Emma Bags a 150-Class Trophy Buck in Mississippi

 "On Oct. 22, 2024, I killed the biggest deer I may ever kill in my life," said Emma Claire Starkey, 16, of Eudora. "It was one of the best days of my life. I thank Jesus for this day and constant experience."

Starkey said the story began in 2023 after she and her father, Adam Starkey, put out trail cameras before archery season began.

"One summer night, my dad and I got a notification from the camera," Starkey said. "It was two giant bucks wrapped in velvet.

"We couldn't believe it. After seeing those bucks, we immediately start excited about the soon-to-begin bow season."

"This deer was ginormous," Starkey said. "On the left side of his rack, he had a kicker on his G2.

"After noticing this, my dad and I decided to give this deer a name. That name was Kicker. After trying to hunt this deer for quite a while, we discovered that he was challenging. He would only come out around midnight."

The two hunted the buck at every opportunity, but he wasn't cooperative and remained nocturnal. However, one Sunday evening, they got a notification from a camera, and there was a photo of him. The two rushed to the stand, only minutes from their home. They couldn't get close enough for a shot with Starkey's crossbow, but they saw him firsthand.

"When my dad and I laid eyes on this deer, our faces immediately lit up," Starkey said. "Our adrenalin was through the roof.

"Kicker was even bigger in person. My dad and I couldn't believe what we had just experienced. We both walk back to the truck in disbelief. After seeing him in person, we had him back on the camera a couple of times, and after that, he was gone."

Starkey wondered what had happened to the buck. Had he been hit by a car, killed by a hunter, or maybe just moved on? Those questions were answered less than two weeks before archery season opened this year while Starkey was at her school's homecoming dance.

There she was, in a room filled with teenagers dancing, strobe lights flashing, and loud music, when she received a message from her father. It said that Kicker was back, and he sent a photo of the buck, too.

"I couldn't believe it," Starkey said. "I thought this deer had disappeared for good."

This year was shaping up to be a repeat of 2023. The Kicker was nocturnal. They had one close encounter with him on Oct. 20 when they received a photo of him in daylight and tried to sneak up on him but couldn't get a shot. The fact that both close encounters were on Sundays didn't go unnoticed.

"On the way home, I started thinking, this deer did the same thing to us last year on a Sunday," Starkey said. "How crazy was that?"

Hunting the deer had become a daily routine, but a week after her encounter with the buck, Starkey said she was exhausted. However, she felt that if she didn't go, the buck would show up during legal shooting hours because that works in the deer hunting world. So, that afternoon, she was back on the stand with her father.

"I was exhausted," Starkey said. "I sat with my head facing down, and my eyes closed most of this hunt."

While half asleep, she felt her father tapping her leg.

"I looked out to see giant horns facing my way," Starkey said. "I immediately started breathing heavily and shaking."

The buck took his time and slowly made his way toward the stand.

"It took probably 15 minutes for that deer to come into range, and I thought both of us would pass out. Our hearts were beating so hard," her father said. "She couldn't hardly hold a conversation."

The buck gave Starkey a shot at 45 yards, and Starkey pulled the trigger on her crossbow. They went to the site where he was standing, and her father eventually found a drop of blood.

"I said, 'Emma Claire, look at this,'" her father said. "She instantly started crying."

The two didn't track him because they thought he might still be alive and run, so they left the area. They came back later that night and found him just 60 yards away.

"She reached down and grabbed those horns and said, 'Oh, my God. He's even bigger than he was in pictures,'" her father said.

Her father estimated the buck's score to be between 140 and 150. When Final Approach Taxidermy in Hernando scored the buck, it was a good bit higher.

The bases measured 5 1/2 inches and 5 1/4 inches, and the inside spread was 17 1/4 inches. The main beams were 23 1/4 inches and 24 inches. The left G2 was 12 inches, and the right G2 was a whopping 14 inches. The total score was 156 1/2.

"She was happy," Starkey's father said. "That deer didn't have any ground shrinkage."

Congratulations to Emma on getting a ginormous buck named "Kicker" in our great Mississippi outdoors! hat's awesome!

Happy 55th Birthday, Debra Ann

I wish my daughter, Debra Ann, a Happy 55th Birthday today. Debra is the mother of two sons, one in the Air Force serving our country for 12 years, and a daughter who has given her two grandsons. She is a nanny for two doctors caring for their young daughter. She is a hard-working mother, and I’m proud of her accomplishments. I love her so much and hope her birthday will be great! xoxo

Happy "Heavenly" 60th Birthday, William David Boyd

I wish my only son, William David Boyd, a Happy "Heavenly" Birthday today. He would have been 60 years old. He was my second born, who passed away on October 26, 1964, from Hyaline Membrane Disease of the Lungs. He was born before my oldest daughter was a year old on November 11. This is the only picture of my daughters with their brother, most likely taken in 1974 or 1975. I treasure this picture; I will be with him in heaven one day.  

A Rocky Springs Campground Birthday Bash Last Week

Here are random pictures taken a week ago at Will's, 7, and Noah's, 6, birthday bash at the Rocky Springs Campground off the Natchez Trace Parkway. The family had a great time enjoying the beautiful weather and the boys' birthday party. They got a lot of nice toys, etc., to play with and enjoy. Two great-grandmothers were blessed to attend the big event for Will and Noah.  

Campsite on a hill.

Noah and Will

Noah is having a blast with family.

Noah's cake.

Will's cake.

Wally (11 years old) is guarding the campsite.

Will is bike riding.

Noah is bike riding.

Balloons on the campground's trash can.

Looking up towards the campsite.

Great Grandson Ian is with Mom, Victoria, grandson Stephen, great-grandmother Jane, and her son, Jay.

Noah is getting ready to blow out his candles.

Will is getting ready to blow out his candles, too.

Great Grandson Ian, who left early.

Two great-grandsons, Noah and Will. Standing grandson Stephen, granddaughters Victoria and Lucy.

Great Grandson Ian is with Mom, Victoria, grandson Stephen, great-grandmother Jane, and her son, Jay.

I went down to Sand Creek to watch the boys play. A happy ending with family celebrating birthdays.

A Hunting Lunch Break

I'm waving to my former husband on his deer stand at Brown's Point on Kings Point Island, north of Vicksburg, MS., years ago after a lunch break.  I'm returning to my stand to finish hunting in our great MS outdoors.

Happy Birthday Noah and Will

I want to wish my two great-grandsons a very Happy Birthday. Noah is 6 years old today, and William David will be 7 tomorrow. They will have a birthday bash tomorrow at Rocky Springs Campground on the Natchez Trace Parkway.

I'm looking forward to seeing them. Happy Birthday, Noah and Will. I love you so much, Great Gran Gran.

6 years old today!

7 years old tomorrow.

Happy 52nd Birthday, Suzi

 

Today, my youngest of four daughters, Marian Suzanne "Suzi" Nicholas, turns 52. She is an excellent Mother to her daughters, Emma (17) and Kate (11) in Virginia. I am so proud of who she has become, and I wish her a happy and blessed birthday. I love you very much, Suzi! Mom xoxo

September 25, 1972

Happy 27th Birthday, Lucy!!

I just remembered that it's my granddaughter Lucy's 27th Birthday today. Wishing her the best Happy Birthday yet. I love and miss you and hope to see you real soon. Gran Gran xoxo

Two Bears Killed at Redwood, MS, North of Vicksburg

Within two days, two bears were hit and killed by vehicles in Warren County, Vicksburg, MS. MS Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks were notified.  They recently passed through town and were sad that they were killed in our Mississippi outdoors at night.

Are Bears Becoming a Problem in Mississippi?

 

Anthony Ballard, an officer with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, leads a presentation about black bears.

Following the recent sighting of a black bear near the Old Courthouse Museum in Vicksburg, some residents may be wondering about the status of the black bear in MS and whether or not safety from bears is something to be concerned about.  

Anthony Ballard of the MS Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks recently gave a presentation at Crawford Street United Methodist Church about the status of black bears in the area. 

According to Ballard, black bears were placed on the federal "threatened and endangered species" list in 1974. By 2016, they had been removed from the list.

Ballard explained that black bears, although they can be cinnamon-colored, are usually black with a brown muzzle. There are two subspecies in MS: the American black bear and the Louisiana black bear. Adult males typically weigh between 250 and 350 pounds. An adult female usually weighs around 200 pounds and gives birth about once every two years. Ballard said cubs are born in the den and spend 12-18 months with their mother before becoming independent.

The most giant bear on record in MS, at 468 pounds, was killed on a roadway in Wilkinson County, Ballard said.

Bears are periodically trapped, tranquilized, and examined. A sample of their DNA is taken, and an overall health assessment is done before a small chip to identify them is implanted.

GPS collars help track the routes bears travel, referred to as "home ranges."  Their journeys throughout MS, even into Louisiana territory, and back again are charted on digital maps. Bears are more active in the summer, often traveling hundreds of miles. From this research, Ballard said they have learned not to relocate bears in MS (although other states do) because they are adept at finding their way back.

"This is one of the last great conservation success stories we have," Ballard said. "They were almost extirpated in the state, and what we're doing right now is monitoring that natural growth over time. We hope one day that they reach a number sustainable for harvest, like the Eastern wild turkey, the white-tailed deer, and, more recently, the alligator."

Once a bear crosses into MS, it becomes an "MS bear," as Hunter Fordice found out in 2006 when he received a call that a bear with a tracking device originally from Arkansas had pinged as been on his land, located in the MS Delta. This unexpected finding launched Fordice into the world of black bear conservation.

"It just sort of fell in my lap," Fordice said. He was notified by a previous MDWFP officer, Brad Young, that the bear had been located on his land.

"F920 was a female...caught in Arkansas and relocated to Felsenthal. We don't do that in MS, but Arkansas did. It's about 100 miles due west of my farm. She swam the river with a cub. I saw tracks (of the bear). That was in "06."

For those concerned about interactions with black bears, Ballard advised minimizing attractants.

"There's a good chance (In this area) that you have bears close by, whether you know it or not. It's important to put up pet foods and trash and take them out in the morning rather than the night before. You want to minimize the exposure to an attractant. Bears have a sense of smell about seven times better than dogs. So anything a dog will get into, a bear will get into, and he's even better at it," He added. Bird feeders and even barbecue grills will attract bears.

Confrontation with black bears is extremely rare, Ballard said.

"What we tell people to do, if they encounter a bear in the wild, from a distance, just let the bear go on about its business. The bear will often see or smell you and be gone before you have to deal with the bear. If you're in a situation where the bear gets too close for comfort, it's time to get big and loud and scare it away. If you're worried about it, bear spray is a good thing ... it's safe for the bears and very effective because their sense of smell is compassionate."  

Any sightings of black bears may be reported to MDWFP at their website, https://xnet2.mdwfp.com/NRIS/Home/BearReport.

By Sally Green - The Vicksburg Post