Louisiana Hunter Takes Gnarly Lowcountry Buck

Mockey Terry Jr. with his unique trophy buck

The state of Louisiana may be known as a Sportsman’s Paradise but they don’t have early deer season in August. Mockey Terry Jr. is originally from Estill, S.C. and now resides in Louisiana, but he makes sure to return home to hunt deer each August. During this year’s hunt he bagged his best buck ever and scored a real trophy with this unique rack of horns.

           

A lot has to go right before anyone can tag a big buck like this 11-pointer, and this hunter’s previous best buck was an 8-point that he put on the wall back when he was 13 years old. He paid a lot of dues between then and his fateful still hunt on August 22, when he went hunting in 99-degrees of scorching summer heat. “It’s simple, I only had two days to hunt before I headed back to Louisiana, so hot or not I was going,” said Terry.

            

Terry went to his deer stand about 6:30 p.m. on that Friday afternoon. Sitting in a 10-foot ladder stand he had a clear view of a cotton field in front of him. It didn’t take long for the Hampton County deer to begin moving and soon he was watching four does, four yearlings and three bucks. “I had a 4-point, 6-point and an 8-point in the field but they were not shooters,” said Terry.

            

“The private land on Williams Wood Plantation where I was hunting comes with some deer management restrictions,” said Terry. “A buck needs to be 8-points or better with a spread that is wider than his ears. When the buck with the gnarly rack stepped out it was already 8:10 p.m. and I only watched him long enough to count his tines.”

            

Two hogs had joined the party at the corn pile and the big buck was looking directly at them. Then Terry took a 60-yard shot using his Savage .308-rifle and made a good hit. “I had no idea at all that this nice buck was in the area and I was quick to go look at him,” said Terry. “This clearly was the biggest buck I had ever shot. The rack is unusually curved and I haven’t seen anything like it before. I guess maybe it is a non-typical rack?”

            

The buck weighed 175-pounds and the rack sports 11-points including a sticker point off each of the G2 tines. An impressive 17.5-inch spread further accents the curving affect at the end of the tines. A basket rack buck is a common term for a buck with a narrow spread, but this rack looks more like two hands, with the tines resembling fingers grasping at something. A unique rack is certainly something worth preserving through taxidermy and Terry plans to mount the buck with the velvet still on the antlers.

            

Mockey Terry Jr. did go hunting the next night as well, since Saturday was his last chance to hunt an S.C. deer for a while. But he saw no deer at all and passed up a shot on a couple of wild hogs, so he is back to paying dues. He tells me that back in Louisiana he spends his spare time chasing redfish and enjoys hunting waterfowl during duck season. No doubt he is telling his Cajun friends about the big gnarly buck from South Carolina, and the sporting tales coming out of the Lowcountry outdoors will continue to gain respect.

To read this feature story in the newspaper click on Colletonian.

To view past blog entries about Opening Days Deer Success Stories click on 2014 or 2013 or2012 or 2011 or 2010 or 2009.