Hunting Neighbors Passed a Nice Buck 8 Times Last Season. He Grew Into a Stud 18 Pointer
Fred Hamilton, 64, deer hunts a prime 500-acre parcel in the Mississippi Delta region of Louisiana. The surrounding landowners have been working together to manage the area’s deer population and improve the quality of bucks. Hamilton’s recent buck exemplifies their success.
“Instead of shooting every 8- or 10-pointer that came our way, we decided to let them walk and grow,” Hamilton explains. “We have plenty of deer, including does, so there’s no need to kill potential giants while they’re still young.”
Leading up to the 2020 season, neighboring landowners noticed a promising buck that hadn’t reached its full potential. With restraint and respect for each other, they allowed the buck to pass, hoping it would mature into an even larger trophy by 2021.
“We know that buck was spared by hunters at least eight times during the 2020 season,” says Hamilton. “I let him go by twice myself, even though he was already an impressive 10-pointer with a bonus point that other hunters might have taken.”
Luckily, the buck survived and appeared on neighboring farms’ trail cameras during the 2021 season.
“When this season started, our neighbors said, ‘He’s big enough, if we see him, we’re gonna shoot him’,” Hamilton recalls. “One neighbor even took a shot at him but missed. We would have preferred to give him another year or two, but we knew we had to take our chance before someone else did.”
On the afternoon of December 3, Hamilton settled into his familiar box blind, patiently waiting for deer to appear. At 5 p.m., the buck he had been waiting for stepped into view, and Hamilton took a well-placed shot at 270 yards. His bullet found the deer’s heart, causing it to travel 120 yards before succumbing to its wounds.
What was once a good buck in 2020 had transformed into a colossal animal this year. It weighed around 250 pounds and boasted 18 points, with a green score of 163 1/8 inches.
“This is the largest buck taken in this area in three decades,” says Hamilton. “We didn’t do anything extraordinary to our farms except give the smaller bucks a chance to become truly exceptional.”
“This is the largest buck taken in this area in three decades,” says Hamilton. “We didn’t do anything extraordinary to our farms except give the smaller bucks a chance to become truly exceptional.”
A skilled hunter, dedicated conservationist, and advocate for ethical practices. Respected in the hunting community, he balances human activity with environmental preservation.