While mosquitoes are long gone for many outdoorsmen come December, a Mississippi deer hunter was not so lucky.
On December 17th, Rick Dillard, of Gluckstadt, Mississppi endured quite a day in the whitetail woods. According to the Clarion Ledger, a rainstorm made for an uncomfortable morning. Lightning and thunder first came on scene around 7:30 AM, and the sky had opened up by 8 AM. Heavy rains left Dillard with few options, so he hunkered down and waited out the precipitation.
Shortly thereafter, the storm had passed, and Dillard began searching the property for deer. He found a mature buck and a doe feeding, but was never able to get a shot. The day dragged on, and Dillard did not see a shooter buck. Around 4:30 in the afternoon, the Mississippi mosquitoes began to make their move.
Being that Dillard had hunted several days in a row prior to the 17th, he was familiar with the mosquitoes. They loved to come out at this same day each night. The evening was unseasonably warm, and the morning rains made for the perfect environment for the bugs to get active.
Around 5 PM, Dillard decided he was exhausted of the mosquitoes. The whitetail hunter packed up his gear, and began to make his way back toward his vehicle. Luckily, Dillard had his rifle in hand as he walked out.
Mosquitoes Play Massive Role In Mississippi Hunter's Success
As Dillard marched his way out of the timber, he found a shooter buck where he least expected it. The Mississippi hunter, pestered by bugs and worn out from the day's hunt, glanced up while walking and saw a mature whitetail buck in front of him.
Dillard quickly grunted to get the buck to stop before it headed into the timber. He then made a lethal shot on the deer.
Being that the whole scene happened so fast, Dillard had no clue how large the deer he had shot really was. To his surprise and excitement, the buck ended up gross scoring 140 inches.
Those pesky December mosquitoes ended up pushing Dillard to the exact spot he needed to be.
