Singer hunter knocks down big Beauregard Parish 12-pointer

Treme’s buck green scores 152 ⅞ inches

Brady Treme believes in three core principles for deer hunting: the wind has to be right, scent control is vital and good luck is key.

All three came together perfectly last week in Beauregard Parish, when the 60-year-old shot his biggest buck ever: a nice 12-point with a kicker that green-scored more than 150 inches.

Treme credits pre-rut behavior in Area 8 for the buck, which came out about 10 minutes after a doe crossed a lane in front of him around 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 26.

“I’ve heard they get crazy during the rut, and I’ve seen some good ones during the rut, but this is the best I’ve ever killed. He was trailing, but he wasn’t trailing hard,” said Treme, of Singer. “He came out in the fire lane and I thought he was going to cross where the doe crossed, but he didn’t.

“He came straight out and he came straight down to my food plot and went straight to the corn.”

Earlier that afternoon, after a steady rain had stopped, Treme had gone out and dumped a small bucket of corn at the end of his food plot. He got into his stand, which overlooks a lane separating big timber on his left with 6- to 7-year growth on his right, about 4:30.

“I’m a firm believer that after the rain quits if I can get close to a bedding area, I like to sit there because I usually have pretty good luck seeing deer,” he said. “You couldn’t have asked for anything better, because he turned broadside to me.

“I told my wife, ‘I guess it was heaven sent, because I’ve sat in many a stand for many an hour and never seen anything, or maybe just a doe or a yearling… But I guess this one was meant to be.’”

With the buck perfectly positioned, Treme took the 90-yard shot with his Browning .270. The big deer dropped in its tracks — at least momentarily.

“Then he raised his head up like he was going to try to get up. I said, ‘I’ve lost not as good a deer by making a bad shot and sitting there foolishly, instead of taking another shot and finishing them off,’” Treme said. “So I said, ‘Well, if he raises that head up one more time, I’m not taking a chance.’ Because when he raised up, I could tell he had some nice horns.

“So I shot him again in the back of the neck to make sure.”

The second shot finished the buck off for good, and Treme headed out of his box stand to take a look. The 12-point, with a kicker, green-scored 152 ⅞ inches Boone and Crockett, featuring an inside spread of 16 inches and circumference at the bases of 5 2/8 inches. The deer weighed about 165 pounds.

Treme, who doesn’t typically put out trail cams until after the rut is finished, said he didn’t think he had any pictures of the buck last year.

Even though it was easily the biggest deer he’s ever killed — Treme has hunted for more than 45 years — he didn’t really think about getting it mounted. At least until he got some prodding from his son and son-in-law.

“My son-in-law said, ‘How long have you been hunting?’ I said, ‘About 40-something years.’ He said, ‘Is this the best one you ever killed,’ and I said, ‘Yeah.’ Then he said, ‘You think you got another 40 years in you? What are the odds of you seeing one like this again?’

“I said, ‘Well, I guess you got a point,’” Treme recalled with a chuckle.

His son is helping him finalize the pose of the mount, and Treme, who works as a home builder, already has a place picked out for his wall-hanger.

“My wife said I could have a corner in the living room — as long as it ain’t staring at her,” Treme said with a laugh.

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 optics at the end of the contest.

Read other stories about big bucks killed this season by clicking here.