Massive 6-point rough scores 120 inches, features 24-inch inside spread
There are times when you see a certain something you’d give your eye teeth to own or at least have access to, be it a special shotgun, a bamboo fly rod, or a piece of artwork that has you drooling.
There is a certain bit of real estate over in Red River Parish that has to create envy for deer hunters in the area: It’s a particular deer trail that has given up several trophy bucks over the past few years.
On Dec. 3, 2011, Jerry Hester, of Coushatta, was watching this trail that runs along Liberty Creek when he downed a magnificent 12-point buck scoring 167 1/8 inches. Not to be outdone, his son, 26-year-old Zach Hester, was looking at this same trail on opening day this year and downed a tall-racked 8-pointer.
Then on the morning of Nov. 24, another buck —one with an unusual rack — stepped into the crosshairs of the scope mounted on his Savage .308.
Zach’s big buck only carried six points but the antler spread was eye-popping: Rough scored in the 120-range, measurements showed nearly 2 feet of air between the antlers.
“We have had this deer on camera for at least the past three seasons. Two years ago, he had what we estimated to be about a 17- to 18-inch inside spread. Last year, we determined the spread to be probably 20 inches or better. When I got him this season, the inside spread stretched the tape to 23 5/8 inches,” Hester said.
The Hester’s hunt on a privately owned 400-acre tract along Black Lake Bayou in Red River Parish. The property features some rich stream-bottom hardwoods, as well as upland pines. Zach was hunting a box stand and watching three shooting lanes in the pines when the buck appeared.
“I parked my truck where I usually park to hunt any of our stands on this property and made the half-mile walk to my stand, getting settled in around 6 that morning. I was paying particular attention to one lane I knew the buck usually traveled. It’s fairly narrow, but I was able to see into the woods adjacent to it. At 6:40, I spotted the buck just before he stepped into the lane,” Hester said.
As the deer started to cross the narrow lane at 80 yards, Hester was ready. He squeezed the trigger and watched the buck react from the bullet’s impact, only running about 40 yards before expiring.
“When I first got a glimpse of him before he stepped into the lane, I knew it was the big six we had on camera ,and I was glad we gave him a couple of extra years to grow even larger,” Hester said.
The big-bodied buck was not weighed but based on other similar sized deer he has taken, Hester estimated his weight to be between 230 and 250 pounds.
So, was downing the ‘Super Six’ buck the highlight of his year so far? It’s a toss up because one week prior to shooting the buck, his wife presented him with a baby daughter.
I wasn’t about to ask him to choose his favorite.
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.
