Johnny Cumberland hadn’t planned to hunt when he made a trip to the duck camp near Morgan City to repair a shed damaged by a tree. But sometimes the best laid plans of mice and men go awry.  That’s oftentimes a recipe for disaster but then again. . . stranger things have happened.

    “We were up there working and I looked up and Robert had disappeared,” said Cumberland. “Next thing I know he came out dressed in camo and said ‘I’m going hunting’.”

    “Well, if you’re going then I’m going,” Cumberland told his boss Robert Smith of Glass Incorporated. “I worked another 30 minutes and changed clothes quickly and went to a stand that was easy to get to since I didn’t have much time. The mosquitos were so bad I cranked up the Thermocell way before getting to the stand.”

    Cumberland stopped about 500 yards from the stand and walked under the cover of a ditch bank until he got to the stand which was right on the edge of the field facing the woods. The wind was blowing into the AG field which was good because he was hunting the woods to the north as the open field was on another property.

    “I wasn’t there 10 minutes when I saw a buck,” Cumberland said. “I could see about 100 yards into the woods, but he wasn’t a shooter. I glanced over my shoulder through a small gap in the timber and spotted a deer about 750 yards to the south. It was so far I couldn’t tell if it was a buck or not but knew it was a full grown deer by the size of it.”

    Cumberland continued watching the woods and glancing back towards the field occasionally and the deer kept coming towards his stand. At 500 yards the buck finally got “close” enough for him to view a bit better.

    “I finally saw something white on his head and thought, ‘I believe that’s a buck’,” said Cumberland. “I thought,  there’s no possible way the deer can make it to my stand before dark. “

    Cumberland decided to up the odds in his favor and try to get as close as possible to where the deer was going to enter the woods if he kept coming.

    “I got down and walked behind the levee which was bordering our property and walked to within 50 yards of the corner of our lease and eased up to the top of the levee and peaked over,” Cumberland said. “Man, I believe that’s a shooter, and he’s walking towards me on a straight line.”

    At 300 yards things were ramping up with tension mounting as the 10 point buck really stood out with bleached white horns.

    “I believe I’m going to kill this deer,” said Cumberland. And then it got even more exciting.

    “I spotted a second buck working the tree line and it was much bigger and he was hooking limbs and making scrapes and just kept following the first buck while coming my way also,” he continued. “At 200 yards they never wavered and just kept coming and the big one was now 50 yards behind the first buck. I belly crawled right up to the edge of the levee and got my rifle up.”

    The deer had to get on Cumberland’s lease before he could shoot, but when they crossed the line they would be extremely close and it was getting really late now with darkness approaching swiftly.

    “I made up my mind to shoot the bigger one but a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,” Cumberland said. “At 50 yards they disappeared behind the levee and then the lead buck came up over the levee and was about to pass within 10 yards of me, now on our property.”

    “The 10 point was about to cross the irrigation ditch when the big buck grunted at him about 30 yards behind,” said Cumberland. “I cut my eyes towards the grunt and saw his big horns rising up over the levee as he stopped behind two big irrigation pipes.”

    When Cumberland saw the buck behind the pipes he eased the gun in position and had the crosshairs aimed at his neck which was barely visible behind the pipes. Time stood still a few seconds as the tension mounted.

    “The big buck grunted and started to take a step and the 10-point snorted and took off over the levee behind me,” Cumberland said. “The big deer turned to go back into the woods so I squeezed the trigger and shot.”

    The rifle roared and Cumberland was met by silence. Had he missed this monster buck? No such luck for the buck this time as the veteran hunter had beaten the odds and dropped a trophy buck at a mere 10 yards during the final seconds of legal hunting time.

    The massive buck weighed 235 pounds and sported 12 score-able points with a drop tine and a couple more stickers. Sometimes we do everything right and things still come out wrong. But this time it seems like it was just meant to be. After an hour of intensity and excitement Cumberland finished the hunt by passing on a 10 point and shooting a trophy at a mere 10 yards. Carpe Diem!

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