Have you ever wondered what the score was of the largest buck bagged in Coahoma County?
Richard Powell holds the record for the third best rack taken off a whitetail with a normal firearm in Coahoma County. And thanks to the Magnolia Records Program if you take a monster buck this fall, you can go on the list, too.
Powell grins when he starts telling the story of bagging his buck.
“I hadn’t scouted the area and hadn’t hunted much that year,” said Powell.
Powell’s wife was pregnant with their fourth child and he was scheduled to take his kids to the dentist later that morning. But then things started to happen.
“It was about 8:30 or 9 a.m. and I was slipping back to the truck down an old railroad track,” said Powell. “I saw movement up ahead and put the scope up.”
It was a doe, but then something moved behind her.
“I thought it was a bush with limbs and then I realized it was his rack,” said Powell. “We had already agreed to not shoot anything under a 10-point. I counted 10 points and waited for my shot.”
And things continued to happen.
Powell hunts with a .264-cal Winchester Magnum and modestly states he can shoot. He put the gun on his knee and fired.
“The deer took off and I shot again,” said Powell. “I got down to where he was and it was 285 steps.”
Powell trailed it and then looked at his watch and rounded up his hunting buddy Mattson Flowers. They trailed the deer for a time, but Powell knew he had to get home.
“This was the day and age before cell phones but we had a bag phone in the truck,” said Powell. “I walked back to the truck and tried to call home and tell them, but couldn’t get anybody, and I called everybody.”
And again things began to happen.
Powell heard Flowers shoot and figured he had killed his deer.
“I walked back to where he was and he had an 8-point on the ground,” said Powell. “I told him that wasn’t my deer.”
The property they were hunting in Roundaway had a slough and the duo followed the tracks to the edge.
Flowers had hip-waders. Powell had calf-high rubber boots.
“Mattson got out there and stomped around and shot my deer,” said Powell. “When I heard him shoot, I waded out in there.”
The two could not believe the size.
“I’ve always heard you don’t know how big they are until you get them on the ground,” said Powell. “That’s true. It was big.”
It's rack would later rate a Boone & Crockett score of 173-3/8 net and 182-7/8 gross. The symmetry of the rack makes it a true trophy.
The two did not dare to leave this deer and dragged it out by hand.
They finally called home and got “permission” to carry the deer around to show friends.
Powell later called Larry Castle with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Park to enter the deer in their Magnolia Records Program.
The antler scoring system used for the Magnolia Records Program is identical to that used by the Boone & Crockett and Pope &Young clubs. The minimum scores for the Magnolia Records Program are 125 - Typical, 155 - Non-Typical. Deer are entered by the following categories: Firearm, Archery, Muzzleloader and Picked-Up.
All white-tailed deer taken legally within Mississippi during any prior hunting season are eligible to participate in the Magnolia Records Program. All entrants meeting the minimum requirements of the Magnolia Records Program receive an official Magnolia Records Program Certificate.
Powell said he was proud of his deer and a place in the record book.
“But it’s always about the hunt,” said Powell. “It’s a great memory.”
Mississippi whitetail buck records for every county can be found at:
https://www.mdwfp.com/wildlife-hunting/deer-program/magnolia-records-program/
