In 2021, there was a big buck on the Grant Parish hunting club where Lacy LaGrange holds membership. The buck was regularly on her cameras, but that was the last time she had any indication that he was still around. It was not until Nov. 1, 2025 that she got to see him again.
“After all the photos I had of him in 2021, and then not ever seeing him again for over 4 years, I assumed another hunter on another club had gotten him, he had died or had moved away,” she said. “Those last pictures had him as a nice 10-point with a chocolate-colored rack. However, I had forgotten about him this season so I was just looking for another good buck.”
LaGrange, who teaches and coaches softball at Mamou High School, actually had a chance at him when he came out during the 2021 season, but the sun was directly in her scope and she couldn’t see him clear enough to make a good shot.
This year, on Nov. 1, her husband dropped her off at her stand, a ground blind that overlooks a food plot and lane road. Early on, she began seeing does as they came out to the food plot, but then all was quiet until around 10 a.m.
“I had originally decided to hunt all day because the moon was right and I figured deer would be moving more, but after the does came and went so early and I never saw anything else, I texted my husband to come get me,” LaGrange said. “I was tired, had run out of snacks and had given up hope on getting to see a buck.”
One minute more
A minute after texting her husband, LaGrange looked up and a doe had walked out into the lane. She quickly texted her husband to hold off because she wanted to see if the doe had a buck following her.
“All of a sudden, I looked up and saw the big body of a deer and then saw a big rack,” she said. “The buck was interested in the doe and was following her, and I was getting more nervous by the minute. Finally, at 150 yards, he started turning and I got my scope on him; I shoot a Seiko 7 mag. I touched the trigger and he kicked and took off.”
Waiting a good half hour to settle her nerves and reconstruct the whole scene in her mind, LaGrange decided to call a friend nearby who had some good blood trailing dogs. When the friend and dogs arrived, they went to the spot and the buck was found piled up no more than 15 yards from where he was shot. She recognized based on the configuration of the rack that this was the same buck she hadn’t seen in 4 ½ years.
The buck sported a main frame 10-point rack with a kicker giving him 11 scorable points. His inside spread was 20 3/8 inches, he weighed approximately 200 pounds and was aged at 7 ½ years old. The tale of the tape revealed a rack that measured a total of 148 4/8 inches.
It is amazing that a buck that could virtually disappear for 4 ½ years would finally show up and the hunter who saw him last in 2021 was able to close the deal in 2025.
