Martin watches as 8-pointer comes out and attacks his trophy buck
Radio great Paul Harvey would have loved the details of Mike Martin’s Nov. 24 hunt that resulted in downing a massive 11-point Claiborne Parish buck.
Because what happened right after he dropped the big buck would have been perfect for one of the broadcaster’s patented “Rest of the Story” segments.
On that Sunday afternoon, the 56-year-old from Simsboro had decided to head to his 300-acre Claiborne Parish lease to see if he could cross paths with a giant buck he’d been seeing on his trail camera.
“I had a chance at this buck two seasons ago but decided to pass and let him grow. I have trail cam photos of him from a year ago and my guess is that he was a 150-class deer then,” he said.
Martin climbed into his box stand overlooking a couple of skidder rows left from an earlier timber harvest. Prior to mounting his stand, he had scattered corn on the ground along the openings.
“I got in my stand around 3:30 and about an hour later, a doe came out feeding on the corn, but I noticed she was skittish and nervous. I got my gun ready in case the buck came out, and looked up to see him step out at about 120 yards. The doe immediately took off, and the lane they were on is narrow. I knew if he took off after her, I’d not be able to get a shot at him,” he said.
Fortunately, the buck paused long enough to pick up a few kernels of corn, but then Martin saw him look in the direction the doe had run and do a “lip curl,” and he knew it was now or never.
He aimed for the shoulder, pressed the trigger and the buck dropped in its tracks.
What happened next is a story Martin will sit around the campfire and tell for years down the road.
“As I watched to be sure my buck was down for good, another good 8-point with what I’d guess was a 16- to 18-inch inside spread stepped out and began slowly approaching the buck I shot. This buck was posing and prancing with his hair all fuzzed up like he was ready for a fight.
“He got to within five feet of my buck and started making sounds I’d never heard a buck make. It wasn’t a snort or wheeze. It was like he was blowing through his lips, making a fluttering sound sort of like a horse will do, only not nearly as loud,” he said.
It was getting dark by then, but Martin could still see the silhouette of the 8-point as it approached the downed buck. At that point, Martin said it started sounding like the 8-point was hitting his trophy buck with a sledgehammer.
“When we got the buck loaded up, he was bruised and battered with torn skin and enough hair knocked off that you could have filled a baseball cap,” Martin said. “When we cleaned him, his intestines were ruptured, but not from my shot because I hit the shoulder.”
Although beaten and battered, the 11-point’s antlers were not broken. The impressive rack was a main frame 10-point with a 3-inch sticker point. The inside spread was a whopping 20 5/8 inches, and main beams were nearly 26 inches each, with 15-inch G2s. Bases were more than 5 inches and the buck, rutted down, only weighed about 175 pounds.
He had the deer rough scored at 170 7/8 inches Boone and Crockett.
“I’m saving that other buck for one of my sons. I’m just glad I got to witness that event between the big 8 and my 11-point,” Martin said. “I’m guessing the 8-point had been whipped by the 11-point, and this was his chance at revenge. I’ve never seen nor heard anything like that before, and it was a privilege to be witness.”
Don’t forget to enter photos of your bucks in the Nikon Big Buck Photo Contest to be eligible for monthly giveaways and the random drawing for Nikon Monarch binoculars at the end of the contest.
Read other stories about big bucks killed this season by clicking here.
