During the second week of the 2005 muzzleloader season John Rebel Scott checked an old creek crossing for fresh deer sign. There in the mud and on the bank was a huge buck track that had one hoof shorter than the other. Little did he know at the time that he was looking at the unique track of an elusive non typical buck that now resided in the Bienville National Forest. Over time the elusive buck was nicknamed Old Big Foot due to the large odd shaped foot on one side.

Throughout the 2005 and 2006 deer seasons Old Big Foot continued to leave his tracks on the creek crossing and in numerous other places. However, he slipped around undetected without Scott ever getting a shot, much less laying eyes on him. With the 2007 season coming on, Johnny Reb, the son of Ethel and Les Hudson, became more determined than ever to see Old Big Foot. In fact, that’s all he thought of during the summer.

On the first day of muzzleloader season this year Scott found himself standing over the creek crossing and looking at Old Big Foot’s now familiar tracks. After climbing the tree with his Ole Man portable stand Scott watched the oak flat and clay bottomed creek crossing for the big buck, but once again came up empty handed. Before he left for the day, however, Scott harvested a doe for the supper table.



Second try



Returning to the creek crossing on the second day of the primitive firearms season Scott harvested yet another deer, this one a small buck. By now he was about to give up on seeing old Big Foot during the daylight hours.

The morning of December 4th once again found the expert hunter in his Ole Man stand overlooking the creek crossing. Though the wind was blowing out of the wrong direction, Scott applied some of Paul Meek’s cover scent and special doe in heat buck lure. The bright blue Mississippi morning dawned beautiful, yet very cold.

As Scott’s keen eyes scanned the area he spotted movement about ten minutes after sun up. Looking to his left Scott saw a big bodied deer with a decent rack coming towards the crossing. “I hit my Rubbernecker Grunt call and he stopped with his head down like he was sniffing for a doe,” related Scott. Though he still couldn’t see the horns well, Scott picked out an opening up ahead and shot at the buck when he entered the opening. At the sound of the rifle report, the deer ran about thirty yards before stopping briefly. Then he casually started walking off.

Scott was desperate now and picked out one last small opening up ahead. He knew it might be his last chance for a kill. Quickly centering the crosshairs on the buck Scott fired a shot from his .444 caliber primitive weapon freehanded without flinching. Once again the buck bolted like he was shot out of a cannon. This time, however, Scott thought he detected the buck’s rear quarters quivering as he disappeared out of sight. Though he couldn’t be sure, that’s usually a sign of a mortally wounded deer.



Taking a look



After waiting in the stand about 30 minutes Scott got down and went to the first shot position but didn’t find any blood. Following the deep imprints of the large buck he finally came to the sight of his second shot, but still didn’t see any blood. After going a few more feet he was stopped dead in his tracks, as he spotted two big dagger points on the back of a rack sticking out between two oaks.

“When I walked around the big oaks, I couldn’t believe my eyes as there lay Old Big Foot,” exclaimed the excited hunter! “I dropped to my knees, gathered up those big antlers and hugged them to my chest and looked up into the beautiful blue Mississippi sky and thanked God for such a magnificent deer.” With tears of joy flowing and a plethora of points on the rack Scott kept losing count. Finally he counted 48 points when he could finally get settled down. Later he counted 53 “country boy points,” or protrusions, in all and that was more than enough to satisfy him. Scott had finally killed Big Foot, the elusive non-typical, King of Scott and Smith counties, the buck of his dreams. He felt both pride and accomplishment but sad that such a magnificent animal?s day had come to an end after surviving so many years on public land. “Big Foot will always have a special place in my heart,” said Scott! Don’t think you can afford a quality place to deer hunt? Then take it from John Rebel Scott and try your hand at hunting public land. He has harvested many trophy animals over the last 31 years, all while hunting public land in Mississippi!