ Wayne County family-practice clinic on this very day.
Far from ruining the young hunter, that buck simply watered the seeds of Tynes’ hunting passion, which have blossomed into a full-grown legacy today.
The 49-year-old is a country doctor with a limited budget, but he’s invested well — not in IPOs and start-ups but in the hunting passion of his two children, 30-year-old Jay and 20-year-old Morgan.
Tynes’ trophy room — his man cave — houses stacks of photo albums that attest to the hunter’s love of the pursuit of wild game, but he’d gladly give up every one of those successful hunts for the ones when he’s watched Jay or Morgan pull the trigger.
“There’s no comparison,” Tynes said. “I guess watching them hunt and have success is reminiscent of that day when I shot my first deer. It’s seeing that feeling of accomplishment and excitement on their faces — them knowing that we put a plan in place and they were able to successfully carry it out.”
Jay Tynes is an adult father of two children who no longer hunts at his father’s knee, but Morgan, an education major and track star at Mississippi College, still depends on her dad for hunting guidance and companionship.
As such, Tynes actively manages a 50-acre tract he owns near Waynesboro. He has no delusions of grandeur, and knows the parcel isn’t likely to produce the next Boone & Crockett book buck. Wayne County’s rolling hills covered with upland pines and bottomland hardwoods don’t exactly rival the Delta for antler-production potential.
But the region has a good population of smaller bucks and way too many does, so Tynes spends many of his summer off days breaking soil, chopping trees and shoring stands with an eye always looking forward to the chilly autumn and winter days he’ll spend with his daughter by his side.
“If it weren’t for Morgan, I probably wouldn’t do any of this,” he said.
That’s because he has access to family land in Neshoba County that grows some really nice bucks, and would probably do most of his deer hunting there. Tynes is also an avid waterfowler, and would likely while away his hunting hours exclusively targeting woodies and mallards on the days his job required him to be close to home.
But Morgan loves to deer hunt, and her dad loves to be with her when she does it.
So in mid-September every year, he plants a couple of plots with wheat, oats and rye, and fertilizes with 13-13-13.
He admits he should probably soil test and lime accordingly, but he knows he can’t impact herd health with such a small tract and growing big bucks isn’t a realistic possibility. All he wants to do is attract whatever deer are in the area to his property.
When it’s time to plant — usually right as summer is giving way to fall — he prepares the soil by dragging a Plotmaster behind his 4-wheeler and then immediately following that with an On-Time seed and fertilizer spreader behind the 4-wheeler.
He’ll then drag an implement behind the ATV to cover the soil, and start watching the skies for rain.
A month or so later, he’ll fill in the bare spots with ryegrass to prevent soil-erosion and give the deer a good late-season option.
He does all this work knowing he’ll probably never pull the trigger on a deer on the land. The results of the work are strictly for others to enjoy.
“I’ll do it as long as Jay and Morgan want a place to hunt,” he said. “They’ll shoot a few every year, and they’ll bring in friends who don’t get a chance to do a lot of hunting.”
One of those friends is Morgan’s college buddy, Taylor Masson, who scored her second deer ever in late December, a day after Morgan shot a doe on Tynes’ 50 acres.
It’s no accident that Morgan is an accomplished and eager hunter despite being a pretty, bubbly, self-professed “girly girl.” She always showed an interest in the sport, and Tynes delicately fanned those flames by encouraging her but never pushing her.
“When I took Morgan deer hunting, I always wore less clothes than her,” he said. “She had no body fat, so I wanted to get cold before she did. As soon as she said, ‘Daddy, I’m cold,’ that would be it. We’d pack it up and head back to the house.”
Tynes would also bring more snacks than anyone could possibly eat in a day as well as hot chocolate. Morgan would take along coloring books when she was younger and an iPod in her teen years.
“She always had plenty to do,” Tynes said.
Tynes would frequently ask her if she wanted to go hunting, but he wouldn’t try to coerce her or make her feel badly if she declined.
“My drive to hunt is different than hers, and I always had to remember that,” he said.
As a result of his patience, he’s raised a daughter who enjoys hunting for so much more than the actual kill.
“Beginning in about the 7th grade, I started to see a different side of hunting,” Morgan said. “It’s so peaceful out there, you can really feel God’s presence. That’s the main reason I like it now. You can feel the Lord’s presence in ways you just can’t in the busy-ness of town.”
But time in the stand isn’t all peaches and cream. Tynes has broached some serious subjects with his daughter while waiting for the next buck to show himself.
“Through our talks, I’ve gotten her to consider where hamburger meat really does come from,” he said. “It’s important to balance the girly-girl stuff with the cold, hard facts of nature, and what we humans have to do to survive.”
To get more dads and daughters to enjoy similar experiences, Tynes years ago started the Lacey Oak Hunting Club, which was more a party than a club. Eastern Mississippi hunters would take their children — daughters at first, but eventually sons were allowed to participate — hunting on the opening youth day, and they’d all meet up at Tynes house to show off their kills, swap hunting stories and eat a big breakfast. He’d award trophies for various categories.
It was wildly successful, not only for getting more children in deer stands, but also for getting hunters together, which harkened Tynes back to the days of the old dog club.
“Still hunting is definitely the way to go if you want to grow and manage big bucks, but there’s an element of camaraderie that died along with the old dog clubs,” Tynes said. “You don’t have the ribbing and the carrying on that you used to have.
“If you’re still hunting and you miss a big buck, you feel bad for a day or two, but that’s it. Back then you’d feel bad, but you knew you had to go back to the camp and take that ribbing. That’s what made it fun.
“If you shot a deer back then, it wasn’t just an individual accomplishment. A deer drive was a team effort. It was like a small army going to war. Every day was new and different.”
Though she’s an adult now and could probably handle a bigger gun, Morgan still shoots her grandfather’s old .243 that he used on those deer drives. Tynes said he was as accurate with it as with a shotgun.
Tynes shoots a .300 Winchester Mag. while stand hunting, but opts for a Thompson Center Encore .270 when stalking, which he does frequently.
He has a great relationship with his brother Greg and brother-in-law David Stanley, both of whom have small tracts in the area.
“That gives you options, so you don’t get tired of hunting the same old spot,” he said.
Tynes said hunters with limited funds who are looking to own rather than lease can really hit the jackpot even though they won’t own half of a county.
“If you get the right territory, you can take 40 acres and really have a lot of fun with it,” he said. “It’s like with ducks — if you own 5,000 acres there might only be one duck hole on it. Same thing with deer: that 40 acres could be just the right spot.”
To see a video from the hunt, visit www.ms-sportsman.com/details.php?id=1357
