Louisiana has never been known as the “land of the giants” when it comes to whitetail deer hunting. Sure, there has always been a nice deer taken here and there, but the 2009-10 hunting season seems to be a little different—somewhat magical. Jason Aycock decided to try something different this year on Bayoubucks.com. He wanted to document large deer killed in the state and post the stories on our web site for our readers to see and comment on. Little did we know how daunting of a task this would become, yet we find each interview thrilling. Let’s take a look at these deer to try and narrow down just what is making this year so special.
The Andrew Norris Buck: 143"; East Baton Rouge Parish.
October is a month when most hunters are taking to the woods with bow in hand. Along with the ol’ stick and string, a Louisiana hunter will usually not be in the woods without Thermocell’s mosquito repellant system. As difficult as bow hunting in the heat and mosquito infested woods can be, one hunter proved that if you can stick it out, October bow hunting can be very rewarding. On October 2, Andrew Norris of Denham Springs, LA showed patience when he took an 8-point within the city limits of Denham Springs with his cross-bow that gross scored 143″. The buck, basically taken in Andrew’s backyard, was drawn in by consistently feeding corn under the same tree for nearly 15 years.
The Dewey Kendrick Buck: 194 2/8"; Rapides Parish.
The rest of October rocked on and when Halloween hit, and so did Dewey Kendrick of Minden, LA. Dewey and his father were going to hunt their private land on October 31, when Dewey decided to hunt with a rifle instead of his bow due to high water. The decision turned out to be a good one, because not long after he got into his stand, an enormous 17 point that gross scored 194 2/8″ Non-Typical BTR came strolling through, and Dewey knew just what to do with his Browning .270 A-Bolt.
The Chase Metz Buck: 161 2/8"; East Feliciana Parish.
When November got here, the thought of ten deer scoring 160″ or better would be gracing our website never occurred to us. The first week of November was a busy one for us, but we were ready when Chase Metz of Pride, LA started it all off by taking a deer scoring 161 2/8″ in his backyard with a cross-bow! As he was eating breakfast on the morning of November 3, Chase noticed deer grazing across the pond behind his house. Seeing that one was the large buck that he had trail cam pictures of, he raced outside with his cross-bow in hand. As the deer eased off into the woods, Chase raced across his yard to his climbing stand. No sooner had he settled into his climber and loaded his bow, when the big buck presented Chase with a shot of a lifetime.
