DAY TWO: 155-CLASS BOONE & CROCKETT BUCK

EDITOR'S NOTE: George Mayfield of The Roost Hunting Lodge in Aliceville, Alabama, has hunted white-tailed deer for several decades and is considered an expert at the habits of deer as well as what makes them do what they do.

One of the first big bucks I ever took was a 155-class Boone & Crockett buck in 1978 in a 200-acre soybean field surrounded by cedar trees in Scuba, Mississippi, near where I lived in Aliceville. I was sitting on a wooden ladder stand watching the bean field during the afternoon. I saw what looked like somebody waving a white sack about 400 or 500 yards away on top of a hill. As first, I wasn't sure what I was seeing because the light was waning, and the weather was misty and foggy. Since I didn't have a good pair of binoculars back then, I was trying to see what was going on through my scope.

The buck had the biggest rack I'd ever seen. Not being experienced at hunting trophy-size deer, I didn't know what to do. The distance was too far to shoot, and a few does were in front of me. Because I was right on the cedar line, I decided to go to the deer. I put my rifle on the stand and turned around to climb down from the stand. As I looked back uphill, a 155-class Boone & Crockett buck had stepped out 100 yards away from me. There I was with my rifle lying on the seat, the 155-class deer looking at me, and me looking over his back at the big deer.

My instincts took over, and I decided the bird in my hand was better than the big buck in the bush. The 155-class deer was watching me, and two does were in front of me. I froze. Finally the does moved. When the deer looked at them, I eased my hand onto my rifle. He looked back at me, and we played that game for what seemed like an eternity. Whenever he looked at the does, I moved. I finally got my gun around and shot him.

Contact George Mayfield at The Roost, P.O. Box 509, Aliceville, AL 35442; PH: (205) 373-3147 for further information about hunting big bucks.

Check back each day this week for more from George Mayfield and The Roost...

Day 1 - 180-Class Boone & Crockett Non-Typical Buck
Day 2 - 155-Class Boone & Crockett Buck
Day 3 - 151-Class Boone & Crockett Buck
Day 4 - The Noonday Buck
Day 5 - Briarpatch Deer

John's Journal