However, when he walked to where the deer had stood, he detected evidence of a hit. "I didn't see the deer until I stepped around a big tree, and there he was. His rack was massive, and he was a big-bodied deer as well." The non-typical, estimated at 235 pounds, sported 16 points, and was later green-scored at 216 1/8 on the Boone and Crockett scale. Jordan's buck easily eclipsed the then-current state-record muzzleloader buck, a 168 5/8 taken by Michael Willis in 1997.

RUDY BONNETTE/LAKE OPHELIA NWR
On the same day that Bill Jordan claimed his prize, Rudy Bonnette, armed with a borrowed muzzleloader, was afield 35 miles away at the Lake Ophelia National Wildlife Refuge.

"I loaded up my three-wheeler and my pirogue and headed for Lake Ophelia," said the Cottonport smokepoler. "Soon after I got there, I could hear deer moving around in the water so I took my pirogue and paddled as quietly as I could, checking the ridges for deer.

"The first two ridges I checked, I didn't see anything. As I approached the third ridge from about 65 yards, I noticed three logs bunched together in 5 feet of water about 10 feet from land. I was surprised to see this big buck lying down on two of the logs with his head resting on the third. His eyes were closed.

"I eased out of the pirogue and began sneaking toward him to get close. I stepped on a stick; it snapped, and the deer opened his eyes and lifted his head. When I saw the white of his throat as he looked at me, I put the sight on that spot and fired."

The animal's estimated live weight was approximately 250 pounds. Carrying 9 typical points along with 9 non-typical tines, the rack green-scored 183.

RANDY CATCHET/KISATCHIE NF
On Oct. 23, 2004, 23-year-old Randy Catchet downed a genuine trophy, complete with an 8-inch drop tine, in the Kisatchie National Forest south of Winnfield.

"It was a warm day with lots of mosquitoes as I waited for my dad to come pick me up," recalled the Slidell resident. "At 11 a.m., I saw something move, and this big buck stepped out at 65 yards. I got my sights on him, shot -- and he ran like there was nothing wrong with him.

"My heart sank, and I'm thinking: Here I've sat all this time, and have just missed the biggest buck I ever saw in my life. However, when I walked over to where he was standing when I shot, there was evidence of a good hit. He didn't go far at all where I found him piled up."

The buck was indeed a trophy; sporting 12 points, which included the impressive drop tine, it scored 165 5/8. Biologists determined the deer to be least 8 1/2 years old.

LANNY ROBERTS/RED DIRT NWR
Blackpowder aficionado Lanny Roberts was also on public land -- the Red Dirt NWR south of Natchitoches -- when he bagged his impressive buck this past season.

"I was hunting with a friend," offered the Moss Bluff deerslayer, "and had just missed a doe at 30 yards. I had been having problems with the bullets I'd been using and felt this was why I'd missed.

"Then I heard my friend shoot, and he called on the radio to tell me he'd just shot a small buck. I decided to get down and go help him drag his buck out. I had lowered my fanny pack to the ground and was about to descend with my climbing stand when a doe came running out near me.

"I was turning slowly, hoping I'd get a shot at her, when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. It was a big buck, and he stopped just 20 steps from my stand. I shot, but couldn't see anything until the smoke cleared. After missing the doe, I assumed I'd missed the buck. But when the smoke had cleared, there he lay."

Roberts' buck's rack had 11 points, weighed 192 pounds and scored 164 3/8.

So, Mr. Front-Stuffer: Still think you can't bag an impressive buck anywhere but on plush private properties? Given the testimony of these successful public-land blackpowder hunters, you might want to rethink that!