A Young Mississippi Hunter's Dream

After watching it grow for two years, Walker Hilbun of Starkville harvested a 167-inch buck on Nov. 2. 

A Mississippi teen first got a particular buck on camera two years ago, and although it was a 10-point shot, it didn't really stand out. Since the buck appeared to be young, the teen's father said they should let him grow, and two years later, that decision paid off with a huge buck that unofficially gross-scored 167 inches. "He was nothing special," said Walker Hilbun, 18, of Starkville. "He was 3 1/2 (years old), and my dad said we should let him go, which was a perfect thing we did. "I passed on the deer four or five times the next year. It was tough to do. It was hard to let him go last year."

When the buck showed up on camera this summer, it was a different story.

"He was just a monster with tons of mass and points on him," Hilbun said. "I was thrilled I let him go last year and immediately wanted to kill him this year."

Harvesting the buck was easier said than done. Hilbun said Patterning the buck was difficult because the cameras on the Oktibbeha County property where he was hunting were set up on food plots and at a feeder, but the buck wasn't frequenting those spots.

Instead, the buck appeared to be feeding on the early crop of acorns in wooded areas, so that's where Hilbun focused his efforts, but the plan needed to be fixed. A month into the season, Hilbun had not had an encounter with the buck. On Nov. 1, the buck decided to eat something other than acorns. While Hilbun was hunting in a wooded area, the buck showed up on camera at a nearby food plot. That prompted a change. Hilbun said his dad said he should hunt out of a shooting house at the food plot in case the buck returned. The following afternoon, that's what Hilbun did. 

"I got in the stand at 3:15," Hilbun said. "I saw lots of deer. I ended up seeing about 30 deer in the food plot." And soon enough, the big buck decided to join them. "He did pop out at 5:30, 5:35, and I watched him," Hilbun said. "He'd feed to me and then feed back." The buck continued grazing in the food plot for about an hour but stayed out of range of Hilbun's bow. Then something happened, and the buck couldn't resist. "It was getting darker, and I had four bucks fighting before me," Hilbun said.

"When he walked up, he was on a march."

Hilbun said he was nervous but managed to stay calm until he got a shot. "It was right before dark," Hilbun said. "I slowly drew back, and when I shot, I think he was at 27 yards. I was really confident in my shot, and I was really shaken up," Hilbun said. "I was super nervous." Long, sleepless night ends with Buck of Mississippi Hunter's Dreams.   SunHerald~

Congratulations to MS teen Walker Hilbun in our great Mississippi wild outdoors!!!