Last year I had this deer on camera towards the end of the season, but I never had him come out in the daylight. I hunted him and a few other good bucks I had on camera, but never got to seal the deal for that season. This deer was all over the place last year, really cruising and looking hard. Several other people had him on camera as well. We ended up naming this particular deer “Porkchop” and the 2022-23 season would come to a close with Porkchop still alive and well.
I am from the community of Effie. I’m married to my wife Victoria, and we have three children Adian, Addie, and Olivia. I’m 32 years old and I am a pastor. When I’m not out preaching the gospel of Jesus at Calvary Baptist Church in Forest Hill, I’m on the water or in the woods.
Moving on to the 2023-24 season, things started out really slow for me, as far as good bucks on camera. A few other people had been getting Porkchop on camera, but he just wasn’t in my area this season. I let a few smaller bucks and does walk throughout the season, hoping something better would come, but it seemed like it was over.
I guess with the drought or weather patterns from this year, the deer seemed to rut a little later than usual, so I stayed at it as much as I could. Then on Dec. 14, I finally got a few nighttime pictures of Porkchop and then he completely vanished from my area again. Christmas Eve morning, I had a decent 8-point chasing a doe at 4:25 a.m., on camera, so I decided to stick it out a little longer.
On the afternoon of Dec. 26, I decided to go and try this particular area out one more time in hopes I could get the 8-point. Around 5:15 p.m., I could hear something running and I got prepared, but it was not what I wanted to see. Two coyotes come running up to some doe estrous I had hung up, and I told myself I was going to try and get a shot on them, because I most likely wouldn’t see anything else. Right before I could squeeze off a shot, they both spooked and ran off. At 5:25 p.m., I could hear something else coming and I figured it was those coyotes coming back, but when it jumped the creek, I knew it wasn’t a coyote.
Through the thick brush I could see a buck and I figured it was the 8-point, so I squeezed off a shot. When he fell in my scope and I got a complete look at him, I realized it was indeed Porkchop. I walked up to him, got down on my knee and thanked God for such an awesome buck and storybook ending for the 181-pound 148 5/8-inch Winn Parish buck.
-Joshua Brevelle
