Suire’s buck nets out more than 150 inches
For Keith Suire, it’s only a short walk from his home in Beauregard Parish to his deer stand on the 35 acres of land he manages near Deridder. And on the afternoon of Nov. 7, that short walked paid big dividends when the buck he’d been watching closely for three years finally gave him a shot.
“I hunt on some land I manage, plus there is an adjoining 40 acres the property owner allows me to hunt,” Suire said. “I hunt from a box stand on the 35 acres. I had hunted that morning and saw several does and that afternoon, it was raining off and on, but I noticed on the weather report that rains were supposed to end by late afternoon.
“I figured as soon as the rain stopped would be a good time for the buck to move.”
For the past two seasons, Suire had bowhunted with his eye out for the buck. He spotted the deer on several occasions, but never had the right distance for a shot with his bow.
“After studying trail cam photos of the deer, I decided this was the year to get him because he had gotten impressive,” he said. “I decided to lay aside my bow and go after him with my 6.5 Creedmoor rifle.”
Suire hunts out of a box stand that overlooks a food plot where wheat and winter peas are planted. On one side of the lane, mature pines grow with a hardwood drain running through the area. On the other side is a rough clear cut where young pines have been planted — an area Suire had determined was where deer were bedding up.
“When I got on my stand, it was still showering off and on, but by around 5, the rain stopped and I felt like this would be a good time for the buck to step out. Shortly after the rain stopped, there he came walking across the plot headed for the bedding area,” Suire said. “What was ironic is that he was broadside 20 yards from me, a perfect distance for my bow — and here I am with a rifle zeroed in at 200 yards.”
Getting his rifle to his shoulder, Suire shot and the buck buckled, then took off into the thick clear cut. By then, it was getting dark and Suire was not at all comfortable with his shot placement given his scope and how close the deer actually appeared.
“I waited an hour before going to look for the deer,” he said. “I contacted a friend with a blood trailing dog ,and the dog went right to the buck, which only traveled 75 yards,’ he said.
The 10-point rack was really symmetrical, with an inside spread of 16 5/8 inches, main beams that measured 21 inches and circumferences at the bases at 4 ½ inches. The antlers grossed 152 2/8 inches, with only a 1 7/8-inch difference between the two sides, for a net score of 150 3/8.
“This was the biggest buck I ever killed,” Suire said. “The feeling I had when I realized I had him was a lot like the one I felt when I caught a 10-pound bass.
“It’s hard to describe how you really feel.”