Big deer killed on 40-acre tract.
Thirty-nine-year old Todd Glorioso is a firm believer in using estrous doe scent, and Code Blue is his go-to favorite. He also believes that if there is little for deer to eat on a parcel of ground, they’ll readily scarf down the bucketsful of acorns he places there for them.
He is also a strong believer in providence, which directed his actions on Jan. 12 and put him on an impressive 11-point Rapides Parish buck that has been green scored just more than 175 inches Boone & Crockett.“We live in Woodworth in Rapides Parish, and I hunt on a 40-acre parcel of ground not far from my home,” Glorioso said. “I’ve had my eye on one particular buck since the 2009 deer season.
“I was hunting that year on a 1,600-acre club that surrounds the 40 acres I (now) hunt and started getting trail cam photos of this big buck. That year, he was a 9-point with one of the tines broken off.”
Glorioso never saw the buck that season nor the next, although the buck taunted him by gracing his camera card numerous times again during the 2010 deer season.
Passing up the chance to get back in the larger club, Glorioso accepted the invitation from a land owner who gave him permission to hunt the adjacent 40-acre plot.
“This area is anything but good deer habitat,” Glorioso said. “The land consists of sand and a big gravel pit; there was hardly anything there to attract deer, but I decided to hunt it anyhow.”
To up his odds of success, he went the extra mile.
“My father-in-law has lots of oaks on his property, and there was a bumper crop of acorns this year,” Glorioso explained. “I raked up and gathered a 55-gallon drum of acorns and began putting out piles of acorns, along with corn, and I put out some scent markers soaked in Code Blue estrous doe scent.”
Trail cam photos of the big buck began showing up on Glorioso’s new area, which confirmed the buck was attracted to the acorns and the doe scent.
“On the afternoon of Jan. 12, I headed out to hunt, but when I got there things just weren’t right,” Glorioso said. “It was warm and the wind was blowing from the wrong direction for my stand site, so I drove on past my stand, turned around and was headed back home when something just told me that maybe I ought to go sit in my stand, so I did.”
Feral pigs had taken over the area. so even though Glorioso knew his having a chance at the buck he’d pursued for three seasons was slim, the hunter thought he might get a crack at a hog.
He settled into his stand around 3:45 p.m., kicked back in his chair and dropped off to sleep.
“An hour and a half later – around 5:10 – a bird flew into the side of my stand, waking me up; I couldn’t believe I’d been asleep that long,” Glorioso said.
It was a good thing the bird showed up.
“Five minutes later, I heard something in the thicket near my stand, saw what I first saw was a squirrel in a bush but (soon) realized I was looking at a big buck with a big rack,” Glorioso said. “He walked out just 15 yards from me and headed for where I’d placed some Code Blue.”
Stunned and shaken, Glorioso realized his rifle was still propped in the corner. While reaching for it, the rifle bumped the side of the stand as he nervously got the gun up and finally found the deer in the scope.
“The deer turned and headed back the way it had come and turned broadside at about 40 yards,” the hunter said. “I’m saying, ‘Please God, don’t let me miss this deer.’
“I see him in my scope and sort of jerk the trigger.”
The deer dropped, but it wasn’t because the shot was dead on target.
“I learned later that my shot was at least nine inches from where I was aiming,” Glorioso said. “I aimed for behind the shoulder and hit the neck.”
The shot did the job: The errant bullet apparently hit the jugular because the animal bled out in a matter of moments.
Glorioso’s buck sported 11 points on a heavy frame. Inside spread was 16 7/8 inches, G2s stretched to around 14 inches each with main beams bumping the 25-inch mark. The buck, which weighed around 200 pounds, was scored at an unofficial 175 1/8 inches of bone on the Boone and Crockett scale.
“On that day, every decision I made and everything I did was wrong,” Glorioso said. “But it all just fell into place and I’m thankful to God for making it happen.”
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