The end of the road for Buck No. 140

(Photo courtesy Trevor Martin)

When a Mississippi hunter pulled the trigger on a large Delta buck, he harvested his biggest deer to date.

What he didn’t realize at the time was he’d also bagged what is probably the most famous deer in the state; Buck No. 140.

“We were talking about him on the way up,” said Trevor Martin of Hurley. “When you go in the woods you never know what you’ll see, but I never expected that to happen. That’s like winning the lottery. It’s like one in a million.”

Martin and friend Aaron Graham, also of Hurley, had been selected in a drawing to hunt the Ten Point Unit of Phil Bryant Wildlife Management Area. It’s an area named after what was once one of Mississippi’s oldest hunting clubs.

It’s also the winter haunt of Buck No. 140.

The story of Buck No. 140

Buck No. 140 was captured in the winter of 2020. He was outfitted with ear tags and a GPS collar for a study on deer movement conducted by Mississippi State University and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.

He caught the attention of researchers the following spring when he traveled 18 miles into Louisiana and swam roughly a mile across the Mississippi River along the way.

That caught the attention of Clarion Ledger readers, too. Hundreds of thousands of people read about his journey.

Buck No. 140 remained in Louisiana until fall when he returned to Mississippi. Over the course of two years, Buck No. 140 crossed the river four times as he traveled back and forth between his winter and summer ranges.

The most recent story was about a hunter who found Buck No. 140’s collar, which was programmed to drop off in November. It was also found in the Ten Point Unit.

“Me and my buddy were actually reading the story in the Clarion Ledger prior to coming up here,” Martin said. “We’ve been following the stories about him swimming the Mississippi River a mile. That’s crazy.”

(Photo courtesy Trevor Martin)

Mississippi deer hunter spots a big buck

On Dec. 17, things were about to get crazier. Martin said he’d been hunting hard for three days.

“We never left the woods,” Martin said. “I took my pack in and packed in sandwiches.”

Martin had initially intended to hunt a field that afternoon, but after hunting all day for three days and carrying a heavy pack, he decided to hunt on a pipeline that was closer to where he and Graham had parked their vehicle.

Deer began to filter in. To his right he could see three bucks feeding as well as three hogs. To his left were three does. He was watching the bucks and then looked toward the does when he saw another buck.

“I got my binoculars and saw he was a big buck,” Martin said. “He was acting like he was headed back into the treeline.

“Five good steps and he would have been back in the treeline. I was like, ‘Oh no, you’re not getting away from me.’ I squeezed off the trigger and let him have it.”

Read the full story from the Clarion Ledger here.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply