Ben White, a 31-year-old Law Enforcement Officer with the Louisiana Sheriff’s Association, has a favorite spot to deer hunt. Although he lives in New Orleans, when he has a hankering to chase a big buck, he regularly drives over 200 miles to his camp in Madison Parish to hunt the Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge.
Last year around this time, he was hunting neighboring Big Lake Wildlife Management Area where he downed an impressive 177-inch non-typical 15-point buck we featured on the pages of Louisiana Sportsman magazine. That buck, incidentally, won the Primitive Firearms category in the Simmons Sporting Goods Big Buck Contest last year.
This year, his focus was on Tensas, because a year ago he had located three impressive bucks, deer he hoped to get a chance at this season.
“One of the bucks was unusual because it only sported six points, but it was the most impressive 6-point I had ever seen and would likely score 130 inches, a big score for a 6-point,” White said.
He has a camp at a nearby campground that serves as his home-away-from-home headquarters when he hunts this area.
“I got to the camp on Nov. 2, hunted another refuge during the mornings and spent the afternoon scouting Tensas,” White said. “I had located an oak that was dropping acorns and there was lots of buck sign in the area, so this was the spot where I hung my climbing stand.”
A fortuitous friendship
White met another hunter, Ross Matherne, who was set up at the same camp with his wife and children.
“We visited and since we were hunting the same refuge, he and I agreed to help each other should either need help in dragging out a deer,” White said. “He was just a very nice fellow and we enjoyed visiting with each other.”
Climbing aboard his stand early on the morning of Nov. 5, White had his eye on the acorn-producing oak and was hopeful that one of his target bucks would show up.
“At around 6:20 that morning, I looked up and saw a buck with a really nice rack, thinking it was probably one of the bucks I had seen the year before,” he said. “The problem was, it was really thick in there and I was only able to get my climber 12 feet high.”
Armed with his Raven crossbow, White knew he had to pick a narrow opening in order to get a shot.
“There was a very light breeze that morning and I was hopeful it wouldn’t carry my scent to the deer,” he said. “I knew that this buck was one I wanted to shoot because it had an impressive rack. The buck was walking up to the oak to feed when he suddenly stopped at 38 yards, made a 90 degree turn and put his nose in the air, sniffing. I was afraid I was about to get busted.”
Stealth mode
The buck was facing him, looking straight at him. White didn’t dare move a muscle because he knew any flinch on his part would send the buck running away.
“I already had my sight on him and I have had good luck shooting a deer that was facing me,” White said. “I put the sight at the junction of his neck and chest and hit the trigger. He hit the ground, got up and ran in the direction he had come. I heard him crash, get up and run and then crash again.”
Deciding to give the buck an hour, White texted his new-found friend Matherne and told him he had shot a big buck and was going to wait it out for a while.
“I went back to camp to wait awhile,” he said. “I had my dog with me, and after a while I had the dog on leash and he found the buck, which had only traveled some 85 yards.”
The buck was a main-frame 8-point with a drop tine and a split at the end of one of the main beams. The buck weighed 225 pounds with a 17 6/8-inch inside spread, 21 and 22 inch main beams and 5 inch bases. The rack measured 145 5/8 inches.
“I texted Matherne and he and his sons left their stands to come help me drag it out. As it turned out,” he said, “Ross Matherne was a great friend to find.”