Luck was on Robin’s side, as he was able to ease up and put the finishing touches on his trophy. The buck green-scored 176 6/8 and, depending on the final score after the drying period, could compete for the highest-scoring buck taken by muzzleloader in Louisiana.

THE “WHITE TRASH” BUCK
Joni Turner is a stay-at-home mom who spends most of her time with her toddler -- but that didn’t keep her from getting in a few days of deer hunting this past season.

“I grew up as a hunter, and married a guy who is a serious hunter. On the afternoon of Nov. 26, I arranged child care so I could hunt. I took my gun, my binoculars, a grunt call and a wad of bubble gum and was content to enjoy the afternoon, hoping I’d have a chance at a buck,” Turner explained.

“I had my feet propped up on the stand -- blowing bubbles -- and every 10 minutes or so I’d hit the grunt call,” she said with a laugh. “I had just grunted when I saw a deer stick its head out of the brush down the lane. I couldn’t tell what it was until it stepped out and I saw all those antlers. I put the cross hairs on his shoulder, closed my eyes and pulled the trigger.

“I got on my cell phone and called my husband, all excited, and told him I’d just shot a big buck. He didn’t believe it, because he’d just dropped me off 20 minutes earlier. He told me to walk down to where the deer was standing -- he’d wait on the phone -- and tell him what I saw.

“I told him I didn’t see any blood, but commented that someone had thrown some trash in our woods, because I could see something white and assumed it was trash. My husband told me to wait there; he was on his way.

“When he got there, I showed him where the deer was standing and mentioned the trash I saw there in the woods. “‘Joni,’ he said, ‘that’s not trash -- that’s the white belly of your deer.’ The buck only went about 10 yards!”

Turner’s 13-point trophy won a spot in the Women’s Division at the Simmons contest with a score of 143 4/8.