It’s Not Over ’til the Arrow Sings
By Lisa Price
For many years, Jared Trosclair of Lutcher, Louisiana, was content to pursue whitetails in his home state. The self-described ne’er-do-well ate, slept and breathed deer hunting, but success often eluded him.
But then he met Sidney and Gail Meacham, the couple he credits with upping his game.
“I was the biggest deer hunting enthusiast I knew before I met them,” Jared said. “They are really good at scouting and narrowing down the best locations for stands. They taught me a lot.”
Before he met his new mentors, Jared had endured more than his fair share of hard knocks.
“For example, while drawing my bow at a 10-pointer in 2014, the arrow came off the rest. I tried to push it back on, to stay drawn, but the arrow fell, ruining my chance,” he said.
Also during the pre-Meacham period, Jared frequently left behind key bits of hunting gear. That has changed.
“Now I’m an OCD hunter who checks everything,” he said.
“When you’re bowhunting, the odds aren’t in your favor,” he continued. “I was doing things that made the odds even worse, and was learning the hard way to work for that moment when everything does go right.”
Jared and the Meachams joined a hunting club in Jefferson County, Mississippi. Although it was a three-hour drive from his home, Jared felt the amenities and layout of land at the club made the trip well worth it, despite his busy academic schedule.
He was pursuing his master’s degree in business administration.
“There’s probably about 1,500 acres total, with 800 owned and the rest leased,” he said. “About 600 acres are set aside for bowhunting, and that’s where I spend most of my time.”
His friends’ trail cameras captured several images of deer before the 2015 season opened, and he’d picked out a dandy.
“I was hunting a 10-pointer that we’d gotten on camera. I thought it would score between 150 and 160,” he said.
On Dec. 7, 2015, Jared grabbed his Mathews bow and headed to one of Gail’s food-plot stands. Two separate hardwood ridges sloped downward into that plot, which meant bucks could eye-check the field from two vantage points without having to step into the open.
“I hadn’t been in the stand five minutes when a little yearling doe came into the plot,” he said. “Then I thought I heard rattling, real faint.”
The sound of antler touching antler didn’t sound like an all-out buck brawl. It was gentler.
“I took out my call and grunted a few times,” Jared said. “Within a few minutes, two more does came into the plot and started to feed.
“I almost shot one of them when she presented a good target, but thank God I didn’t,” he said. “Just when I was thinking I probably shouldn’t shoot her, I looked up and saw this big buck in the woods on the far side of the plot, about 100 yards away.”
Jared had taken only one deer, a 4x4, with his bow at that point. He says he was inexperienced, but well coached by the Meachams.
“They are great teachers, and at that moment I remembered them saying that whenever you see a big buck, do not look at it. Do not look at the body or the antlers. Just focus on when and how you can make a shot,” he said. “I tried to make myself do that, and things happened fast.”
When the buck chased one of the does out of the food plot, Jared’s heart sank.
“I thought Man, she’s gonna run right up that ridge, her boyfriend’s gonna go with her, and I’m not going to get a shot,” he said. “But the buck stopped and stood at the edge of the food plot.
“Then, for some reason, the doe came back to the plot and began walking down the tree line right toward me, the buck behind her,” he said. “When I got the chance to draw, I made the 35-yard shot; really put it to him.”
Only after the deed was done did Jared realize he hadn’t seen that deer in the trail cam photos.
“That wasn’t the buck I was hunting,” he said. “His rack was totally different.”
Jared’s first call – or text: Bring Striker to your food plot – was to Gail.
Striker is Gail’s black lab, which is great at trailing deer.
Jared had found his arrow and plenty of blood in the food plot, but he wanted a little insurance. He wanted to be careful and as cautious as possible.
Plus, he really wanted Gail to be there.
“The first thing I thought was, I’m gonna call Miss Gail,” he said. “Also, she and Sidney had told me the biggest mistake you can make is to check too soon, that these big deer might just keep going if you jump them.”
The Meachams arrived 45 minutes later, dog in tow.
“We started in the food plot, and Striker took the trail about 80 yards,” he said. “Turns out, I’d made a very good shot.”
Gail’s reaction to the 23-pointer spoke volumes.
“That’s when I realized how big it really was,” he said. “A lot of deer shrink on the ground. Not this one. It grew.”
Another hunter at the club had taken a doe, and soon everyone was together.
“The celebrating was a lot of fun,” Jared said. “It was pretty awesome.”
“People were saying I’d never top that, but I’m actually more of a fan of Typicals. I love symmetrical racks,” he said. “I might not get a deer that scores higher, but they are all unique. Believe me, I’m not going to give up hunting!”