My name is Sean Kennon and I’m from DeQuincy, La. About two weeks prior to Oct. 18, I made my first scouting trip to an area that ended up leading to me killing my biggest buck to date!
The area was located on public land in Vernon Parish. I had actually scouted the area last year and found very promising sign, but wasn’t able to get back to hunt it. After walking over a mile into the area, I was able to find the buck sign that I had hoped and thought would be there.
The area consisted of a short pine thicket that transitioned to bigger mature pines that also met with a bottom that had lots of white oak trees that were dropping acorns at the time. I knew that the short pine thicket was a bedding area.
The transition from the bedding to the oak trees is where I figured my best chance of killing a mature buck in the daylight would be. The transition area had tons of fresh scrapes and multiple fresh rubs. With multiple trees that were rubbed being completely snapped off, I knew there was a big mature buck in the area!
The morning of Oct. 18, I made my first hunt there. I bumped/spooked multiple deer before daylight trying to access my hunting spot in the dark. I had a considerably long walk in.
After climbing a tree and hearing multiple deer blow while waiting on daylight, I thought to myself, if I’m going to kill a mature buck it’s going to have to be mid-day or later on in the evening. I made the decision to only hunt until about 8 a.m. that morning and climbed down to scout a little and find the perfect tree to be able to see the best out of. I snuck out of the area and went and got breakfast.
Back at it
At noon, I snuck back in and climbed back up. After sitting hours and not seeing anything, about 6 p.m. I heard a deer coming from behind me out of the thick. It was a doe, and she walked directly under my tree. Once she got out in front of me about 20 yards I was actually videoing her on my phone when I heard another deer coming, then I was able to hear multiple grunts. My blood started pumping knowing that it was a buck.
I cocked the hammer back on my 35 Whelen and turned around and it was him heading straight to my tree on the trail that the doe had just came through. He stopped directly under me and wasn’t yielding a clear shot. The doe started trotting out in front of me about 50 yards and he was standing under my tree looking everywhere for her and grunted several more times.
After about 2 minutes he finally put his head down and started trotting directly to where she was at. Once he got 20 yards in front of me he turned and finally gave me a shot so I took it. I was able to make a perfect shot behind the front shoulder! He ran another 40 yards and I watched him fall.
After thanking the lord, and multiple fist pumps, I climbed down and walked to him and discovered it was no doubt the biggest deer of my life! The deer scored roughly 140 inches.
I would like to thank my brother and two buddies who were also hunting for coming to help me get the deer out of the woods. I also dedicate this hunt and this deer to a very good hunting buddy/friend who tragically passed away. “Chooooo” This one’s for my pal, Ricky Burgess.
Sean Kennon
DeQuincy, LA
