This may have already been discussed. but is the Buck in the article a trophy for her or is it not since he escaped from the High Fence property? Jacey Broussard doesn’t mess around when it comes to big bucks. The Louisiana native had just bought a brand new bow over the summer and had every intention of using it all season long. But the first time she saw that buck, she knew it was time to get down to business. And now she has quite the trophy to show for it. Trading her bow for a 7mm Mag, Broussard shot this 226-inch monster whitetail over Thanksgiving weekend on her father’s property near Moss Bluff in Calcasieu Parish, La. It’s a kill that almost didn’t happen. Broussard later found out that the buck — which weighed just 160 pounds — was an escapee from a fenced-in deer enclosure over a mile-and-a-half away. Escape is probably one decision the deer regretted. And therein lies the problem. The 31-point beast isn’t going in the record books, according to a report from KPLC-TV. Because the deer was tagged and owned by the RiverRoad Whitetails ranch, the deer cannot qualify as a state record. Broussard said she had tracked the buck for nearly a month on her father-in-law’s 480-acre property near Moss Bluff. She first spotted the buck while training her horse on the property, and said she couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw it. “I honestly for s second I couldn’t believe it was a whitetail,” Broussard said. “That’s how big this deer was.” For the next few months, Broussard and her family tracked the buck with trail cameras. She spotted the deer several times in a treestand set up about 26.5 yards from a feeder, but the sightings amounted strictly to close calls, including two straight days where the buck — which Jacey said “sounded like a train” coming through the brush — made an appearance close to her stand before disappearing back into the brush. Some taunting from her father-in-law, who jokingly printed off trail cam photos of the deer on Thanksgiving, only motivated her more. The following Saturday, Broussard returned to the stand, dead-set on getting the kill. At first, she said, she played on her cell phone to keep her awake and occupied, but decided to get serious at about 8:30 a.m., put her gloves on and put the phone away. “It wasn’t 10 minutes later, he comes running out to my right … and he ran between me and the feeder, and I shot him when he was running,” she said. “He jumped straight up in the air, and his left leg kind of locked up on his side and he took off running. He fell maybe 15-20 yards to my left. “It was crazy. I couldn’t believe I finally got this deer after all the hard work and my father-in-law just torturing me about it. It just still amazed me that I saw him four different times and I was the only one to see him until everybody came up to see him that afternoon.” It wasn’t long after the family discovered the buck had been tagged and was owned by RiverRoad Whitetails ranch, managed by Gene Trahan, who had done business with Broussard’s father-in-law in the past, she said, speculating that the deer had probably escaped the ranch several weeks ago when an electric fence was being renovated. Broussard said Trahan and the ranch employees have been great about the situation. In most cases, hunters who shoot tagged deer must reimburse the owner for the amount of the animal, and may be asked to return the kill. In this case, however, Broussard said Trahan was thrilled that she was the one to shoot it — he even allowed her to keep the deer, which is currently at Steve German’s Taxidermy Art in Westlake, La. The buck will soon be mounted at Broussard’s home. “They’ve been just amazing,” Broussard said the ranch officials. “… They’ve been so great about this deer.” But what about the record? Well that’s secondary, if you ask Broussard. Though she had originally heard the tag wouldn’t have mattered in Boone & Crockett scoring, that didn’t quite turn out — a tough break, considering the reigning Louisiana buck scored 195. Still, though the record eluded her, Broussard said it can’t possibly take away from the experience. “There’s nothing on Earth that can take that away,” Broussard said.
If you let her buck into the record books it would cause a major problem. What would keep people from opening a gate and having some one shoot a pen deer as it walks out. It would not have been shot inside a fence, In my opinion this would not be a good situation.
I kinda torn on this, if she killed it in the pen definately no record, BUT, she had no idea it was a pen buck before she shot it. Definitely a trophy for her, but would you be proud of the kill knowing he was a pen buck?
If the tag was obvious then no to the record book. However, there are a lot of untagged trophy deer raised on huge ranches with invisible fences called food plots and mineral sites. They are genetically engineered by receiving unlimited food supplements which no deer in the wild would ever receive. Is it a little hypocritical to allow those to become records even though not a tagged deer? I am just wondering what others may think?
Are you saying a buck that eats from a food plot and a mineral site with all the stresses of living in the wild is the same as a penned deer?
If the deer on my farm can go anywhere, eat anything, travels to parts unknown, how is giving them forage in the form of a food plot wrong?? They're already eating all the standing corn they can. That would be considered a food plot. If that's the case, then how about the corn/apple/bait piles some states can shoot over?? Are those OK since the state allows it? IMO if that is the thinking, then ALL record books should be dissolved, since most of us hunt food plots, they just happen to be corn/bean/alfalfa fields.
In my opinion that buck is without a doubt a trophy for her. I personally think the record books have lost their luster however. Record whitetail's are going to be taken every year with all the growth supplements and enhancement products available. I personally don't have a problem with this as many people work extremely hard in an effort to produce bigger bucks every year. I think it would be nice to see two separate record books. One with the records of the past (deer recorded prior to the supplement era) and records of today..
No... I am asking. After all, we have Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds to consider. Many want their records tossed out or an * added to them, yet the Game record books don't seem to take into account that there are Game ranches with some pretty sophisticated feeding supplements, steroids included, getting pumped into the deer on "their" property. The average Joe can't afford such supplements and on public land it is illegal in most places. I am just wondering if deer shot in such places should be considered on the same plane as those that the rest of us have to hunt? What if the penned deer had not been tagged and there was no evidence it was pen raised? Of course I am happy with a nice hard earned eight point in the 115 range because my hunting memories are my primary trophies.
The tough part is you will never have a completly even playing field on bucks across the country. Should some ones deer be ineligible for the books because there state allows feeding or baiting? I dont think so, if they are following the rules it should count. Not every state has the same amout of farm fields, so should a buck in the the farm lands of Iowa not count because there isnt the same food in the mountains of Pennsylvania? Obviously you can shoot a MONSTER any where,there are just more in some places than others. If it is a wild deer it should count no matter where it is shot, as long as the hunter is following the rules. If some one shot a penned deer and it wasnt tagged, there are people out there that could point out that it was a penned deer in a matter of seconds tag orno tag.
It's a pen raised deer fed on the best supplements out there. Just because it escapes (and probably did not have good survival instincts) I don't see how it should make it into any record books. Not even a question - no trophy no record books.
"Broussard said Trahan and the ranch employees have been great about the situation. In most cases, hunters who shoot tagged deer must reimburse the owner for the amount of the animal, and may be asked to return the kill." WTF !!!!!!! This got under my skin after reading it. If someone's pet deer escapes and I/anybody shot it not knowing it is someone's pet as in this case... they can go pound sand before I would ever reimburse them for the deer that is their responsibilty to be kept in their damn fence in the first place. If I knew it was an escaped, fenced deer I wouldn't shoot it in the first place !!!!!! I would be torque if I unkownly shot a "penned deer " and feed it to my family. IF I knew it was a penned deer... I would surely not eat the meat since I don't know what they are pumping into it. I would be even madder if I unknownly feed my family this enhanced meat. They would be sued when I found out !!!! If they want their deer back... they will reimburse ME for my LOSS !! The rack would mean nothing to me. I would gladly give the deer/rack back but they will pay " ME " !! They just wasted my time...no meat in the freezer... a tag which I can not get back to hunt another deer. Otherwise I accidently destroy the rack !! I don't want their enhanced deer running around in the wild. I would involve the state in it as there are laws set in place to make sure deer/elk farmer's go beyond ordinary measures to insure they livestock will not escape. I would take a sledge hammer to the rack if I was forced to pay anything or punished in anyway for accidently shooting someone's penned " CRAaP ". It is not a trophy in any sense !!!! It is not wall material !!!! It doesn't belong in any record book. I feel sorry for the girl. The whole thing reeks !! Tim
