“Y’all be inside our preserve, where we hunt whitetails before the opening of Oklahoma’s regular deer seasons,” said Dusty Vickrey, manager of the Choctaw Hunting Lodge. “The enclosure is big with a lot of hardwoods and pines, deep cuts, tall grass and extremely dense briar thicket.
“The deer are “hunter savvy.” They know how to elude and avoid hunters,” he noted. “We’ve got some ground blinds set up near feed areas, some near water and some near food plots. We do have raised blinds next to feeders as well. We can set you up to hunt however and whatever way you want.”
Located in southeastern Oklahoma, Choctaw Hunting Lodge encompasses well over 22,000 acres, home to trophy whitetails, Eastern wild turkeys and an ever-increasing black bear population. The lodge’s acreage is leased to hunters on strict wildlife management program.
Dusty credits his wife, Nacolh, as the “real boss and brains” of the operation. Nacolh oversees the hunt scheduling, as well as the large and extremely comfortable lodge, meals and the well-being of all who come to “The Choctaw.” Guided hunts in the preserve are conducted for monstrously antlered whitetails, bull elk and bison as well as a variety of exotic big game species. Some 20,000 acres of low fence property is set aside for guided hunts for native whitetails, Eastern turkeys and a very limited number of black bears during the state’s regular hunting seasons.
The property is also home for feral hogs, including the rare Choctaw mule-footed hog. These were brought from the Choctaw’s native home in the southeastern United States when the operation was moved to Oklahoma. The breed dates back to hogs brought to the New World by early Spanish explorers. Mule-footed hogs have solid hooves like those of a horse or mule, as opposed to the cloven hooves of regular swine.
“Let me know how you want to hunt, and we’ll accommodate you as best we can,” said Dusty. With that, he turned to me and added, “Larry, surely glad you made it! Probably pair you with Bequette till he takes a deer! He was the only one who did not take a deer during last year’s Avient hunt. I told him and everyone else you would be here, even if a day late. Don’t think they believed me knowing what you had been dealing with these past weeks.”
I was certainly glad to be there. The afternoon before, I had essentially been released by both the surgeon and heart specialist who had conducted surgery to remove over a liter of fluid from around my heart, following three emergency room trips, plus two hospital stays. After my doctor visit, I drove home, packed my rifle and gear, and prepared for the seven-hour drive from my home in Texas to the lodge the next morning.
I was thrilled to again hunt with Jim Bequette, a dear friend, with whom I have shared adventures from Texas to Canada to Africa. Jim was long the editor of Shooting Times magazine as well as working with Guns & Ammo, Petersen’s HUNTING and other outdoor television programs. I had met Jim about 40 years ago. We got to be good friends and started hunting together while I served on the staff of Shooting Times.
Jim and I chose to sit in a ground blind close to water and a food plot, but also by several dense briar, cedar and hardwoods thickets. Jim was the shooter, using a Ruger 77 Hawkeye equipped with a special barrel. The rifle started with the factory Ruger action and barrel. The barrel had been milled down to just beyond lands and grooves by Thunder Valley Precision (www.thundervalleyprecision.com), owned by Tom Sarver, then the magic of Avient’s Rapid Heat Releasing Barrel System was applied. The result was a custom barrel that does not heat up internally, is a bit lighter than steel, and promises greatly increased accuracy. Jim’s customized Ruger 7mm PRC was topped with a Stealth Vision 3-18×44 SVT scope (www.stealthvision.com). He was shooting Hornady’s Precision Hunter 175-grain ELD-X loads (www.hornady.com).
At the range, I watched Jim put three shots essentially into the same hole at 100 yards, which was roughly the same distance he would be shooting on our hunt. He also hit the 1,200-yard steel on the lodge’s range with each shot he sent.
On our first day, we looked at several outstanding whitetail bucks, a monstrous bull elk and some buffalo. Jim decided to pass on the bucks we saw in hopes of shooting one with considerable mass.
That night around the campfire, satiated after a most delicious meal, we talked about past hunts. Then, we visited with Avient’s Jesse Baird as well as others in camp about what they’d seen. About half of those in camp had shot outstanding bucks that afternoon, mostly bigger bucks than they had ever seen.
Early the next morning, Jim and I were back in the ground blind watching and listening to bull elk bugle. Jim again passed on a couple of really nice bucks.
Back at the lodge, we learned that a couple more whitetails had been taken, including one by Richard Turner with Umarex, producers of high-quality air rifle and now a shotgun (www.umarexusa.com). Late in the hunt, I watched Dusty shoot a “meat” oryx with an Umarex 20-gauge air rifle/shotgun, a hunt I filmed for our weekly A Sportsman’s Life show on CarbonTV.com and our YouTube channel of the same title.
That afternoon, we returned to the same blind and within an hour we spotted movement back in the brush. In minutes, a massive buck strode into view.
I saw Jim look down at his ancient green and orange vest and then immediately back at the deer. Jim had been wearing that same vest 40 years ago when we first hunted together. Indeed, he has worn it on most every hunt he had ever done. Recently, he had passed his “lucky vest” on to his granddaughter. Before coming to the Choctaw, he had asked her if he could borrow it for his hunt. She agreed to do so.
I was about to suggest that Jim might want to take this buck. Before I could say anything, he raised the customized Ruger to his shoulder. Meanwhile, I was busy filming him for an episode of our weekly digital television show.
When the buck turned broadside, Jim sent a Hornady 175-grain ELD-X into his vitals. The big-bodied buck took two steps, then fell. Immediately after the shot, Jim bolted in a fresh round and watched the downed buck through his scope. We sat there watching the buck while Jim recalled past hunts with his grandfather, other family members and the likes of such great writer notables as Skeeter Skelton, Bob Milek, Bill Jordan and others who had served on staff with Shooting Times.
As we approached the buck, I filmed Jim but also extended my congratulatory right hand to him. Moments later, he reached down for the monstrous buck’s antlers.
“Larry, this is my biggest antlered whitetail ever . . . ”
I was thrilled to have been at my dear friend’s side. After several photos and more filming, we called Dusty to come help us get Jim’s deer back to camp where it would be totally taken care of, from gutting, to weighing, aging and preparing to take the deer to the local meat processor.
That night, Jim relived his hunt, as did others about theirs.
Next morning, I hunted a different area, where on a previous trip, I had seen a really outstanding typical 10-point. Unfortunately, the buck did not show, but I did see a couple of huge bull elk and some beautiful fallow bucks.
Back at the lodge, Nacolh had prepared a fabulous breakfast. Full to the brim, I asked Dusty if possibly we could some scouting. Jesse and Jim decided to come with us.
After Dusty picked me up, on our way back to camp we had spotted an unbelievably big-antlered buck and a really nice 10-point. When we told Jesse about these deer, he said he would like to take one of these deer with his 22 Creedmoor (a 6.5 Creedmoor case necked down to .22), Avient Rapid Heat Releasing Barrel System technology applied Thunder Valley Precision, shooting Hornady Precision Hunter 80-grain ELD-X.
An hour later, we spotted the monstrous buck, then drove well past where we’d seen him. Dusty and Jesse got out of the ATV and began their stalk. A few minutes later, they returned saying the buck had spooked and had headed toward a dense briar thicket. We drove a long way to come in downwind of the thicket, then stopped. I asked Dusty and Jesse if I could accompany them with my camera.
We had walked a couple hundred yards when I saw Jesse raise his rifle and shoot. Then he immediately turned, bolted in a fresh round, and walked to where I stood, handed me the rifle and whispered, “Shoot that deer!”
I looked to my left and could only see parts of a deer’s body, but not his head. I moved forward a couple of steps to get a solid rest against a tree. In so doing, I could see the deer’s shoulder but nothing else. Behind me, I heard both Jesse and Dusty urging me to shoot. Even though I could not see the deer’s head I trusted their judgment.
I settled the crosshairs on the buck’s shoulder and squeezed the trigger. The deer dropped in his tracks behind a massive blow-down. Immediately, I heard congratulatory remarks from Dusty and Jesse. All I knew was that the deer I’d shot was down. I had no idea what I had shot.
As I walked closer to my buck, I could see he had a monstrous rack. Immediately, I thought I had finished off Jesse’s buck. But when I turned to look at both Jesse and Dusty, they were standing by the outstanding 10-point. I heard both say, “The big one is your deer!”
Indeed, he was a big one, with unbelievably monstrous antlers. I was awestruck and speechless! Never had I even dreamed of taking a whitetail with such big antlers.
I know, most who will see pictures of this buck, who read or watch anything about my taking him, are going to say, “that’s a high-fence, breeder deer, not free-range, not fair chase.” They’re right for the most part. I actually had been hunting a native buck that had grown up inside the enclosure. This was a deer that had essentially been genetically engineered for big antlers, had grown up on high energy/protein feed and forage. To me, his antlers were a reflection and testament to what a whitetail deer can produce in terms of trophy antlers.
I will take whatever criticism. Normally, I only hunt free-range animals. My taking this buck had anything to do with my hunting abilities, my past 70 years of hunting whitetails, or what I learned as a professional wildlife biologist or being a serious student of whitetail deer all my life.
What I will recall every time I look at the mount, masterfully done by Double Nickle Taxidermy (www.doublenickletaxidermy.com), are the memories of hunting with Dusty, Jesse and Jim, shooting a highly accurate rifle with Hornady ammo, what the amazing whitetail deer can produce in terms of antlers, and all the great times I’ve had at Choctaw Hunting Lodge.
My buck’s antlers are indeed huge: a basic 6×7 frame, 44 points over 1 inch long, 8 drop-tines, and with an outside spread of 37inches.
On an aside about the buck as well: Dusty had seen the buck earlier that morning and noticed he had just been in a serious fight. He had been poked in the rib cage several times by another buck. The rut was just starting to kick off and fights were becoming serious. Dusty doubted the buck would survive.
Later he told me, “After you undergoing surgery, ER visits, hospital stays but also doing all you do for Choctaw Hunting Lodge, Jesse and I thought it would be appropriate for you to take that big buck, if we could find him.”
I was truly humbled by his statement and also truly appreciative!