Meyers’ 12-pointer went down on Dec. 31
Talk about cutting it close.
Oak Grove farmer Dusty Meyers took advantage of Bayou Macon Wildlife Management Area’s seven-day gun season and waylaid a huge buck that scored 181 ⅞ inches — exactly one day before the season ended.
“My dad knows Bayou Macon WMA like the back of his hand,” Meyers said. “I usually hunt our family land in West Carroll Parish but decided for a change of pace, I’d give Bayou Macon a try.”
The WMA is relatively small, comprised of fewer than 7,000 acres. Situated between Oak Grove and Lake Providence, it’s flat with poor drainage and consists of hardwoods, ridges and wetlands.
But there was a bumper crop of acorns this year, and the fact that there was plenty of food on the ground gave Meyers all the information he needed as to where to hang his climbing stand.
“My dad and I scouted together and found some buck sign, but the area I decided to hang my stand had little buck sign but lots of acorns,” Meyers said.
With such a short season, Meyers hunted mornings and afternoons every day from the opener on Dec. 26, with plans to finish out the season there on Jan. 1. But he didn’t need the last day because good fortune came his way on the morning of New Year’s Eve.
“I hadn’t seen much the days I hunted that week but on that Thursday morning, I saw a little 6-point come by,” he said. “He wasn’t big enough to shoot because since Bayou Macon is in the Experimental Quality Season for Deer program, (and) a buck has to have a minimum of four points, with none shorter than 1 inch on one side, and this little fellow didn’t qualify.
“Fifteen minutes later, I saw another deer moving through the thick underbrush and saw that it was a buck. I could only see one side of his rack and could tell right away he was a shooter.”
Meyers picked out a small window in the brush, and when the buck stepped into the opening, touched the trigger on his Remington .30-06.
“The deer ran, made a loop and stopped right under my stand,” he said. “It was only then that I could see what a fine buck he was, and a second shot dropped him right there.”
The buck, which tipped the scales around 225 pounds, was indeed impressive. Sporting 12 points with 18 ¾ inches of air between the rack and heavy mass throughout — including a 7 ½ inch-base on one side — the buck measured 181 ⅞ at Simmons’ Sporting Goods in Bastrop.
Currently, Meyers holds down first place at Simmons’ for Largest in Louisiana, as well as third place in the men’s category of the contest.
‘I believe the Good Lord put me in the right place at the right time,” Meyers said.
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.
