Mississippi deer hunter bags second 'once-in-a-lifetime' buck

When Tri Vaughan of Scott set out to hunt in the Mississippi Delta on the afternoon of Nov. 25 he had no idea what was about to unfold.

He certainly didn't know it would almost be a repeat of a hunt seven years ago when he harvested what he thought was a once-in-a-lifetime deer.

"I probably got in the stand about 2:30 or 2:45," Vaughan said. "It's always been a good spot.

"It's low pressure. The bucks seem to move around back there freely. Certain days I'll see 15 to 20."

The afternoon looked promising from the beginning.

"The hunt started off good," Vaughan said. "There were two does in the food plot when I got there. Somehow, I got in the stand without running them off."

His luck didn't stop there. Vaughan decided to try a grunt call and a small buck bedded nearby responded.

"I grunted and saw him stand up," Vaughan said. "I let him do his thing. He kind of milled off."

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Vaughan grunted again and about 10 minutes later another buck appeared.

"His body was huge," Vaughan said. "He was looking away and I could see the extra main beam and I knew he was a shooter.

"I normally don't get nervous shooting deer, but he got me nervous. I'm shaking a little bit."

The situation didn't help Vaughan's nervousness. The buck was 160 yards away and about to walk out of the food plot and onto adjoining property.

"I was trying to calm myself down, but I knew it was now or never," Vaughan said. "If I didn't make the shot, he was gone."

Vaughan fired his 7mm-08. The buck stumbled, but got back on his feet and ran. And of course, he ran onto the neighboring property. To make matters worse, Vaughan didn't find much of a blood trail.

"I was nervous," Vaughan said. "I was thinking he was in the next county."

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Plenty of coincidences for deer hunter

Vaughan contacted the owner of the land where the buck ran and received permission to go on the property to recover the deer. With such an unusual buck on the line, he also contacted an owner of a tracking dog to assist.

As it turned out, there was no reason to be concerned about recovering the big buck — the dog went straight to it.

"I was ecstatic, obviously," Vaughan said. "When you see him at 160 yards, you can't tell as much detail as you can when you get your hands on him. I was like, 'Wow.'"

Vaughan said the main frame of the rack had seven points. The additional beam on the right side gave it two more points. The gross score was 134.

As unusual as the buck is, it's not Vaughan's first experience such a rack. On Dec. 17, 2015, Vaughan harvested a massive 14-point with double main beams on the left side. It scored 167 5/8.

The coincidences don't stop there. Vaughan harvest the 2015 buck while walking to the same stand he was hunting in on Nov. 25 and he shot both with the same rifle.

"That was a once-in-a-lifetime deer," Vaughan said. "I'd never in a million years thought I'd kill another one like that."

Contact Brian Broom at bbroom@gannett.com or 601-961-7225.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi deer hunter harvests two once-in-a-lifetime bucks