Greer’s big buck near Creola green scores north of 151 inches
Hunter Greer typically does the bulk of his deer hunting on 500 acres up in Jones, La., near the Arkansas border.
But he didn’t have to go far from his home in Creola in Grant Parish last Wednesday, Oct. 9, to bag his biggest buck ever: A heavy-horned 8-pointer with two kickers that stretched the tape to more than 151 inches of bone.
In fact, the big buck made recovery especially easy, said Greer, a 17-year-old senior at Grant High School in Dry Prong.
“He ran straight down the lane and almost died in my front yard,” he said.
Greer only has one mid-morning class this semester, so depending on his work schedule as a stock boy at Ball Foods, he can potentially make some weekday morning or afternoon hunts.
The hunt
Last Wednesday, he had to pick up his brother from school and then head home to charge his phone so that he could call his dad if he killed a buck, so he didn’t get out to his stand until around 5:20 that evening.
He was 20 feet up in a lean-on stand overlooking a thicket featuring a deer trail. The property he was hunting was only about a half-acre in size, not far from his house.
“I’ve had him on camera for two years, but that was the first time he’s ever come out in the daylight,” Greer said about the big buck. “I was totally not expecting him to be there that evening. I figured I’d get him in the rut chasing does.”
Three does appeared at the corn pile 30 yards from his stand around 5:40, then ambled off to his left, he said.
“They walked off and I heard one walking back, and I went ahead and grabbed my bow so I wouldn’t make any movements if he did walk out,” he said. “About the time I got my bow all ready, I looked out and his head was sticking out the woods.”
That began a 20-minute exercise in patience — and endurance — for Greer. He remained seated at full draw with his Bear Threat bow, waiting for the deer to present itself for a broadside shot.
“He walked out and stuck his butt to me,” Greer said with a chuckle. “Finally, a 6-point came out on his left, and he turned left to get him out of the corn — that’s when he turned broadside and I shot him.
“My heart was beating out of my chest. I couldn’t even feel my arms after I shot.”
The recovery
After such a long wait, Greer said he wasn’t especially confident that his Gold Tip arrow equipped with a G5 Havoc broadhead had found its mark.
“I thought I missed him because there wasn’t a big ‘thwack’ when I hit him because I hit him low,” he said. “My arrow went straight through and through and was sitting in the corn. When I climbed down and checked it, I shined my light on it to see if there was blood on it, and it shined back at me.
“So I knew I hit him. Then, I was confident.”
Greer called his dad after the shot, but couldn’t really tell him much about what had just happened.
“I couldn’t even talk to him. I was stuttering, I couldn’t get it out,” he said. “He was just like, ‘I already know. Come to the house.’”
It didn’t take them long to find the buck, which was estimated to be 4 years old.
“It was unbelievable how big he was. I just couldn’t believe it — it felt unreal,” Greer said. “He actually looked bigger in person that he did on the pictures.”
The buck was scored by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and measured 151 1/8 inches, with a 17-inch inside spread. One G2 measured 14 inches, the other 13 inches, he said. Circumference at the bases was about 4 and 5 inches, Greer said.
“We’ve got a big buck wall at the camp in Jones,” he said. “He’ll definitely go up there.”