Big deer killed from ground blind should score about 160 inches Boone and Crockett.
Bob Burgess fiddled around with the stand but never could get it situated to his liking, so he opted for Plan B. Sometimes, Plan B works out and sometimes it fizzles.
This time, Burgess hit a home run.
While hunting on private land in Vernon Parish, Burgess drilled a 16-point whitetail he had seen before. The deer rough-scored about 160, he said, but he’s having it scored again along with being mounted for his home.
It’s not that his eyesight is bad. Burgess just didn’t get a good look at it the first time around.
“A couple of weeks ago I saw a nice buck in the area but only got glimpses of it through the canopy,” said Burgess, who goes by Bob_B on the LouisianaSportsman.com forum. “I couldn’t make it out very well. I knew it was a good one but wasn’t sure if it was the same one.”
After work on Nov. 1, he slipped out to the property to hunt a few hours in the evening. Burgess killed a 9-pointer there last year, so he knew there were some good deer on the property.
“We never had put a stand in the area until earlier this season when we put in a ladder stand, but I couldn’t get it situated like I wanted,” Burgess said. “I fiddled around with it a little while but decided to hunt from the ground.
“So I backed in there about 40 yards or so, found a big oak and made me a little spot.”
The setting sun was blinding him and throwing weird shadows. So it wasn’t until it dropped below the tree line that he could see well.
“I was watching the area where I’d seen the deer a few weeks ago, and when the sun went down I hit my grunt call a few times,” Burgess said. “It was 10 minutes to 6, and (I) grunted four to five times again when I saw him coming toward the call.
“When I got a good shot, I took it and down he went.”
Burgess thumped him with a 300 Win. Mag at about 100 yards. He couldn’t believe what he found when he eased out to the downed deer.
“He was a lot bigger than I thought he was,” he said. “If I’d have stayed in that ladder stand he probably wouldn’t have been 40 yards from me. I’m really thankful for Billy Burgess, who lets me hunt on his property, and for the Lord for giving me the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors.”
Hunting from the ground pays dividends in certain situations. Burgess said he sometimes opts for a ground blind instead of a stand and doesn’t mind the change.
“It just depends on the area,” he said. “The canopy can be pretty thick sometimes once you get in a stand, even with the stands being just 12 feet high or so. Sometimes you’re limited in visibility, and on the ground you may be able to see a couple of hundred yards. I was thinking about putting in a ground blind in that area anyway, so it was a good decision.”
The buck was Burgess’ biggest ever after several years of hunting.
“I pretty much hunt in Louisiana and don’t go to Kansas or Iowa or anywhere like that,” he said.
Once Burgess got a look at the buck’s rack, he noticed a few similarities to others killed on the property. The rack has high tines with a couple of small kickers, along with flat brow tines with forks on the end. It’s a typical frame with a few points that will deduct from the final score, but that’s fine with Burgess.
“It’s a little unusual for the lease,” he said. “Last year my 9-point was a mainframe 8, but he had a little curl on one of the tines. We have had some other bucks with the little crab claws on the front, too.”
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