There are times when clues suggesting the arrival of a target buck heighten expectations that the one you’re after is about to walk out.
Such was the case for Gracie Sherrill, a student at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, who lives in Calhoun. In fact, when she texted her dad, Joey Sherrill, who was sitting on a stand nearby, that the two running buddies of the big 8-point she was after had just stepped out, he got out of his stand, got in his truck and waited for her shot. Moments after hearing the shot, he was at her stand, hearing the story from his excited daughter.
“Every time we had this deer on camera, he was accompanied by a spike and a small 6-point buck that usually came out just before our target buck stepped out,” Joey Sherrill said.
The Sherrills hunt with friends on the 900 acre T and B Hunting Club in Bienville Parish, property leased from Weyerhauser. Gracie Sherrill hunts on a box stand with a shooting lane out front, and at the end of the 150 yard lane is a corn feeder they keep filled. The lane is surrounded by mature pines with dense thickets interspersed with the pines.
“We had this deer on camera for the past three years and he really blew up big on pictures we had this year,” Gracie Sherrill said. “This was the buck my dad and I really wanted me to be able to get this season.”
Waiting for the big buck
Leaving the camp they have on the lease around 4 p.m. on Oct. 26, opening day of rifle season, her dad dropped her off at her stand before driving to his stand nearby.
The action started not long after she got on her stand. Around 6 p.m., the spike stepped out followed by the 6-point, and as the pair headed for the corn feeder Gracie Sherrill texted her dad telling him what she was looking at. Realizing that the big one would likely be following, Joey Sherrill got in his truck, waiting for the action to start.
“Once I saw the two small bucks come out, I got really nervous because I just knew my buck would be following them,” she said. “I went ahead and put my rifle out the window and waited. Sure enough, he walked out and headed for the feeder. When he got broadside to me, I put the scope of my Remington 30.06 on his shoulder and shot. He ran and disappeared into the thicket and I called my dad who was already on his way to my stand.”
Finding the buck
When her dad arrived, they walked down to where the deer was standing and at first could find no blood. Gracie Sherrill was afraid she had missed, until a friend came with a light as it had gotten dark. Blood was found and they could see the buck down in the thicket. Then something unsettling happened when the buck jumped up and ran.
“We called a friend who had a blood trailing dog and put him on the trail,” Joey Sherrill said. “The buck actually got up and ran two more times before finally collapsing and dying.”
The buck, determined to be approximately 5 ½ years old, weighed 220 pounds and sported a rack of 8 points with heavy mass and an inside spread of 17 ½ inches. Taking the buck to Greg Hicks in Farmerville, official scorer for Buckmasters, the measurements came to 150 3/8 inches, really impressive for an 8-point.
“Gracie didn’t get a deer last season,” Joey Sherrill said, “but I can assure you, her getting this big buck made my year right there.”
