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Oklahoma Muzzleloader Buck

“YOUR ADVENTURES” w/ Brian Beauchamp, Mossy Oak Prostaff

I had been anxiously checking the cameras all summer long for a mature buck on the farm. There was always one at least 4-years-old or older. Deer float around from woodlot-to-woodlot, year-to-year in our part of the northeastern Oklahoma prairie; however, we consistently get pictures of returning bucks every year. Some may disappear for a year or two only to show back up, bigger and badder than ever. Occasionally though, we will have a deer we can’t quite place come into the picture. This was one of those years.

Brian Beauchamp - Farm 10 - 01aRange-shifting whitetails in farm country are a common occurrence. Slight changes in habitat, social dynamics of the deer herd, pressure and other factors can cause a mature buck to take up residence in an area far away from he grew up or spent part of his previous year. This year, one mature buck showed up at one of the BioRock survey locations around the time most bucks had shed the velvet off of their antlers. With a much larger body size than the known 3-year-old bucks, we placed the 10-pointer in the QDM harvest range of 4.5 or older we strictly adhere to on this farm, regardless of antler size. With this strategy, we have successfully managed to keep mature bucks on the property every year despite limited cover availability.

Brian Beauchamp - Farm 10 - 02After moving cameras around trying to locate as many of the bucks using the property as possible, we noticed this buck was consistently coming out of one general area early in the evening. This gave us a great indicator of his daytime bedding location.

This bedding location just happened to be directly adjacent to where we had planted a summer’s end mix of BioLogic’s Winter Bulbs & Sugar Beets and some ‘ag’ soybeans for green browse late into the fall. After planting though, our lush, wet summer turned into a dry one. We saw successful germination and growth considering the conditions, but it got annihilated when the tenant’s cattle escaped from the confines of the nearby cattle pasture. Twenty cattle made short work of the hard work we had put in for our deer. Luckily, we had just overseeded with BioLogic’s Winter Peas and Green Patch Plus, which came in well with timely rains.

Opening Weekend of Oklahoma’s Muzzleloader Season

Brian Beauchamp - Farm 10 - 03After a long summer of collecting trail camera pictures and inventorying the bucks using the property, we felt the property had been surveyed enough to make some good management decisions. Although it was not the biggest-racked deer on the property, the big-bodied 10-pointer was at the top of the list because he fit best into the harvest age range for the property’s QDM standards of 4.5 years or older. On the second day of muzzleloader season in Oklahoma, I made my move.

1000007_10101499054040652_1189882515_nWith a fairly warm day preceding the afternoon hunt, deer activity was expected to be a little suppressed, and with an uncut bean field on the back side of the property, I was hoping to catch him moving in to feed in the early afternoon. A moment of forgetfulness on my part changed my overall strategy though. After packing everything onto and into my backpack for the hike over to the field, I found that I had forgotten my reloading bag for my muzzleloader. Without enough time to go back into town to retrieve it and still have any time to hunt, I called my dad up. Instead, he offered to bring his bag out for me to use. By the time he arrived, I had just enough time to drive around to the opposite side of the property and sneak down the draw into the treestand looking out over the tops of the trees along the fence line into the food plot.

1379396_10101499102348842_695301528_nAs soon as I reached the top of the ladder, I glanced out into the plot to see a deer with its head down, feeding. I immediately knew which deer it was; it was the porky 10-point. With tall tines waving back and forth, he was making his way toward the edge of the plot and the edge of my firearm’s range. I quickly grabbed my video camera, wedged the tripod into a whorl of limbs, hit record, aimed, and shot. It happened just that quickly; my hunt was over.

Some of the happiest and some of the worst days of my life have been spent beside this man. Grateful to no end for him always being there to share every step and show me how a man is supposed to carry himself. Thank you, Dad.  Love beyond time, ~Brian

Some of the happiest and some of the worst days of my life have been spent beside this man. Grateful to no end for him always being there to share every step and show me how a man is supposed to carry himself. Thank you, Dad.
Love beyond time,
~Brian

With a couple of fast pictures and texts, I let a few people know of my success. Pretty soon, my father was headed out with the truck as well as Beau-FO/No-Poach Pro-Staff member, Michael Munson, to come take some pictures of me with the buck. When they both arrived, it became clear to me that this was more than just a harvest, this buck was a gift. It was the culmination of hard work. It was an opportunity. It was the result of decision, timing, and luck. Most of all, it was a memory of shared appreciation, respect, and gratefulness that will be burned into our hearts and minds forever. 

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