Mississippi

‘He was just a monster.’ Mississippi teen deer hunter harvests giant 167-inch buck

Published

1 year ago

November 12, 2024

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‘He was just a monster.’ Mississippi teen deer hunter harvests giant 167-inch buck

‘It was getting darker and I had four bucks fighting in front of me. When he walked up he was on a march.’

A Mississippi teen first got a particular buck on camera two years ago and although it was a 10-point, it didn’t really stand out. Since the buck appeared to be young, the teen’s father said they should let him grow and two years later that decision paid off with a huge buck that unofficially gross-scored 167 inches.

“He was nothing special,” said Walker Hilbun, 18, of Starkville. “He was 3 1/2 (years old) and my dad said we should let him go and it was a really good thing we did.

“The next year I passed on the deer four or five times. It was extremely hard to do. It was hard to let him go last year.”

When the buck showed up on camera this summer, it was a different story.

“He was just a monster with tons of mass and tons of points on him,” Hilbun said. “I was extremely happy I let him go last year and immediately wanted to kill him this year.”

Acorns make hunting the big buck difficult

Harvesting the buck was easier said than done. Hilbun said Patterning the buck was difficult because the cameras on the Oktibbeha County property where he was hunting were set up on food plots and at a feeder, but the buck wasn’t frequenting those spots.

Instead, the buck appeared to be feeding on the early crop of acorns in wooded areas, so that’s where Hilbun focused his efforts, but the plan wasn’t working. A month into the season, Hilbun had not had an encounter with the buck.

On Nov. 1, the buck decided to eat something other than acorns. While Hilbun was hunting in a wooded area, the buck showed up on camera at a nearby food plot.

That prompted a change. Hilbun said his dad said he should hunt out of a shooting house at the food plot in case the buck came back. The following afternoon, that’s what Hilbun did.

A food plot filled with deer

“I got in the stand at 3:15,” Hilbun said. “I saw lots of deer. I ended up seeing about 30 deer in the food plot.”

And soon enough, the big buck decided to join them.

“He did pop out at 5:30, 5:35 and I watched him,” Hilbun said. “He’d feed to me and then feed back.”

The buck continued grazing in the food plot for about an hour, but stayed out of range of Hilbun’s bow. Then something happened the buck couldn’t resist.

“It was getting darker, and I had four bucks fighting in front of me,” Hilbun said. “When he walked up he was on a march.”

Hilbun said he was nervous, but he managed to stay calm until he got a shot.

“It was right before dark,” Hilbun said. “I slowly drew back and when I shot he was at 27 yards, I think. I was really confident in my shot.”

Even though Hilbun was confident in his shot, his nerves finally got the best of him.

“I was really shaken up,” Hilbun said. “I was super nervous.”

Long, sleepless night ends with buck of Mississippi hunter’s dreams

Hilbun said he didn’t track the deer that evening because he didn’t want to risk jumping the buck before it expired. He didn’t have to worry about the meat spoiling because the temperatures went down into the low 60s that night.

Even so, it was a long night. Hilbun said he didn’t sleep as he replayed the shot in his mind over and over. The following morning, a handler came with a tracking dog to help with the recovery and it wasn’t long before Hilbun put his hands on the buck.

“It was the best moment in my life, probably,” Hilbun said. “He was just as big as I thought he was. I was really shaken up and excited.”

And there was a lot to be excited about. The buck had 11 points plus a kicker on one of his brow tines. The inside spread was 17 3/4 inches. The G3s measured over 7 inches and the other nine points racked up inches as well.

And the mass was, well, massive. Hilbun said the total circumference measurements came to roughly 40 inches with a total rough score of 167.

The buck is the biggest he’s ever taken and he realizes he may never harvest another of that size. However, that doesn’t mean Hilbun won’t try.

“It’s probably not super likely, but I can’t kill one if I don’t hunt,” Hilbun said.

Do you have a story idea? Contact Brian Broom at 601-961-7225 or bbroom@gannett.com.

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Mississippi

Mississippi Lottery Mississippi Match 5, Cash 3 results for Nov. 27, 2025

Published

8 hours ago

November 28, 2025

Press Room

Mississippi Lottery Mississippi Match 5, Cash 3 results for Nov. 27, 2025

The Mississippi Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Nov. 27, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Mississippi Match 5 numbers from Nov. 27 drawing

04-05-29-30-34

Check Mississippi Match 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash 3 numbers from Nov. 27 drawing

Midday: 7-7-0, FB: 2

Evening: 2-9-6, FB: 8

Check Cash 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash 4 numbers from Nov. 27 drawing

Midday: 4-1-2-6, FB: 2

Evening: 4-1-1-7, FB: 8

Check Cash 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash Pop numbers from Nov. 27 drawing

Midday: 02

Evening: 11

Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Story continues below gallery.

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

Winnings of $599 or less can be claimed at any authorized Mississippi Lottery retailer.

Prizes between $600 and $99,999, may be claimed at the Mississippi Lottery Headquarters or by mail. Mississippi Lottery Winner Claim form, proper identification (ID) and the original ticket must be provided for all claims of $600 or more. If mailing, send required documentation to:

Mississippi Lottery Corporation

P.O. Box 321462

Flowood, MS

39232

If your prize is $100,000 or more, the claim must be made in person at the Mississippi Lottery headquarters. Please bring identification, such as a government-issued photo ID and a Social Security card to verify your identity. Winners of large prizes may also have the option of setting up electronic funds transfer (EFT) for direct deposits into a bank account.

Mississippi Lottery Headquarters

1080 River Oaks Drive, Bldg. B-100

Flowood, MS

39232

Mississippi Lottery prizes must be claimed within 180 days of the drawing date. For detailed instructions and necessary forms, please visit the Mississippi Lottery claim page.

When are the Mississippi Lottery drawings held?

Cash 3: Daily at 2:30 p.m. (Midday) and 9:30 p.m. (Evening).
Cash 4: Daily at 2:30 p.m. (Midday) and 9:30 p.m. (Evening).
Match 5: Daily at 9:30 p.m. CT.
Cash Pop: Daily at 2:30 p.m. (Midday) and 9:30 p.m. (Evening).

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Mississippi editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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Mississippi

Mississippi barn where Emmett Till was killed to open as memorial site

Published

1 day ago

November 27, 2025

Press Room

Mississippi barn where Emmett Till was killed to open as memorial site

The Mississippi Delta barn where 14-year-old Emmett Till was brutally beaten and killed will be open to the public as a “sacred” memorial site by 2030, the Emmett Till Interpretive Center announced.

The barn, located in a rural area outside the city of Drew, was purchased Nov. 18. The Emmett Till Interpretive Center announced the purchase Sunday, Nov. 23 — the birthday of Till’s mother, Mamie Till-Mobley.

The acquisition was aided by a $1.5 million donation from television producer and writer Shonda Rhimes.

The center will reportedly have the barn under 24-hour surveillance, and the property will be equipped with floodlights and security cameras for precautionary measures.

The center plans to open the barn as a memorial by the 75th anniversary of Till’s lynching.

“(The barn) will be preserved not merely as a structure, but as sacred ground — a place where truth can live without fear of being forgotten,” the center wrote in news release. “We did not save this place to dwell in grief. We saved it so that truth could keep shaping us.”

What happened to Emmett Till

Till was 14 when he traveled from his hometown of Chicago to Mississippi to visit relatives in 1955. Till was accused of flirting or whistling at Carolyn Bryant, a white woman working at a grocery store in rural Mississippi. In the overnight hours of Aug. 28, 1955, Till was taken from his uncle’s home at gunpoint and beaten by two vengeful white men, one of whom was the husband of Bryant.

Three days later, a fisherman on the Tallahatchie River discovered the teenager’s bloated and disfigured corpse. Till’s mother, Mamie, demanded that her son’s mutilated remains be taken back to Chicago for a public, open casket funeral that was attended by tens of thousands of people.

Graphic images taken of Till’s remains, sanctioned by his mother, were published by Jet magazine. Since then, Till’s name has become synonymous with the Civil Rights Movement and how the United States has dealt with race relations.

Till’s mother was a civil rights activist in the aftermath of her son’s death and died in 2003.

“To walk through the barn’s doors, one might think of Emmett’s voice calling for his mother in the dark — and of Mamie, hundreds of miles away in Chicago, transforming that cry into a call the world could hear. Her decision to open her son’s casket was not an act of despair but of fierce faith — faith that seeing would lead to understanding, and understanding to change,” the center said.

“That faith still calls to us. The barn carries her same charge: to help the world see.”

Pam Dankins is the breaking news reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Have a tip? Email her at pdankins@gannett.com.

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