Public lands buck green-scores 153 7/8 inches
Moments after Brandon Kirby downed a doe on the Boeuf River Wildlife Management Area last weekend, he sat back to relax and pour a cup of coffee from his thermos.
But before he took the first sip, a big 13-point buck stepped out at 45 yards — which caused Kirby to drop his cup, pick up his H&R .444 and sight-in the deer.
“I live in Kelly in Caldwell Parish, and my favorite place to hunt is not far from home, the Boeuf Wildlife Management Area in Caldwell Parish,” he said. “This is the only place I deer hunt, and have for a number of years.”
On the morning of Nov. 10, which was opening day for primitive firearms season on Boeuf, he headed for his favorite location on the area.
“There is one particular spot on Boeuf I like to hunt where I have killed a few deer, but I have to walk three-quarters of a mile to get in there. The area I hunt is right along the edge of a thicket with open woods behind me,” he said. “I have tried hunting from elevated stands in there, but I can’t see as far as I can if I sit near the ground. I bought a Millennium Tree Seat which attaches to the base of a tree where I sit comfortably with my back resting against the tree with my feet on the ground. It’s light enough I can carry it with me when I go in and come out.”
That morning, Kirby made the long hike back into the bowels of the 51,000-acre management area and settled in. A little after 8, he spotted a doe slipping through the open woods. He waited until he was sure there was no buck following, got the deer in his scope and dropped it.
“Since you can kill a doe and a buck the same day, I made sure my doe was down, kicked back and opened my thermos. I had just poured a cup of coffee and settled down to enjoy it,” he said. “Before I was able to take my first sip, something caught my eye out front, something that caused me to drop the cup and pick up my rifle. I was looking at a huge buck that was walking toward me.
“The wind was blowing from him to me and he hadn’t seen my movement. So luckily, I was able to get on him at 45 yards before he ever knew I was there. I squeezed the trigger and he hit the ground,” Kirby said. “I was so excited I left my rifle on my seat and ran to him, grabbing him by the horns. Only then did I realize he still had life left as he tried to get up. I ran back to get my rifle, loaded it and got ready to finish him off.
“But thankfully he died without me having to shoot again.”
The buck sported 13 points on antlers with heavy mass, featuring 24-inch main beams, 5-inch bases and a 17 ½ inch inside spread. Estimated to be 4 ½ years old , the big buck weighed-in at 240 pounds and green-scored 153 7/8 inches.
His coffee break may have gotten interrupted, but Kirby was OK with it.
“I’ll trade a cup of coffee for a buck like that any day of the week.”