Cheri Hillebrandt's 2015 Christmas present might not have been wrapped in pretty paper and ribbons of blue, but it wore a very big bow.
The gift from her husband, Brad, was actually a deer hunt at Giles Island near Natchez. It's nearer the Louisiana side of the Mississippi River, but it's considered Mississippi. Brad had hunted there 15 times before taking his new bride.
Cheri had much better luck. She opened yet another present within just a few hours of arriving at the lodge.
As is the rule on the island, she and Brad were accompanied by a guide on that unseasonably hot afternoon. The management program is strict there, and all hunters have guides who must give a thumbs-up before shots are taken.
About 4 p.m., the guide whispered to Cheri and pointed to a shooter buck approaching from 500 yards. He'd seen the whitetail during an earlier hunt, but not in range.
Cheri trained her binoculars on the deer.
"As soon as I saw that buck, I was unable to breathe," she told John Phillips, who's writing her story for Rack magazine.
The deer ultimately came within range, and Cheri shot it with the .270 she was given as a wedding present. The buck kicked, ran about 50 yards and fell over dead in the food plot.
"I thought, I'm going to wake up, and this dream will be over," she admitted.
Cheri says hers is the largest Typical ever taken at Giles Island, by bow or gun, which is why the lodge is having the antlers replicated. The deer was 5 1/2 years old and weighed 225 pounds. Its BTR composite score is 185 3/8 inches.
I met Cheri in Bastrop, Louisiana, last spring, when her 9-pointer garnered second place in the womens division of Simmons' Sporting Goods' big buck contest. The prizes are always awarded the first Saturday in March.
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When Stars and Buzzards Align: Matthew Colvin / BTR Composite Score: 204 5/8