Ben Plumlee's 155 5/8 typical from Baxter County was the No. 1 blackpowder buck killed in Arkansas last season. Photo courtesy of Ben Plumlee.

For the last decade, hunters in the state of Arkansas have averaged taking three to four bucks annually that score high enough to make the all-time records list of the Boone and Crockett Club. That number was dead on for the 2008-09 season, with four Natural State mega-bucks taken! While it is my personal observation that the overall number of big deer statewide may be down slightly from 2007-08, there's still a lot of cream at the top of our state's deer gene pool!

One other observation: As I've said for the last 10 years, this is one of the most enjoyable articles I write. Why? Because it gives me a chance to meet some of the very best people in this entire state! That's certainly the case with the hunters highlighted here, and with a lot of others I've met in recent months as well!

The highest-scoring buck overall for 2008-09 was a 209 0/8 non-typical taken down in Phillips County by Davis Smith of White Hall. It and another Booner, a 174 2/8 typical taken by Frank Foster of Mena, will be featured in future issues of Arkansas Sportsman, so I won't cover them here. But don't worry; there still are plenty of quality deer to write about!

JEREMY McMAHAN
179 4/8 Typical Gun Kill Desha County
Jeremy McMahan, 33, lives in Tupelo, Miss., where he makes designer furniture from Mississippi River driftwood and deer antlers. He does his actual deer hunting on Concordia Rod & Gun Club, a private club located inside the Mississippi River levee. That club is on the Arkansas side of the old river channel, which explains why his buck is considered as having been killed in Arkansas.

Some years back, Jeremy became enthralled with big deer, which is somewhat natural for someone hunting in the delta region. Kansas to Saskatchewan, deer are what they eat, and there is virtually an unlimited food source throughout the region.

Back during the second week of dove season, Jeremy saw a huge buck. He immediately began scouting the area, and before opening day of bow season put up several stands in locations the monster seemed to frequent. One of those was along the edge of a cotton field. Jeremy saw the big buck from that stand, but it was too far for a bowshot.

When gun season opened, family duties kept Jeremy close to home for the first few days, but on Sunday, Nov. 9, he was able to hunt the afternoon. He returned to the stand by the cotton field, only to find that the cotton stalks had been cut. That pushed him back to a stand near the field where he had first seen the buck.

"I wasn't really expecting to see him in that open field," Jeremy told me, "but as more and more deer filtered into it, my anticipation grew. Then at 4:55, the big buck followed eight does and an 8-point into the field! He was about 300 yards away, so I waited to see if he would come closer."

A little after 5 p.m. the light was starting to fade and Jeremy knew the time had come. The buck was about 250 yards away when he raised his Browning .30/06 and fired. The mortally wounded animal ran only 100 yards into the surrounding woods before crashing to the ground!

The 5x5 Desha County buck had been eating a lot of beans, tipping the scales at 232 pounds. In January, Jeremy carried the rack to the Big Buck Classic in Little Rock, where it was officially scored at 179 4/8 typical points! That figure will make it the largest typical taken in the state last fall, and Arkansas' No. 14 buck of all time!

"I had intended on hunting Thursday, Friday and Saturday," Jeremy recalled, "but my wife, Catherine, needed help at home with our two young children. So that Sunday afternoon was the first time I got to go. I believe that God blessed me for getting my priorities right and putting my family first!"