Heeerrreee's Johnny!!!

The following is the account of the pursuit of Johnny Carson, a Yazoo County buck harvested by my dentist and friend Shaun Mayette...ENJOY!!!



This buck is one I named Johnny Carson because he always came on camera late at night. The other bucks I am hunting also have names like Conan, Arsenio, etc. Conan is really the one I am after...he is a ten point and a fair amount bigger than Johnny.

The last two weeks I have noticed a large amount of buck sign(rubs/scrapes) in this area that I was getting these photos. Saturday evening the wind was right for me to hunt in there. I really wasn't anticipating the opportunity to see a good buck just yet...it was still a week early for the "magical" time of year.

The area I was hunting is a creek bottom surrounded by hilly terrain. There is a 100 yard wide area of grown up bedding area along the creek then a long narrow food plot that runs roughly north and south. On the other side of the food plot is a large block of mature hard wood timber. The north wind was right in my face. As daylight began to wane deer started coming into the plot... Does and small bucks. The small bucks were giving those does "up the country." Chasing them around and grunting, basically acting a fool.

I was very entertained and content watching this pre-rut/beginning of rut activity take place right in front of me. I had only read and watched on TV the things I was witnessing. Right before dark, I started hearing something coming from my right, about 50 yards to the north of my position in a 20 foot tripod. I could hear a grunt every now and then as the deer approached. It was a much more "laid back" vocalization compared to the young bucks I had been watching. Finally, I saw deer entering the food plot from a trail that I had noticed in my scouting. First, there were two does and then as if he appeared out of thin air...it was "Johnny." He just stood there like a statue as the does walked out and started feeding. He looked regal standing there in one spot surveying his surroundings. I quickly saw that his antlers were wider than his ears and knew it was Johnny due to the many pictures I had gotten of him.

I quickly grabbed my 45-70 as he was standing broad-side. I shot him at 50 yards. He is my best buck to date and am thankful God allowed me the opportunity to experience that hunt.



Merry Christmas,

Shaun