One family’s years of chasing ends when MS hunter bags incredible buck with 300-yard shot

Winter in Mississippi can bring miserable weather and Jan. 10 was one of those days, but even so, a hunter from Raymond decided it might be just the kind of morning that would give her a shot at a huge, 140-class buck.

“I almost didn’t go because it was raining,” said Susannah Stewart. “I got back in bed.

“It was a horrible, wet day. I knew the buck so well that I knew he was unpredictable. I thought if I’m ever going to get him it’s going to be on a day like this and I ended up being right.”

The first person in Stewart’s family to see the buck was her brother, Clarke Stewart Jr., in Dec. 2022. Since he was the first to see it, the buck was reserved for him. But after two seasons of missed opportunities and close calls, the buck became fair game for anyone this season because there was a possibility of him straying onto nearby property and being harvested by someone else.

“We were so concerned about that, but he never went very far,” Stewart said. “He was old, too. We were worried he just may not make it another season. It was a family effort to get this deer.”

Rainy winter morning brings good luck

The buck was named The Bag Buck because at one time he had a plastic bag stuck on one of his antlers. The bag was long gone, but the buck was still around this season. Stewart’s father, Clarke Stewart, almost bagged The Bag Buck earlier this season, but just as he was about to shoot, someone fired a shot nearby and scared the buck away.

“It was weird,” Stewart said. “What luck.”

That luck was about to change, though. Stewart got out of bed and went hunting that morning.

“I got on the stand about 5:50,” Stewart said. “It slowed. It was a drizzle, but it never stopped raining.”

Despite the rain, Stewart started seeing activity just before 7 a.m. as does came into the field where Stewart was hunting.

“It was a group,” Stewart said. “It started off at about five, but they started trickling out of the woods and I think there were like 15 does out there.”

Mississippi deer hunter makes 300-yard shot

And Stewart wasn’t the only one watching the does. She saw the back of a deer moving through the field toward the does. She couldn’t see the deer’s head because it was lowered in tall grass, but she could tell by the size that it was a buck. Then it raised its head and Stewart realized it was The Bag Buck.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Stewart said. “I was kind of shocked. I’m like, there’s no way I’m looking at this buck.”

The buck was over 400 yards away and following the does. The does started walking away from Stewart and the buck followed. However, some of the does pivoted back toward Stewart. The buck followed the does toward Stewart, but she thought they’d go into the woods at any time and she’d lose sight of the buck.

But they didn’t and for some reason, the buck stopped and turned broadside at 300 yards. Stewart pulled the trigger on her .257 Weatherby Magnum.

“He dropped,” Stewart said. “He didn’t take another step.

“I saw the white belly and I knew it was over. I couldn’t believe it. It was like, surreal. It was like a dream.”

Hunter has mixed emotions about harvesting huge buck

It would have been like a dream for many other hunters, too. The buck had an 18-inch inside spread with 26-inch and 24 7/8-inch main beams. The right G2 was 13 inches and other tines measured between 11 1/2 and 12 inches. The total score was 145 1/8 despite having several inches of one brow tine broken off.

Taking a buck like that with the history behind him left Stewart with mixed emotions.

“I was thankful,” Stewart said. “It’s not about the killing.

“It is hard to describe. I was excited, but a little sad it was all over. The 3-year-hunt had ended.”