Antler damage caused Hal Kent to miss out on his top Mississippi target in 2023, but he made up for it in a big way this season.
January 24, 2025
By Clifford Neames
Hal Kent was after an unusual Mississippi buck in the 2023 season. He had trail camera pictures and his sheds from the year before, and the buck was firmly on his hit list as a solid 150-inch deer. Then, inexplicably, the deer’s rack began disintegrating.
“There were big black areas which must have been weak,” Kent remembered. “He was breaking off pieces and ended up with nothing but parts of each beam and not much else. I’d never seen or heard of anything like it.”
That major damage ended any chance of the buck being killed by Hal or anyone else, and after the season ended he searched until locating the sheds. When compared to the earlier ones, it was hard to imagine they were from the same buck.
Hal was anxious to see what the buck would look like in 2024, and its emerging rack did not disappoint. By mid-summer, he was showing 160s — and then two droptines appeared.
“Because of what had happened the year before, I decided to hunt him in the early velvet season,” Hal explained. “And that almost worked out. He came in to 20 yards, but he was facing me. He looked like a real giant, then he turned and walked away without any chance of a shot.”
The big deer was living in a five-acre thicket in a 20-acre piece of woods. Tight quarters! Hal wondered if he would get another opportunity before the deer might bust up his antlers again. Then, a buddy rode his four-wheeler nearby and the giant showed up on a trail camera 1,000 yards away.
Setting his anxiety aside, Hal kept hunting. For two days, the target buck was missing. Then, Hal set up in a climbing stand in a pinch point on October 23rd. It was a warm morning — typical of fall in Mississippi — but the wind was in his favor.
A mainframe 10-point, the buck featured split brows, stickers on both G2s, and two droptines. It added up to an impressive 201 5/8 inches. Two hours into his sit, he spotted the bruiser on a trail that led directly to his stand. His luck was about to change!
From the first look, he could tell that there was no issue with the massive rack. The buck was steadily closing the distance between them, and when it got to 15 yards it stopped and turned broadside. With all of its vitals exposed, Hal sent his broadhead in to do the dirty work. The huge buck burst forward, then crashed in 30 yards!
The dark-racked mainframe 10-point features split brows, stickers on both G2s, and two distinctive droptines. It all added up to 201 5/8 inches, a considerable jump from the year before.