Joseph Holloman of Quitman, Miss., and his buddy, Brian Jordan, were sharing a 38,000-acre tract of public land with about 400 other hunters during a special muzzleloader hunt in 2012. Their plan was to be in their stands before dawn, and then to rendezvous at noon.
While walking toward each other at the appointed hour, a buck jumped up between them.
“Bedded down on the side of the road was a buck with a 140-inch rack,” Joseph told John Phillips, who’s writing the story for Rack magazine. “The buck jumped up and ran right between Brian and me.”
“Brian was afraid to take the shot for fear of shooting me, and I wouldn’t take the shot for the same reason,” he continued.
The next morning, Joseph climbed into a stand from which his father had fallen the previous day. His dad had spotted a very nice buck chasing a doe there.
Early on, Joseph spotted something to his left.
Although the fog hadn’t cleared out of the little bottom he was watching, even in the low light and thick cover, he could tell he was looking at a buck with an outstanding rack.
“The buck had chocolate-colored antlers and was about 50 yards away,” Joseph said. “I used my grunt tube to try to lure it out of the brush.”
As the deer approached an opening in the thick stuff, Joseph stopped it with a grunt. A limb obscured the buck’s vitals, however, and all Joseph could do was take a deep breath.
“When the buck began walking again, I grunted just as he arrived at a second opening, about 55 yards away,” he said. “I had a clear shot, squeezed the trigger on the T/C .50-caliber rifle I had borrowed from my uncle, and saw smoke.”
Joseph listened intently and heard the deer crash in the thicket. He remained aloft until his nerves settled, and then he hooked his safety harness to his life-line and came down the tree.
Despite a lack of sign, Joseph plowed ahead to where he’d heard the crashing noise.
“The buck had run into a tree about the size of my leg,” he smiled.
With a BTR composite score of 181 1/8 inches, the Mississippi 10-pointer is a state record among Perfects listed in the blackpowder category. It’s also No. 12 in the world.