Hunter gets piebald deer with solid white head

Gerry "CJ" Parker harvested this piebald deer near Lauderdale on Nov. 27.
Gerry “CJ” Parker harvested this piebald deer near Lauderdale on Nov. 27.

Gerry “CJ” Parker thought he was seeing a ghost on a hunt near his home in Lauderdale about 3 years ago when several deer came into view. One was noticeably lighter than the other deer, but her head almost glowed it was so white. Yes, you heard me right, the doe had a solid white head the likes of which most people have never seen.

“I’d never seen anything like that,” Parker said. “I didn’t know what to think at first. I’d never seen a piebald deer.

“I talked to my dad about shooting the deer and he told me that since it was during the rut, I better not shoot the deer if I wanted to shoot a buck, so I didn’t’ shoot her. We had her on game cameras for a while, along with her fawn, but then she disappeared, and we didn’t see her last year.”

They nicknamed the deer the “ghost” and it was back on their radar this fall when it reappeared on their game cameras. Parker had not killed a buck at the time of the first sighting three years ago but accomplished that milestone last year, so there was no holding back when she made a personal visit to his area during the Thanksgiving holidays. It was just too big a temptation to pass up this time.

“I was hunting a green field the Saturday after Thanksgiving,” Parker said. “I got in the stand about 2:00 p.m. and the ghost came in with two other deer. I didn’t waste much time as I raised my rifle and centered the crosshairs on her and squeezed the trigger.”

A unique trophy

“Tic-Pow!” Parker’s 30 06 rifle roared, and the doe collapsed before the echo of the shot had died down. That shot set off a frenzy of excitement for people around Meridian as many had never seen or heard of such a sight. The ghost deer with the solid white head was very unique and is a memory that will live forever with Parker.

“We’re getting a shoulder mount from Luke Wimberly in Quitman,” Parker said. “We’re also getting the meat processed over at R & L Deer Processing. There’s nothing much better than getting some backstrap cut up into steaks and frying and eating it with rice, or onions and gravy!

“When I made the shot and watched her drop, I was really happy and overcome with emotion. I just thanked God for the opportunity. Something like this doesn’t happen often so I’m enjoying it now.”

Parker is ready to go after that trophy buck now that he’s dispatched the ghost doe.

“I like to hunt during the rut because you might see a buck any time of the day, but shooting a deer with a white head is really something,” Parker said. “Whether I kill one or not, each trip I make to the woods is a success. Just being able to be out in nature and taking in the serenity of the woods makes it worthwhile to me.”

Next up: trophy buck

Parker has done something really special, something that few people do, and that’s killing a piebald deer. He just finished his last class in the physical therapist assistant program and now only lacks his clinicals before starting his career. He’ll have a little time to harvest that trophy buck soon too.

Parker’s first deer was taken with a .410 shotgun when he was only 10 years old, and he was hooked from that day on. Who knows what he’ll find in the woods next? It might be that trophy buck or maybe a Christmas buck.

About Michael O. Giles 405 Articles
Mike Giles of Meridian has been hunting and fishing Mississippi since 1965. He is an award-winning wildlife photographer, writer, seminar speaker and guide.

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