Hunting

Contents

Sibling Rivalry — How this brother-sister team hunt Atchafalaya WMA ducks

January 1, 2013 John Flores

A midmorning hunt with a late arrival on the Atchafalaya Wax Delta was the plan. Adam Rhodes had no desire to get up at 3 a.m. to beat the weekend crowd to some of the better locations he already scouted and plugged into his GPS.

The diehard Morgan City waterfowl hunter had done the middle-of-the night thing before in order to beat others to a preferred location.

And he figured out it isn’t always necessary.

Rhodes is now accustomed to making later-in-the-day hunts on the Atchafalaya Delta Wildlife Management Area, understanding the tidal conditions and advantages of scouting prior to hunting the vast 141,000-acre refuge that can only be reached by boat.[…]

Deer of the Year

Long shot puts 165-class Lincoln Parish deer on the ground

December 27, 2012 Glynn Harris

As a pastor, 37-year-old Rev. Gevan Spinney has often had to counsel people with problems. The probability of having success with some difficult situations, no doubt, could be considered long shots at best.

On the morning of Nov. 16, Spinney took another long shot, one he later verified by his range finder at 347 yards —a shot that brought down a trophy 12-point buck that scored 165 7/8 inches Boone & Crockett.[…]

Columns

Thoughts on the science of trail cameras

December 26, 2012 Bill Garbo

Things have really changed over the past 40-odd years when it comes to deer hunting. There would certainly be some debate regarding certain aspects of the sport, but for the most part — in my humble opinion — we as deer hunters have never had it better than we do right now, especially here in the Deep South.[…]

Columns

Pay it forward

December 24, 2012 Keith LaCaze

I consider myself blessed in many ways. Among those blessings are the many great memories of childhood hunting adventures. Dad, my grandfathers and uncles made sure I got to tag along on lots of great hunts as a kid.[…]

Deer of the Year

Persistence pays off with 150-class Bienville Parish buck

December 21, 2012 Glynn Harris

For the better part of a year, Judd Chapman’s trail cameras showed the image of a buck he wanted. After reading everything he could get his hands on, studying topographic maps and relying on photos from strategically placed trail cameras to determine the location of the buck’s sanctuary, Chapman hit the jackpot on Dec. 14 when the 150-class 13-point buck made a fatal mistake.[…]

Deer Hunting

Above It All

December 21, 2012 Chris Ginn

The 7-point buck presented a perfect 40-yard broadside shot. Ben Fontenot had been waiting for this moment for a long time. A whitetail deer, his whitetail deer, the first he would shoot, was within his sights.

Fontenot expertly lined up his scope, and he held the crosshairs right behind the buck’s shoulder. All he had to do now was send a round from his .270 downrange and then go collect his deer, but something went wrong.

“My battery started going dead,” he said. “We had to get out of the blind and go back to get another one. I was nervous as all get out by the time we got back to my blind — didn’t know if I was going to get to kill that deer.”

But the buck did come back out. Only this time, it wasn’t in a good position. Try as he might, Fontenot couldn’t get his rifle lined up with the deer. It was too far to the side. In the commotion of repositioning his blind and his rifle, the deer left again.[…]