Late-Season Buck Could Take Down 73-Year-Old Firearms Record
OutdoorHub Reporters 12.20.16
The last buck to top the records book in Louisiana was in 1943. But its reign at the top for a typical buck killed with a firearm might be over.
Take a look at Charlie Lusco’s giant 11-pointer he shot on December 1 on Diamond Island. No official scores have been recorded yet, but initial scoring put the deer between 184 inches to 188 inches.
Don Broadway and his 184 6/8 buck have been the holders of Louisiana’s buck title for over 70 years! While that record is great, there’s no doubt Charlie would love nothing more than to see his name at the top of that list. That’s every hunters dream!
Of course, behind every great trophy buck is a great story to be told. If you believe it, Charlie had no intention of shooting this big bruiser that day. Instead, he was busy putting up 20 trail cameras just hoping to find the big buck again.
It happens almost every year, the deer we target seem to fall right off the face of the Earth, and when you least expect it, that’s when they show up again. The same rings true for Charlie. What better time to catch a hunter off-guard then when he’s fumbling around with 20 trail cameras?
“It couldn’t have happened any stranger, because we didn’t know where the deer was at all — no one had a clue. We hadn’t had him on film in at least two weeks,” said Lusco.
After Charlie got all his trail cameras hung up, he jumped in his nearest stand around 4:00 p.m.
Maybe I’m the only one that finds the humor in this, but would’t you know it, the afternoon he goes out and hangs all those trail cameras is the same afternoon he gets a crack at the deer.
After a late start, and not having much hope for any action, Charlie watched the buck casually step out at 200 yards. Charlie was so surprised, he had to glass the buck a few times to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.
Once Charlie made his shot, he decided to give the deer some time. He backed out, and returned later with a group of friends, where they retrieved the buck after a short search.
“Oh God, it was like a big party in the woods,” Lusco said. “Everybody was high-fiving and slamming knuckles.”
Charlie is planning on getting a full-body mount of the giant buck so everyone who helped let this deer mature can enjoy it as well.
“We let him walk for three years,” Lusco told Louisiana Sportsman. “This year we said, ‘Hey, he’s big enough. He’s an absolute trophy.
“A lot of other hunters in the club hunted him through bow season, through muzzleloader season, the opening weekend of rifle season and through Thanksgiving, and nobody got him. Everybody hunted him hard with rifles.”
Even though the rut has slowed down and the temperatures have dropped to well below zero, this story goes to show that you should still be spending some time on stand. There’s still some great hunting to done in December!
