MERIDIAN —    As the final day of the regular deer season began this past Wednesday stories of bucks running does were coming in from all around the Mississippi Foothills area. One fellow reported killing a nice eight point chasing a doe, after passing on the first three bucks that were following the same doe, all in a line! Mickey Carney harvested a really good eight point last Saturday also. Carney has passed on a lot of bucks this year and reported seeing several bucks this week as the shooters really got moving.

    One young lady, Emily Pogue bagged a 10 point recently, on her second trip to the woods no less. And yours truly also got in on the action by harvesting a buck right at dark, as he chased a doe close to my stand. It was one of the few hunts I’ve made without my sharpshooter Mikayla by my side.

    But perhaps the biggest story of all, the shot heard around the state came from Lauderdale County. People started calling me early and often as somebody reported seeing a large deer in a truck at a convenience store not long after sunup. Things reached a fever pitch as folks kept calling me after lunch. It was only then that I made the connection that Rickey Sullivan had killed what some say may be the largest buck ever killed in these here parts!



Biggest ever!



    And it was only fitting that the largest buck known to be harvested in the county this year was taken in the opening minutes of the final day of the season. As we went to press I don’t know if folks left Sullivan alone long enough for him to skin the buck out and process it. Word traveled at lightning speed with cell phones burning up the airwaves in direct proportion to the size of the buck. And the hunters gathered to view the fine specimen. But that’s a story for Sullivan and his neighbor, Otha Barham, to tell.

    I couldn’t help but mention the monster buck in this article as they have been on the move for the last week with the largest bucks just getting cranked up.

    Although I’ve seen a lot of bucks this year and passed on most, like Sullivan my biggest this year also came on the final day of the season. Yes, as luck would have it I nailed one also.

    With the final rays of sunlight disappearing I thought I’d written the final chapter on the final day of the regular deer season. With nary a sign of a buck or doe I loaded up my Honda and headed to the house. A few minutes later I dodged a big doe and slowed to a crawl in anticipation of the buck that could have been chasing her. I had dodged a bullet and was really happy.



Being ready



    Luck, as some people believe, is preparation meeting opportunity and that can be a good thing. At other times, not so good, if you’re not ready. I believe if you put in your time, and prepare for the opportunity, then sooner or later you will be ready when opportunity knocks.

    Opportunity on the final day of the season for me came at 7:10 p m, a little over an hour past last shooting light. And no, I didn’t spotlight the deer or even use headlights. Although I prefer a .270 or 7MM-08, I nailed this deer with my Toyota Tacoma Pre-Runner! And it took real skill to avoid crashing that baby as I never saw it coming.

    I guess the deer just committed suicide as it slammed into the right side of my truck demolishing the fender, doors, mirrors, antennas and just about everything else on that side. My now two and a half year old “like new” truck is no longer in such good condition. Thankfully I wasn’t hurt and the truck is still drivable. But thanks to Ricky Sullivan and his monster buck, along with my final day kill, the final day of the 2012 gun season will be a lifetime memory!



    Contact  Mike Giles at 601-917-3898 or e-mail him at mikegiles18@comcast.net.