The Scott Roszell Buck: 183 7/8"; Avoyelles Parish.

Just a few weeks later, yet another Avoyelles Parish buck came across my desk and I knew I had to have its story. Mainly because it was another Avoyelles Parish deer killed by another hunter from Effie, LA. If you’ve ever driven through Effie, you know that it isn’t a large metropolis of any kind and the fact that another monster buck was killed nearby by one of its residents intrigued me. Sure enough, Scott Roszell killed a deer he’s been hunting for 32 years. Scott sat in his stand the morning of January 22, 2010 hoping to see one of the big deer he and his cousin had on their trail cameras, but a heavy fog made visibility very limited. After seeing a few small bucks, Scott saw a buck that he felt met his clubs 145″ antler restriction and took aim, but the 400 yard gap between the two made it a little harder than expected. Six shots later, the buck laid dead and Scott held on to the last bullet he had, hoping the deer would stay down. Yet another deer from Avoyelles with amazing numbers: 183 7/8″ worth of head gear, 15 points, 20 ¼” inside spread, and 6″ bases. Whatever the hunters in this parish are doing to grow big deer, they’re definitely doing it right.

There are many guesses as to why, all of the sudden, big deer seem to be reported on nearly every week. Is it the large amount of backwater that has them pushed out of their natural, more familiar habitat? Could it be that hunters have become more selective in what they harvest? Maybe food plots and supplemental feeding have something to do with it. Perhaps no one’s actively sought these exciting stories prior to BayouBucks.com’s launch. I was curious to know, so I contacted the LDWF deer program manager Scott Durham to pick his brain as to what was going on. “There’s no doubt that we are taking larger deer this year. True, there have always been some good deer taken in Louisiana, but with better management and hunter evolution, it’s getting better and better. The DMAP program is starting to show that every year is getting better with 4 ½ year old deer and older being killed. It’s nearly double what it was 15-20 years ago.” Durham also went on to say that club management is also another big reason why larger deer are starting to fall. “We really like custom management for clubs. Take what is right for your area. State-wide antler restrictions are almost impossible to do due to the diversity we see in the deer state wide.”

There you have it folks. All the big bucks covered by BayouBucks.com for the 2009-2010 hunting season. This Louisiana deer season has been one that I’ll never forget and also one that I’ll hold dear in my heart. We’ve seen deer taken all over that state and every single one was brought down by a hunter who knew exactly how special the “gift” they received really was. I’ve been asked a lot of questions about what these people do in order to kill these big, beautiful animals. There are only two things that each deer has in common; every deer was over 4 1/2 years old, and every single one was killed by a hunter whose “time it was” to kill a trophy Louisiana whitetail.

View Part 1 of the Bayou State Big Buck Review