Digilormo exits stand, stalks and shoots big 11-pointer
Dustin Digilormo has a theory when it comes to waylaying big bucks: If they won’t come to you, then go to them.
That’s exactly what happened on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 16, when a buck he twice glimpsed as it dashed by his stand motivated the 28-year-old electrician from Bossier City to get down and put a sneak on the buck.
It worked to perfection, too, as he was able to put the crosshairs on the chest of a 250-pound Bossier Parish 11-point buck with an estimated score of 170 inches of bone.
“My dad and I hunt a 540-acre tract of land near Plain Dealing that we have hunted all my life,” Digilormo said. “My grandfather knew the owner of the land and got permission to hunt there years ago. When the owner passed away, the heirs to the property continued to allow my dad and me to hunt there.”
The property is a prime piece of land featuring a mixture of cutover pines and hardwoods, but the kicker is the land connects to the fertile soil adjacent to the Red River.
“We see most of our bigger deer along the Red River and that’s where I got this buck,” Digilormo said.
“I had my stand set up alongside a creek that empties into the Red and I climbed aboard that afternoon. I wasn’t in the stand very long when I saw a blur dash out in front of my stand and realized it was a big deer although I couldn’t see any antlers,” he said. “Five minutes later, here the deer came again running flat out — and this time I could see antlers and knew that it was a really good buck.”
Digilormo’s stand was located not too far from a neighbor’s property, and it was time for a quick decision if he was to have a chance at the big deer that afternoon.
“I decided that he probably wasn’t going to run out by my stand a third time but would instead head over to the neighbor’s property, so I got down out of the stand, and slipped across the creek to the edge of the thicket where I felt the deer had gone. With the wind blowing favorably for me and the ground wet, I knew I could sneak without disturbing the deer,” he said.
Digilormo’s hunch was right.
As he crouched with his Remington .30-06 at the ready in a clearing with a good view of the edge of the thicket, the buck suddenly stepped out at 50 yards, stopped and stared directly at the hunter.
“I had my rifle up and would have preferred that the deer give me a broadside look but he just stood there staring. I was afraid he’d take off again, so I put the crosshairs in the middle of his chest as he faced me and squeezed off a round,” Digilormo said.
At the shot, the deer bolted and ran headfirst into a big tree near where he was standing.
“I was afraid he’d break his antlers but he ran off another 40 to 50 yards and dropped. I walked up to him and although I knew he was a big buck, I didn’t realize he was that big,” he said. “In fact, I tried to load him on my Rhino but was unable to. I had to call my dad to come help.”
The buck, sporting 11 long and tall tines on a massive frame, featured an inside spread of more than 18 inches. The deer wasn’t weighed, but Digilormo believes the buck was at least 250 pounds.
And although the rack has not been officially scored, its been estimated by several who saw it at about 170 inches.
The lesson to be learned here is if a buck runs past your stand twice, you’re not likely to get a third chance.
So the best thing to do is take the game to him — it worked like a charm for Dustin Digilormo.
Don’t forget to enter photos of your bucks in the Nikon Big Buck Photo Contest to be eligible for monthly giveaways and the random drawing for Nikon Monarch binoculars at the end of the contest.
Read other stories about big bucks killed this season by clicking here.
