Mississippi deer hunter bags trophy-class 10-point buck. ‘I was shaking like a leaf’

A Mississippi deer hunter had a trophy-class 10-point in velvet on his radar when the early archery season opened on Sept. 13. The buck’s movements were fairly predictable, but didn’t exactly work in the hunter’s favor.

Even so, with some planning, the right wind and luck, D Berry of Madison made it happen, but it left him with a nagging question.

“This deer was regular,” Berry said. “We plant a lot of perennial clover and have been for several years. It’s an unbelievable food source.”

The clover also provides a food source at an opportune time. Berry said much of the native browse is in poor condition when the early archery season happens and acorns aren’t falling yet, so quality food sources are more limited than at other times.

“Those deer really hit these perennial food plots,” Berry said.

Buck makes encouraging appearance

A couple of things were working in Berry’s favor. Berry said he has multiple cameras on his property in Yazoo County and he never got photos of the buck anywhere but at one particular food plot. He appeared to be holding tight to an area of about 35-40 acres. He was also regularly showing up in the food plot.

What wasn’t working in Berry’s favor was when the buck was photographed.

“He was still kind of nocturnal,” Berry said. “Every once in a while he’d come out in daylight.”

The remnants of Hurricane Francine had blown through on Wednesday and Thursday of that week and brought plenty of rain. After the rain stopped on Thursday, the buck came to the food plot at 6:45 p.m.

“I was really encouraged,” Berry said.

Deer hunter gets a perfect wind

Berry set up a stand in a good location. I was in trees along a ditch and deer used the wooded edge as a travel corridor. He also had the food plot in front of him. However, he needed the right wind. On the first afternoon of the season, he got it.

“The wind was perfect,” Berry said. “It was blowing right in my face.”

The conditions were good, but it didn’t seem to matter. The afternoon dragged into evening and all Berry had seen were does and young bucks, but at 7:15 the buck stepped out 150 yards away and began grazing toward Berry. Watching the deer slowly close the gap was less than comfortable.

Hunter has nerve-racking encounter

“As soon as he stepped out, I knew it was him,” Berry said. “He was the biggest deer I had on camera and he looked mature.

“I had to sit there and watch him feed toward me for what seemed like forever. Of course, I was shaking like a leaf watching him come down the lane. I quit looking at his horns, because I knew if I didn’t, I’d probably miss him. It was pretty nerve-racking. I had to compose myself when I got ready to make the shot.”

When the deer was at 25 yards, Berry took his shot and the buck bounded off into one of the overgrown fields that bordered the food plot. Berry decided to leave and give the buck time to expire rather than chance jumping him. He returned later with family and his tracking dog that made short work of the recovery.

Personal-best archery buck raises question for hunter

The buck had only run about 60 yards and when Berry got to him, the buck didn’t disappoint.

“He was bigger than I thought,” Berry said. “Velvet pictures kind of fool you sometimes. He was a really good 10-point. He’s the biggest I’ve ever killed with my bow. We were high-fiving and hugging.”

Berry hasn’t had the buck scored yet, but being his personal best with a bow, harvesting him was cause for celebration. However, as Berry walked back to his truck, a question came up in his mind.

Dang, what am I going to do the rest of the season? Berry thought. He was the No. 1 buck on my list.