MISTER OCTOBER

KEN COOK IS A HUNTING LEGEND WHO HAS HARVESTED DEER ALL ACROSS NORTH AMERICA, BUT HIS FAVORITE HUNTING DESTINATION IS RIGHT HERE AT HOME.

ARTICLE BY DAN CHASON | PHOTOGRAPHED BY BRAD ARENDER

When Reggie Jackson earned the name of “Mr. October” in Major League Baseball, it was because even at an advanced age, when he stepped up to the plate, he delivered. I cannot imagine the pressure to deliver at that level. The pressure to come through for the home team on a scale that large. But that parallel is true as well in the outdoors. I have hunted and fished with some legends in the hunting and fishing business since the early 1980’s. But one man that always eluded me as to his secrets was a man who much later became my friend and much relied upon expert by the name of Ken Cook.

If you want a great cup of coffee in North Louisiana, Ken’s Coffee Service is no stranger. Ken’s started up in Ken’s carport in 1978 and is very active today with an established business that has great coffee, clean filtered water coolers and water systems for homes that many people in North Louisiana rely on daily. I first met Ken in a round-about way. We were in a local sporting goods store and he was measuring a giant white tail that he had harvested. I knew right away that I needed to meet this man. I found him to be unassuming, humble and downright secretive about hunting, but very personable when approached for information. I remember one of our first conversations when I asked him about his secret. He put it quite simple: “Time in the woods brother… just time in the woods; but you gotta be sure you’re hunting where a trophy buck lives.” While most hunters can be seen burning up the woods come September when the last dove falls, Ken has already scouted, located and vacated the very woods we are stomping down. Covert Black Op cameras are put out right after turkey season on active salt licks.

When I sat down with the 70-year-old, I was amazed not only at his easy demeanor but his satisfaction that unknown to him, he has morphed into a hunting legend with little fanfare; no big backing from hunting sponsors; but still remaining one of the most tenacious and respected hunters in North Louisiana. “I started bow hunting at the age of 16 in the Jackson/Bienville Wildlife Management area and never left. My buddies and I would make bets on who would kill the biggest buck by the end of the week. I bet I walked every inch of that place but I was not going to be outdone. It was a special time with no cameras, no baiting with corn, four wheelers or anything else we have now. But I will tell you this, if I had to hunt like that now without baiting, cameras and ground blinds, I’d have to stay at the camp. Over the years the whitetail buck has learned it’s not healthy to walk his scrape lines in daylight. We hung stands we made by hand and it was a miracle we are still alive. Shimmying up a tree and staying there all day in a hand-made stand is definitely taking your life in your own hands. Back in those days if I was on a fresh scrape with large rubs, killing a buck was almost a sure thing. We killed a bunch of great deer. And I appreciate that today as I can identify with the mistakes I made then and I try not to repeat them.”

Today, you can find Ken hunting all across America and Canada chasing the elusive trophy buck. He made it quite clear that a trophy is in the eye of the beholder and made no qualms about who takes what deer when. But he did elude to the fact that his success has depended on some key factors and the most important one is the hardest one: Let them grow up. Most hunters cannot let a 3-year-old buck walk. If you can let that buck make it to 4 years plus, you are not only making the odds of taking a trophy increase, you are increasing the odds of everyone in your area having that opportunity. When I asked how to gauge the age of a 4-year-old buck he had a simple analogy: “A 4-year-old buck is like a 50-year-old man. Broad in the chest, gray at the face with a slightly sagging jaw and a full body with somewhat of a sagging gut.” Made sense to me. Ken rarely shoots a 3-year-old with his Raven cross bow. He is hunting “Grandpa.” With health issues over the last 10 years, he retired his compound bow and went with the cross bow as it was just too much. He also retired the elevated stands and only bow hunts from his Hub Ground Blinds. But that didn’t stop him from hunting the elusive trophy. As I looked at the mountain of racks he has compiled, I soon realized that his rattling horns from harvested bucks were bigger than any buck I have on the wall. When I saw his actual mounts, my mouth gaped open. Ken has quite a few 190” plus bucks from other states. His best buck from North LA scored 158” He feels if you kill a buck in his area that scores 145+ you’ve harvested a true trophy! What surprised me was that after hunting white tails all over the country, I asked him where was his favorite hunting destination. I envisioned Kansas, Canada, or Iowa. Without hesitation when asked his favorite place to hunt, he emphatically said: “Louisiana. If you take a trophy here, you have done something.” He further elaborated and said, “In Louisiana, I pile the corn to them. I call it ‘Power Corning.” If you bring the groceries and pick the right spot, you will have an opportunity if you are willing to spend the time in the blind.”

I also asked him how hunting affected his family. We all know that if “Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” But Ken smiled and said something that impressed me. “My wife Ann makes this house a home. She knows my passion for hunting and has never said a thing when she saw that fire in my eyes. She knows my passion and I assure you if she had complained I would not have taken 90% of the deer I have on the wall.” Ken never had any kids of his own but to see his face when talking about grandkids Eli and “TaTa” or Ann’s kids, Christina and husband Brad, Saloom or Ryan and wife Lori Cheek, the man’s face lights up like Christmas Day. “I’d rather be with them grandbabies than sitting anywhere hunting a 200-class buck. They are our life!”

On a side note, one thing that really caught my attention that had nothing to do with long beards or big racks was a tree in Ken’s yard. He took me outside and in his front yard was a mature oak tree. What made this tree unique was something that I did not expect. In the fork of the tree a limb was removed, and in the space where the limb met the trunk, there was of all things, a plaque. It simply read: “This live oak was planted by Ken Cook on September 11, 2001. In memory of the 2,977 lives lost that day to terrorism. Never forget.” Ken and I talked about that day and I can say one thing for certain.. it was unexpected and surreal moment.

But life is good for Ken Cook. Starting his company in 1978 and becoming the premier locally owned office coffee service was no small task. “My dad told me close to his death in 1977 to just hang in there. You got to remember that coffee prices at that time had risen from 50 cents a pound to almost $5.00 a pound. I trusted him and just put my head down and developed relationships.” Now over 40 years later, Ken has the same business relationships that he had when he started. He says the key is the same as hunting deer… keep it simple, work hard and eventually good things happen. Ken says when it comes to his business, it’s all about giving great service. I asked him to be specific when it came to what makes him successful in the woods. Being the very humble man he is, he had a simple analogy which sounded familiar to me: “Honestly, it’s just time in the woods, Dan. Get in there, find a good buck and get out of the area. Feed them good. I mean pour it to them. Once you start feeding never let it run out. If you do, you are risking losing your bucks to the guys nearest to your stand. Don’t be tromping around the woods in September and October thinking you can pattern a big buck. Get some cameras in there. Invest in hunting. Buy at least a half dozen Covert Black Op cameras and just wait. If you have scouted lanes and travel corridors and see good buck signs you are in the right spot. That buck may be working a 3-mile area. I find him in late spring and commit to an area. If you do that, you are in his bedroom. You stay with him and when he becomes huntable you’ll get him. If your cams are showing that one of your shooter bucks is moving in daylight, get on him. Don’t wait. Take off work if you can.” I asked him why most hunters rarely see or harvest the kind of bucks he routinely takes every year. His answer was simple: “Most hunters give up too early or take a younger deer too quick. At our club, you have to take at least a 4-year-old and are penalized if you take a younger buck (unless he has been preapproved from cam pics as a cull by our board of directors). We required them to send a picture of their targeted buck, then we say yes or no. Not many people can do that but that’s why we have exceptional bucks. Let the young ones grow.”
Understand that Ken can do this because he manages a large tract of land. The point he is making is that years ago the management of deer was about horn size. Now, hunters are realizing the need to manage a herd by harvesting 4-year-old deer at minimum. Ken has some advice. “Put your Hub blind southeast of your corn pile. Only hunt that stand on a good wind. Rely on your cameras and I guarantee you that you will see bucks that you never knew existed.”

Ken does not fall in the “wind machines” or “scent killing” tricks that all the outdoor shows and stores try to sell. He says, “I don’t care if you haven’t bathed in a month. If the wind is in your favor, you are going to see bucks. Pay close attention to the wind. I don’t care what the moon phase is in or what the barometer is doing. Get in your blind, make sure you have a large blind that you can retreat into the darkness. Have a good rest and be patient. Nobody can predict the time of day or when a big boy is gonna show. You just be there when he does.” I have to say that of all the outdoor deer hunting experts I have talked to and interviewed over the years, this interview has changed my attitude. Getting the right blind, staying put and leaving the area untarnished make total sense.

I can also say with confidence that come October first, there will be a hunter hidden in his ground blind with no shortage of good coffee in his thermos, a Rage broadhead loaded waiting for the next stud to call his own. He will “camp out” there when the wind is right and let some young bucks walk, see a turkey or two and maybe a hog. But that Rage will fly and he again, will drag out another trophy from the very woods we call home.