Juanice Gray
Ka-Thump…Ka-Thump…Ka-THUMP!
Lee Comer’s heart began racing with a resounding and steady pounding when he realized something was about to happen.
He heard a grunt, then another.
An avid hunter, Comer was experiencing the once in a lifetime thrill of sighting a trophy buck…the stuff dreams are made of…as an enormous 11-pointer stepped out in the cold, crisp air of a Louisiana fall morning.
All hunters can relate to the increase in the heart rate, the hypersensitivity, the adrenaline rush that accompanies the perfect hunt. At 7:30 a.m. Nov. 13, Comer heard the grunt of a mature buck, soon followed by an answering grunt and he “knew it was about to be on!” he said.
A buck he had watched for at least three years, that he had named Illinois because of its size, stepped into his lane at only 40 yards.
It was a dream shot….that didn’t happen.
The dream turned nightmare as his 270 rifle misfired.
“The other buck grunted. I held my A-bolt in my jacket to keep it quiet, all with him looking at me,” Comer said. “He gave me a second chance.”
Comer made good on the chance he was given and brought down the buck that Simmons Sporting Goods Boone and Crockett scored a rough 182 1/8. The 280-pound buck sports a 21.5 inch spread.
Comer said game camera photos revealed the grunting buck that didn’t enter the lane was a heavy 7-point. “I’ve been managing the deer here for years and we have some good ones now, at least eight of them,” Comer said of the buck harvested near Lakeview School on Black Lake. “I think I might have a Natchitoches Parish record.”