An Outdoorsman’s Journal

By: Mark Walters

Deep South Deer Hunt

Hello friends, I have a solid appreciation for both the people of the southern United States and the lay of the land, which creates a true adventure for an outdoorsman like me. This week and next I will be writing to you about my annual journey to Delta National Forest in western Mississippi where I would hunt and camp together with my brother Tom Walters who lives near Denham Springs, Louisiana.

Wednesday, December 25 High 58, low 40

As you will find out over the next 2 weeks, much of this adventure was about the drive to and from Mississippi while pulling my 14-foot 7,000 pound enclosed trailer rigged for camping. I left my home in Wisconsin on Christmas Eve afternoon with my trusty companions Ruby and Red “goldens.” As always when motoring that far, 950 miles, crap happens, but as it seems to be the case for the last 35 years, I made it from Point A to Point B.

Delta National Forest near Rolling Forks has become one of my go to places for a southern getaway and that is because it is beautiful, remote, has some big bucks and I have made some good friends down there that I literally met in the woods 4 years ago. The following spring they came up to Juneau County and did some serious turkey whacking.

The drive was a challenge as the road construction in some parts seemed to make the road narrower than my trailer and in one stretch it was for 50 miles. When I arrived where Tom and I would camp for the next 7 days all I cared about was making a quick camp, getting my skiff in the water and paddling to where I whacked a real nice buck last year. In this hunt I would be using my Bar 300. Here are the rules for harvesting a deer on this hunt; no does can be taken and two bucks which must have either an inside spread of 15-inches or an antler length of 18-inches may be harvested. My license was good for 7-days and cost $300, which for the year of 2024 would put me at just over $2,000 in hunting and fishing license fees. In reality, on this hunt, I want to smoke 2 bucks and hopefully a wild boar but the real goal was met once I put the truck in park, built camp and paddled to paradise well aware that Tom and I would have a great time whacking or not whacking.

The dates of this hunt coincide with what is generally peak rut here and last year I did harvest a buck with an 18-inch spread with antlers that measured 21-inches in length.

I paddled exactly to where I hunted last year and after I walked about 500-yards through a beautiful forest with some of the trees bigger around than a pickup truck, my mood was about as Christmas Day perfect as it could be.

I would be hunting on the ground and was on my hands and knees cleaning out every noise making leaf which had just fallen a week earlier when I noticed movement about 75-yards away. It was a buck. I picked an opening and could see it was a dandy and I could have sent him to heaven but was not sure if he met the shooting requirements. I picked another opening and figured he had the antler length but was still not confident. The buck had no clue I was there and so I passed. Not 2 seconds later I saw another dandy which was skirting the first buck and maybe a 90-yard shot. I was not confident. I was literally on my hands and knees and I passed.

That experience which 5 minutes later I was well aware of could have resulted in a trophy down, gave me a no regrets and a great feeling at dark as I hiked back to my duck skiff which unfortunately had a solid leak and paddled back to camp in an excellent mood. It’s not about the killing, it’s about the hunting.

Tom would arrive the next day. I would visit my friends from the Dustin Hariel deer camp many times and these guys are about as cool and tough as it gets. When the pups and I hit the rack that night after one heck of a long 36 hours, the trip was already a success.

Live til you die! Sunset

These boys from Mississippi are hard hunters and love to play in the water.

For most of our hunts we travel by skiff or canoe.

Brothers Tom and Mark Walters have been hunting and fishing together all of their lives.