The Total Surprise

Larry Weishuhn

“Larry, truly glad you could make it. I kept telling Jesse and Bequette you’d be here if they didn’t put you back into the hospital.” Said Dusty Vickrey, manager of the Choctaw Hunting Lodge as he greeted me at the lodge’s back door. “Been a busy hunt thus far, even though we’re only a day into it. Several bucks have been taken as well as two bull elk.” I nodded. “Of course Bequette has not yet taken a buck. Think he was hoping and waiting for you to get here before he pulled the trigger. If you don’t mind I’m going to pair him with you.”  I allowed that would be perfect as far as I was concerned. “Say Hello to the rest of the crew that’s here, and we’ll get you settled in your “Mr. Whitetail” room, then get ready for the afternoon’s hunt.

Dusty was referring to my being in and out of ERs, as well as hospital stays, surgery where they removed a liter of fluid from around my heart, Covid and a month of being “under house arrest”. I headed to the Choctaw the morning after I was released from the surgeon’s care.

After greeting others in camp including Avient’s Jesse Baird, our host and my old friend Jim Bequette, with Dusty’s help I carried my gear into “my room” at the Choctaw Lodge, which Dusty’s wife Nacolh, who oversees all things at the lodge, insists upon calling “Mr. Whitetail’s Room”. Frankly I’m truly honored.

The Choctaw Hunting Lodge includes 22,000-acres of some the finest whitetail deer, Eastern wild turkey and ever-increasing black bear population wildlife habitat to be found anywhere. There is also a large high-fence enclosure, the Choctaw Hunting Preserve which is home to elk, bison, Axis and Fallow deer, scimitar-horned oryx, aoudad, some absolutely huge whitetail bucks, as well as unique Choctaw mule-footed hogs. The mule-footed hog, which originally came to the New World with early Spanish explorers are unique in they are not cloven-hoof like other hogs but have solid hooves like a horse, donkey or mule. Being a State-licensed “preserve” the high-fenced area can be hunted for whitetail deer before the opening of Oklahoma’s regular whitetail deer hunting seasons. It was we would be hunting.

Thankfully I was once again a guest of Avient and particularly Jesse Baird who heads up Avient’s outdoor promotion side of things. Avient produces polymers and solves problems for manufacturers, polymers which are found in the archery, crossbow, ammo (polymer tips), handgun frames, ATV items and the list stretches on for miles. Avient, not that long ago, developed technology to create a rifle barrel that does not heat up. Known as the Avient Rapid Heat Releasing Barrel Technology takes steel rifle barrels, mills them to not much more than lands and grooves, then is applied a special ceramic over which another proprietary layer is added to finish the barrel. The result is a rifle barrel that is somewhat lighter than the original barrel, will not heat up no matter how many hunting rounds pass through it in rapid succession, and makes for a more accurate barrel. I have shot several rifles with Avient barrel technology, including those from Ruger and Mossberg. Their “new” barrels which were reasonably accurate before became superbly accurate, especially with Hornady ammo.

My personal rifle started as a Mossberg Patriot Predator chambered for 7mm PRC, the barrel “was done” for me by Tom Sarver’s Thunder Valley Precision (www.thundervalleyprecision.com). Topped with a Stealth Vision 5-20×50 SVL scope (www.stealthvision.com) and shooting Hornady’s Precision Hunter 175-grain ELD-X at 200-yards it will put all shots almost into the same hole, same at 500-yards. At 1,000-yards from a good rest I can put five-shots into a 3-inch circle, and a 5-inch circle at 1,200-yards. Would I consider shooting a deer that far away with that accuracy while still retaining sufficient energy to put down an elk…I doubt it. I dearly love shooting at steel out to 1,200-yards and truly appreciate the accuracy of my rifle, but then it comes to hunting I want to get as close as earthly possible before pulling the trigger.

Jim Bequette was hunting with a Ruger M77 Hawkeye chambered in 7mm PRC, topped with a 3-18×44 Stealth Vision scope and shooting the same Hornady Precision Hunter load as I.

Jim and I hunted together in a ground blind for a couple of days before a buck he really liked appeared. During those hunts he passed up several “nice” bucks, listened to and saw some monstrously antlered bull elk.

When the buck that flipped Jim’s switch, he first glanced down at the green and orange vest on his lap. He had worn that same vest nearly 40-years ago when we first hunted together in Texas, just before I signed an agreement to go on staff with Shooting Times, and even before. He too had worn it while we hunted years ago on Anticosta Island in Canada, and in southern Namibia when hunted greater kudu, and many places between. Recently, he had given it to his granddaughter, thus had to ask permission to borrow it from her for the Avient/Choctaw hunt.

It did not take Jim long to pull the trigger when “his” buck appeared. I filmed his hunt for one of our weekly “A Sportsman’s Life” show on CarbonTV.com so you will be able to see his hunt there.

The buck turned out to be the biggest antlered whitetail Jim has ever taken. I night add the 175-grain ELD-X bullet did a superbly admirable “job” on the buck’s vitals.

Next morning,

Jim headed to where he hoped get a shot at a wild hog. Me? I headed to where Jim had shot his buck. Earlier that same day I had seen a monstrous 10-point, but all I could see of him were his antlers. I hoped he might return this morning. He did not.

At the close of the morning’s hunt Dusty picked me up. We made a quick scouting trip in route to camp for a late, delicious breakfast. As we were finishing I asked Dusty if we could go back to the Preserve and do more scouting. Jim and Jesse over-heard my question and said they’d like to go as well.

We had driven over a small part of the preserve when we spotted a bedded buck with really big antlers. Dusty suggested Jesse and he stalk it. After we had driven past the bedded deer at least a quarter of a mile, to get the wind in their face they began their stalk. Jim and I stayed behind, visiting. A little while later they returned to the ATV. “We spooked him but I think I know where he went.” Suggested Dusty. With that we were back “on the road”.

We had driven another half mile or so when Dusty abruptly stopped. “Let’s go!” I asked if I might trail behind to get some footage for “A Sportsman’s Life”. Jesse grabbed his rifle a custom 22 Creedmoor with an Avient technology barrel loaded with Hornady 80-grain ELD-X Precision Hunter. (Allow me here to state Avient does not do barrels, but provides the technology to manufacturers so they can be “done”.)

We headed into the wind. After two hundred or so yards he and Jesse stopped. Up came Jesse’s rifle, rested on a limb, followed by a shot. Soon as he shot, he urged me to hand him my camera and handed me his rifle then whispered “Shoot that buck on the left!”

I spotted what looked like the body of a deer, but could not see its head. “Shoot!” Urged Dusty. All I could see of the deer was the upper half of his broadside shoulder. The rest of him was hidden behind blow-downs. I had no idea what his antlers looked like. But I knew if both Dusty and Jesse were wanting me to shoot it had to be at least a decent buck.

I found the buck’s shoulder in the scope, settled the crosshairs for a high shoulder shot which should put him down immediately, then pulled the trigger. The buck went down immediately. I worked the bolt on the 22 Creedmoor to seat a fresh round.

No movement of any kind where my deer had been! I still had no idea of what I had shot. With that we started walking the fifty or so yards that separated us from what I assumed were two dead bucks.

It wasn’t until I was twenty steps from where my buck lay when I saw his monstrous rack, I initially assumed I had finished off Jesse’s buck. Behind me I could hear Dusty and Jesse talking, they were standing over a great 10-point typical. “That big buck is yours and only yours!” said Jesse followed by “Great shooting!  Congratulations!” I could see both were smiling broadly.

My buck had monstrous antlers, one of the biggest racks I had ever seen anywhere! I was speechless. Jesse and Dusty were now walking to where I stood totally in awe of the buck I had just taken. In silence I accepted both their congratulatory handshakes.

There were way too many points on the buck’s antlers to count, but I did notice he was a basic 6×7 typical and I counted three times to be certain, he had eight drop-tines. His outside spread approached the length of the entire rifle I had used to take him.

We proceeded to take many photos. Jim reminded me several times to close my dropped jaw in awe mouth for the photos.

The buck’s antlers, later that night, when I could finally count them had 44 points over an inches long. He was indeed a basic typical 6×7, great mass with eight drop-tines and a greatest outside spread of 37 ½-inches. By far he is the largest, widest, most point, most drop-tine antlered buck I have ever taken or ever will take.

Now before someone says “Oh yeah! That’s a high-fence buck, probably out of a breeder program.” I will not disagree! I make no claims about being the “mighty” hunter for shooting this monstrously antlered buck. I will have my buck mounted by Double Nickle Taxidermy (www.doublenickletaxidermy). Every time I look at him on my wall I will remember Dusty, Jim, Jesse and me hunting together, the fun we had, the circumstances involved in my shooting a buck whose head and antlers I could not see.

To me all the glory and honor of this buck and his big antlers goes to him for having grown them, showing what whitetail deer are capable of producing. In many ways my buck’s antlers are truly a one-of-a-kind piece of art to be appreciated, admired and enjoyed, no different from an original painting or one of a kind bronze by a fabulous artist. His monstrous antlers are indeed one of a kind, there will never be another set of antlers that will look exactly like his!