Mississippi Hunter Shoots 200-Plus-Inch Velvet Deer on Her 2-Acre Estate

On September 14, Robbie Status tried to convince his wife, Susie Status, to join him at their deer camp near Utica, Mississippi. But Susie had other plans.

“I told him no, I was going to hunt ‘Big Boy,’ the deer I’d been watching since early July,” Susie said. Outdoor living.

The Statuses live in the small Warren County community of Bovia. They have a home on two acres in the country, and Susie says there is plenty of undeveloped land around the property.

“There’s a lowland area behind our house and for 20 years I’ve been seeing deer there regularly around the oaks and shrubs,” she explains. “But this past July I saw a really big male that was much bigger than the other 8-pointers he was hanging around.”

Susie often watched the deer as it passed through their property and decided to purchase an early season velvet deer tag. The special three-day season began in 2022 and ran from September 13-15 this year.

“I waited all afternoon for ‘Big Boy’ on opening day,” Susie says. “But he never showed up. I was determined to hunt again the next day, but Robbie wanted me to go with him to our hunting camp in Utica. I said, ‘No, go ahead, I’ll hunt here at home.’”

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Susie waited most of the day for the big velvet deer.

“I just knew he was going to show up, and sure enough, at 6:20 p.m. he showed up,” Susie says. By then, Robbie had returned from deer camp. He was asleep on a nearby chair. “I told Robbie he better wake up and check this out.”

Her plan was to lean against the door frame to steady her crossbow, but as she took aim, a rocking chair on the porch blocked her shot.

“I had to get off the porch and stand on a sidewalk and take a shot freehand,” she explains. “The deer was eating some grass. He stopped, raised his head and looked at me. Then I shot. He was only 25 yards away and the arrow went right through him.”

Robbie was looking out the window as she fired. They both knew the deer had been hit well, but decided to wait until the next night.

“Right after sunrise we went after him and found him piled up behind our shed,” Susie said.

Susie says the deer weighed in at just over 300 pounds. It has 15 points, with four drop tines, including one that was 5 inches long. The deer was roughly scored at 213 inches, and Susie thinks the atypical antlers could score even higher. She says a state biologist and official scorer will come check the antlers after the 60-day drying period is over.

“Our taxidermist says the velvet is completely intact, no tears. So it looks great as a mount,” Susie says. “I want my Big Boy mount to face the spot where he was shot. That way he can see his offspring walking around for years to come.”