Submitted PhotoMikaela Mengarelli harvested the buck of a lifetime during a trip to her uncle's farm along the Sunflower River. The massive buck was the first of her hunting career.

 

Mikaela Mengarelli had a memorable hunt near the Sunflower River recently that turned out to be the hunt of a lifetime. Though she’d never been deer hunting before, Mikaela harvested a monster 11-point buck that scored 169, 7/8 Boone & Crockett with a 22-inch spread, 5-inch bases and weighed in at 220 pounds.

Though some may think it was beginner’s luck, Mikaela spent time practicing shooting with a 6.5 PRC Browning rifle until she had the hang of it. She completed her hunter safety course this year and purchased a license the day before the big hunt.

Although this was the first time that she hunted as an adult and shot a deer rifle on her own, she did go hunting with her grandfather occasionally when she was younger.

Mengarelli arrived at her uncle’s farm at 3:30 p.m. and took a stand in some tall grass overlooking a field adjacent to the Sunflower River. She was joined by her boyfriend and brother on the hunt.

“We were all playing on our phones when my boyfriend saw a deer in the tall grass across the field along the edge of the Sunflower river,” Mengarelli said. “At first, we thought it was a doe because it had its head down, and we couldn’t tell.”

Mengarelli got her rifle ready, but before she could get the scope on the buck it raised his head, and they spotted a massive rack soaring high in the air. The Mississippi Delta Community College student was more than ready for the task.

“I shot at the buck, and it didn’t move,” Mengarelli said. “It didn’t move a muscle, so I shot again, and it collapsed in the tall grass and disappeared! We ran over to where he was standing and found him dead right on the spot. He never moved an inch.”

The buck was soaking wet, so they believe that he had just crossed the Sunflower River and was walking through the tall grass on his way to another location when he made the fatal mistake of walking in front of this young sharpshooter.

Mengarelli’s uncle Rodney Walker had been following the buck on his game cameras for a couple of years. It seemed appropriate that the young lady had harvested the buck of a lifetime on her first hunt and first time to carry her own rifle. Walker was so proud of his niece that he’s even going to pay for her deer to be mounted.

Mengarelli was unsure of her feelings after shooting the buck at first, but 10 minutes after the kill she got excited that she had shot such a magnificent buck, the deer of which dreams are made. Before she knew what was happening, the other hunters had bloodied her face in the longtime Southern tradition bestowed on a hunter after they’ve harvested their first deer. It is a time-honored celebration, and it was well deserved!

“I love eating deer meat and enjoyed some grilled backstrap steaks last night,” Mengarelli said. “I really felt the satisfaction of harvesting a buck and being able to eat the tasty meat and provide food for my family, too.”

Mikaela Mengarelli is not your typical community college medical technology student: She’s a sharpshooter, deer slayer and a modern-day Annie Oakley, as evidenced by her skilled marksmanship and trophy deer killed at 200 yards. It doesn’t get much better than harvesting the buck of a lifetime on your first hunt to the woods. That is a fine feat indeed. May this be the beginning of a long and successful hunting career.

Call Mike Giles at 601-917-3898 or email mikegiles18@comcast.net.