A whitetail fanatic himself, Jim Mercer knows many property owners with some of the best deer habitat, including food plots, riverbottoms and cottonwood patches. He has secured hunting leases on two premier properties, locking up over 8,000 acres. These farmers leave approximately 100 acres of corn each season for the deer, turkeys and upland game. The combination of abundant crops, heavy cover and low hunting pressure is the perfect formula for big bucks.
Last year, Mercer hosted two clients here on an experimental three-day hunt and both were successful in harvesting bucks. The smaller buck was a perfect 5 x 5 with an inside spread of 24 inches; the other, a massive 5 x 4 that grossed in the high 160s. Both hunters saw larger bucks, which isn't a surprise since this country has produced some monster bucks in the past. Mercer told me about a buck they found dead last season that grossed 186 points. Another buck that apparently died as a result of fighting, scored 168 points. It was the third largest in a group of five bucks that Mercer videotaped a month earlier!
Mercer plans to take between eight and 10 trophy whitetail hunters this season, which runs from December 1 to 12. Both of JMT's hunts are for five days, but if you haven't filled your tag by the end of the hunt, Mercer will allow an additional day. Expect to hunt from........(continued)
