Photo by BillKinney.com.

The fact that deer hunting knows no age restrictions was proven emphatically this past hunting season in Louisiana: Hunters from ones of grade-school age to those nearing their eighth decade brought whopping-big whitetails home from the woods.

Jeff Simmons, owner of Simmons Sporting Goods in Bastrop concluded his 18th Annual Simmons Big Buck Contest with the presentation of awards and prizes to hunters bringing in the biggest bucks last season.

The youngest contest winner is 9 years old, the oldest 80. In between, a plethora of hunters from around the state, men and women from every walk of life, can lay claim to the bragging rights for some very impressive trophy racks.

Here, then, are highlights of the stories that a few of last season’s successful hunters had to tell.

THE “I SNUCK UP ON HIM” BUCK
Andrew Talley grew up in New Mexico, but he looked forward each fall to visiting Shreveport and getting to hunt deer on his uncle’s farm in Bossier Parish. At the age of 19, he came to live in Shreveport for his senior year in high school, and now attends Louisiana State University-Shreveport.

“On Sunday, Nov. 12, I hunted that morning before church without seeing anything. I got down from the stand, got ready and went to church,” Talley began. “After lunch, I got on my hunting clothes for an afternoon hunt, but family members came for a visit, and I was delayed until around 3:00 getting on my stand.

“Nothing was happening. It was getting late, and I decided to call off the hunt. I got on my four-wheeler, drove to a gate and opened it so I could continue on.

“While closing the gate, I looked across the field and saw this big buck crossing some 500 yards from me. He stopped and looked my way, but it was so far, he wasn’t spooked. I knew I couldn’t close the distance on my four-wheeler, so I put the sneak on the deer, keeping trees between me and him.”

Talley was able to sneak to within 120 yards of the buck, which never moved from the same spot. “I got the cross hairs on him, touched the trigger on my .270, and he dropped,” he said. “I knew it was a good buck, but I didn’t know how big he was until I walked up to him. I’ve killed good deer on my uncle’s farm, including a 14-point and a 10-point, but nothing I ever shot was as impressive as this buck.”

The 220-pounds buck sported a 13-point rack that green-scored 179 3/8.

THE “MURPHY’S LAW” BUCK
No doubt you’re familiar with Murphy’s Law that says, in effect, that if something can go wrong, it will. Monroe’s Will Jones found out that Murphy’s Law even applies to deer hunters -- but in his case, Jones beat Murphy’s predictions hands down.

“I was hunting at a friend’s camp in Concordia Parish with my dad,” said Jones. “We had bowhunted four days without success, but while we were there, my dad found some fresh sign of a good buck and suggested that I take my rifle and give the big buck a try.

“I got in my climbing stand with my rifle, a 7mm Sako, and rattling horns and was all ready to hunt when I dropped my rifle clip. Here I am, far up a tree, and my clip is on the ground. There was nothing for me to do but climb down the tree, retrieve my clip and climb back up, which I did.