Miller’s big buck green scores 154 inches of bone
Friday, Oct. 26 was the last day of primitive firearms season in Area 2 — and Kenneth Miller took full advantage of the final hours of that season.
The 30-year-old DeQuincy construction supervisor wanted to use his CVA .45-70 before regular rifle season opened the following day, and he got the chance when a 154-inch 10-point stepped into his sight picture.
“I checked the weather and saw that a front was scheduled to move through the latter part of the week — a front that would lower temperatures and perhaps make the deer move,” Miller said. “I hadn’t killed a deer so far this season, so I asked my boss if I could have the rest of the week off, and he agreed, so a friend and I hit the road for the 80-mile trip to our hunting club in Sabine Parish.”
Miller’s club, MC Hunting Club, is located just east of Florien and consists of 50 members hunting more than 15,000 acres of land owned by a timber company. Each member has his own area, and Miller selected a place to erect his tripod stand that is bounded on one side by tall mature pines, and planted pines 6 to 7 feet tall on the other side.
“Sitting in my stand, I’m looking at some fire breaks in the small pines as well as a skidder lane out front,” he said. “I planted Buck Busters blend on the lane, as well as put out some rice bran to attract the deer.”
Miller and his friend had hunted Thursday morning and afternoon and saw some deer, but nothing they wanted to shoot. Friday morning things changed for the better.
“I was sitting on my stand watching five does feeding on the lane when they all suddenly went on alert and quickly took off,” he said. “I wondered if perhaps I had moved or they winded me, but then I saw movement in the young pines.
“I could see a deer and antlers — but I had no idea what kind of buck this was.”
One particular buck had been on his trail camera a year ago, a fine deer with an 8-point rack. This season, some of his friends had camera images of a big 10-point — and Miller hoped this was that particular buck.
“When I spotted the buck that had stopped in the pines, I eased my rifle up, peered through the scope and could tell it was a pretty good one,” he said. “The buck made a step clearing the pines and I was ready, squeezing the trigger and watched it take off at the shot. I felt good about my shot because I could see a bloody spot behind his shoulder as he ran.”
After texting his friend, they eventually walked down to where the buck was standing when it was shot, and they found evidence of a hit. They walked into the woods less than 20 yards, and saw the white belly of the buck on the ground.
“We just looked at each other, high-fived and realized I’d shot not a ‘pretty good buck,’ but a really good buck,” he said.
The 165-pound buck sported 10 points with an inside spread of 17 inches, and had 10-inch brow tines and good mass and length throughout. Miller’s taxidermist measured the rack at 154 inches of bone.