Trophy bucks are often given nicknames because of characteristics they possess. For example, one with tracks on one foot that splay to the side might be called “Slew Foot.” One that seems to always know when you’re on your stand might have earned the moniker of “Radar.”
There was a big buck that started showing up on Heather Crawford’s trail cameras with a rack that featured excessive space between the two sides. She gave him the name of “Wide Boy” and when she put him on the ground with her crossbow on the afternoon of Oct. 7, his wide inside spread proved he had deserved his special name.
Crawford works as a Medical Assistant at Green Clinic in Ruston. She and her husband have two children. She hunts on land she and her husband own near Dubach in Lincoln Parish. The 40 acre plot, only two minutes from their home, features a stand of hardwoods with a food plot carved out in the middle. The plot is planted with a Big Three winter mixture and in addition to the plants growing there, she also scatters corn and Sugar Beet Crush as attractants.
“The buck had been showing up about every two days and he was in the company of several other bucks, including another big 9-point I mentally noted as my number two target buck,” Crawford said. “However, all the photos I had were at night.”
On the afternoon of Oct. 7, she climbed into her two-man Summit ladder stand around 3:45 with her crossbow.
“Previously I had hunted with my compound bow but decided it was time to give the crossbow a try,” she said. “I purchased a Center Point crossbow and was using bolts with Striker broadheads.”
The one she wanted
Just after 6:00, a 4-point and spike came to the food plot and were soon accompanied by two yearlings.
“I used my phone to video the 4-point that was butting heads with the smaller bucks,” Crawford said. “Then I looked down the plot and about 100 yards away the 9-point, my second target buck, stepped out. He finally stepped back into the woods.”
Hearing rustling in the woods near her stand, Crawford watched Wide Boy start to walk out at 25 yards.
“My heart started really beating when I knew it was the one I wanted,” she said. “I put my safety off my crossbow and waited until he turned broadside at 25 yards and I hit the trigger.
“His front end hit the ground, he jumped up and took off down the food plot. I watched him go into the woods and then heard thrashing like he was down. Gathering my wits, I walked down there and found him piled up. He only ran a total of 60 yards.”
The buck was a dandy, weighing in at 200 pounds and sporting a rack of 10 points. Surprisingly, the buck was estimated to have been only 3 ½ years old and living up to his nickname, his inside spread was 22 inches. His rack was later measured to be right at 140 inches.
“A shoulder mount of this one will for sure be going on the wall,” Crawford said.