Lucky stand location leads to impressive 13-pointer
Beau Chenevert has his step-daughter Hanna to thank for starting 2019 with a bang.
She chose a different stand, which allowed him to opportunity to bag the buck of a lifetime.
“Hanna is my hunting partner, and we hunt 80 acres of family-owned property behind our house near Mansura in Avoyelles Parish,” Chenevert said. “When we decided to hunt the afternoon of Jan. 1, I gave her the choice to pick either one of the two box stands we have on the property. She usually hunts from what we call the ‘back stand’ while I hunt the ‘front stand.’
“She decided to change her luck and give the front stand a try that afternoon. Unlucky for her but lucky for me, the buck showed up within 100 yards of our back’ stand.”
This particular heavy-beamed buck was no stranger to Chenevert. He had the deer on camera since September, and had actually taken a week off his job with the Department of Transportation and Development at the beginning of archery season: He hunted every day, but never laid eyes on the buck.
“After hunting all week without success, some friends and I made a hunting trip to Missouri,” he said. “I had a chance at a big buck up there but didn’t connect. When I got home, my wife Angela questioned me as to why I would go hunting way up there when we had this big deer on our property.”
The land was formerly used to raise cattle and once the operation ceased, what was formerly pasture had been allowed to return to its natural state with brush and weeds — resulting in some prime habitat for deer to bed down and use.
“On New Year’s Eve, we attended a gathering with friends to celebrate the New Year. Getting home late, I told Hanna we would pass up the chance at a morning hunt but might go that afternoon,” Chenevert said. “I had some chores to do around home, plus LSU was playing in the Fiesta Bowl that afternoon and I wanted to watch the game. After a while, Hanna grew impatient and suggested that I go drop her off so she could hunt. “Since the Tigers were ahead of the game and I had my phone to keep up with the score, I decided to go ahead.”
Before leaving home, he gave Hanna the choice as to which stand she wanted to hunt. She picked the front, and Chenevert dropped her off and continued on to hunt the back stand.
“It was around 3:30 when I dropped her off and I walked on back to my stand. I had been on the stand no more than 15 minutes when I looked up and there was the big buck I had been after,” Chenevert said. “He was feeding on acorns 100 yards from me. I waited until he turned broadside, put the scope of my .30-06 on his shoulder and fired. He fell but tried to get up so I finished him off with a second shot.”
The buck which weighed 232 pounds, and sported a rack of 13 heavy and tall tines. He was aged at 5 ½ years old, and Chenevert’s taxidermist measured the rack at 166 ⅝ inches.
Hanna’s reaction when Chenevert sent her a text and photo of the buck?
“Oh my gosh; I put you on that deer today,” she said.