# 3 Don "Wagon Trail Buck" 10 pt.

[Professor T]

Kill # 3
Don
December 31, 2001 (morning hunt)
175 lb., 3.5 yo, 10 point
IS 19 3/8, B. Beam 22 4/8, B. Circ. 4 6/8
Gross 140
Rifle Kill


I hunted the Box Stand in the morning because of the rain. When the rain stopped I prayed to ask God to lead me to the deer. I walked toward the creek down the Creek Road and heard deer in the creek. I stepped off the path and saw two deer running onto Dr. H’s land then heard a deer coming down the path. It passed me at less than 5 yards and followed the path towards the creek. I bleated to stop it and it stopped behind a tree. When it started moving again I bleated one more time and he was in the clear. I was by myself and asked Dr. M’s sons to help me get the deer out. I was stopped on the road on the way home and people were giving me the thumbs up all the way. This was a true gift from God.

[Professor T]

10 Point Typical (no extras)

IS.................... 19 3/8"
T to Tip............ 14 0/8"

Right Side:
Beam.............. 22 4/8"
G1................... 5 4/8"
G2................... 8 5/8"
G3................... 7 6/8"
G4................... 2 6/8"
C1................... 4 6/8"
C2................... 3 7/8"
C3................... 3 4/8""
C4................... 3 0/8"
Total............... 62 2/8"
Left Side:
Beam.............. 21 7/8"
G1................... 4 6/8"
G2................... 8 0/8"
G3................... 8 0/8"
G4................... 2 4/8"
C1................... 4 5/8"
C2................... 4 0/8"
C3................... 3 4/8"
C4................... 3 3/8"
Total............... 60 2/8"

Score: 141 7/8" Green Gross

[Professor T]

The Wagon Trail Buck

Short Story:
I said a prayer on the stand and asked God to lead me to the deer. When it stopped raining I took a walk and this guy looked me up. He walked within 5 yards of me.

Long Story:
It started in church one day. The priest read the Gospel of the neighbor that came over in the middle of the night to ask for some bread because some guests came over. The person told him to go away and he wouldn't go away and kept knocking until the person gave in and got out of his bed to bring the neighbor some bread. (So he could finally get some sleep) the point was to be persistant in prayer.

The next day I was on a new stand in Pinckneyville, MS (afriend's land). I had seen 1 deer the entire season which was more than half over. The morning was uneventful so while day dreaming the gospel came to mind. I stood up in the stand looked up and held on to the tree and said, "Knock, Knock okay God, you said it not me...be persistant, I'm not going to go away" "Knock, Knock! It's me again, Lord, I'm going to ask you for a deer. I'd like a nice buck but I'd be satisfied with anything, just a deer" "Knock, Knock! In all due respect, Lord It's me again. Remember that loaf of bread? I'm not going away." Knock, Knock!" Lord,......." Hey! what's that noise behind me? It's a deer....No! It's six deer.

Well, I picked out the lead doe and shot her at the great distance of 15 feet, most of that was because I was up a tree. The deer ran in a circle then back uphill in the direction of the car. the otheres broke up and then came right back under the stand. I had to wait for ten minutes before I could put my gun down, they were so close. "Thanks,Lord."

The next year, openning day in MS gun season. I hunted my brother Paul's land near Magnolia, MS. Another uneventful morning. I closed my eyes while sitting on the stand and prayed again, "Lord, you did pretty good last year. Would you please repeat again this year? But, this year I am asking for a buck, just a legal buck, an 8 point would be nice but just a legal buck. Lord, with all respect I'm going to pull this persistant thing again, I'm not...." Thomp! What the.... there is a deer standing in front of me. It's a doe...No! It's a buck! But it's a spike and it's 4 point or better...not legal. That was exciting, my heart was going thomp, thomp, thomp. the next thing I saw was my brother walking down the road to end the hunt.

While walking back to the trucks he said let me go down here and check the food plot. He came back and said there are 2 does on the plot and for me to go shoot one of them. Well I crawled on my belly to get far enough out into the open to take one of the deer. It wasn't a doe. It was a button buck that had not broken the skin. "A legal buck" It took a while for it to sink in but it was the answer to my prayer...exactly what I asked for.

Next year, Hey! I got this prayer thing down pat. "Ask for what you want." I was back in Pinckneyville, MS. I had done a lot of scouting and found some really great buck sign. I decided not to shoot anything but a good buck. I hunted real hard sometimes from dawn to dark, most days minimum 8 hours on the stand. I prayed all season long for an 8 point or better. I let 5 deer walk that were legal to take. Then one morning I caught sight of a buck fighting the bushes. Before I shot I could actually see three bucks, two fighting the bushes and one standing there watching one of the others. All three bucks were in the 200 lb. range but it took a long time before the first one to show presented a shot. At least 20 minutes but it was worth every second of it. The First one gave me a shot through a little hole that I was hesitant to shoot until I realized that if I could see through the hole I could shoot through it. One of the very few deer I dropped in it’s tracks. It was a heart attack in a tree. Also it was my first wall hanger since the first deer I took 24 years and 364 days before this one.

This finally brings me to the best buck of my life. This was the year I bought my land. I was told there was a very big 10 point hanging around. Yeh, I heard those stories before. My brother Paul had killed a 220 lb 8 pt on December 22nd and my brother Eddie had killed a nice 8 point on Greenwood Plantation, a few miles away shortly after. Maybe I would get my chance.

On the morning of December 31, 2001 I was driving from my house to make a morning hunt. While driving I was praying…for a deer as usual. This year I was praying for a buck 110 B&C or better which would be my best to date. I wasn’t even thinking about the big 10 point. This year I was praying differently, I asked God to “Lead me to the deer”. While praying a few drops of rain hit the windshield. “Okay, I guess I should hunt the box stand.” I hunted the box stand during the rain that morning and about 8:30 am it stopped. “Okay God, lead me to the deer.” I got out the box stand and started still hunting towards the creek. I walked through the East Plot and down the old trail we used to call the Wagon Trail (Not the real one…we found out where the real one is located now) When I got above the creek I could here something running down the creek so I stepped off the trail and looked in the creek. I was about 3 to 5 yards off the trail. I through up the rifle but by the time I picked them up they were on my neighbor’s land. I couldn’t see antlers anyway but it was nice to see some deer. I was standing there another minute when I heard something behind me coming down the same trail I just came down. There was no doubt what this was because the antlers was the first thing I saw on him. He was doing that semi running / trailing type trot and walked right past me. I was facing the other direction and did not attempt a shot that close. I put my cross hairs on him as he reached a branch in the road. Going straight would have given me a poor shot and turning left would put him going to the creek. He turned left. When he got to where I could shoot him I went “NAA!” He through on the brakes and stopped just behind a tree. A possible neck shot but vitals were not visible. He stared at me for two minutes and turned to walk. At the first step I said, “NAA!” again and he stopped perfect. That’s all she wrote. It didn’t take long for me to realize what kid of a gift I had.

He is hanging on my fireplace mantle now reminding me every day how lucky I am. Lucky? ….Luck had nothing to do with it.

PS: He has been moved to the office and replaced by my bow kill 12 point of October 25, 2008...another prayer answered.

[Professor T]

[Professor T]