Williams buck headed to stand at a full gallop
More often than not, a breeze blowing from a hunter’s location toward where a mature buck is hanging out spells the end of a hunt — but adding Harmon’s Triple Heat Estrous Doe Lure to the mix can apparently change the rules.
That’s exactly what happened on Dec. 3 to Quitman hunter Jessie Williams when a big 11-point buck came at full gallop to where he had applied the doe lure next to his stand.
“I had climbed onto my tripod stand that afternoon and was a bit concerned because the wind was blowing right down the old road I’d walked in on, and I knew anything down that way would smell me,” said Williams, a member of Mac Hunting Club in Jackson Parish. “That’s why I decided to hang the estrous doe lure on a tree next to my stand.”
Not long after climbing into his stand, some does and yearlings came out to feed and as Williams was watching them, he heard something. Looking back down the road he’d walked in on, he saw a buck running in his direction at full speed.
“I first saw him at around 200 yards, so I got out my rangefinder and before I could get a reading, he was at 135 yards. So I decided I didn’t need it and picked up my rifle,” he said.
Afraid he had hurried his shot, Williams was concerned that he’d touched the trigger on his Browning .30-06 rifle a little too quickly and he didn’t feel comfortable with his shot placement. There was no need for concern, however, as he found the buck piled up a mere 50 yards from where he shot.
The big 200-pound 11-point sported an inside spread of 18 inches with long G2s and G3s and lots of mass. He had the rack unofficially scored by friends, who placed the measurements at between 170 and 178 inches Boone and Crockett.
This buck has a history with Williams based on trail cam photos that have been showing up since mid-summer.
“With it so hot and dry, I’d been feeding deer, and this one started showing up in July,” he said. “ In fact, one photo showed him on feed next to one of my stands at high noon on Oct. 1, opening day of bow season. Unfortunately, I had to work that day. Then a crew came in and laid a new pipeline in the area, which threw him off. Finally, I was hunting in late November and heard a shot on a pipeline next to us and I assumed somebody on the other club had gotten him.
“Thankfully,” said a relieved Williams, “he didn’t, and the Triple Heat estrous doe scent reeled him right on in.”
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.
