NATCHEZ — Layne King almost didn’t kill his first trophy buck.

Just a few minutes before he took his shot, Layne was fast asleep.

“We got in the stand at daylight and we had sat there until about 8:30 a.m. and Layne fell asleep,” said Jay King, Layne’s father. “He was actually sleeping on my lap and the deer came out at 9:15 a.m.”

A few seconds later, Layne was wiping his eyes and into focus came a seven point buck.

“I could hardly see because my dad just woke me up and my eyes were still blurry when I first saw it,” Layne said. “I was thinking, I hope I shoot it in the right place. And I hit him in the perfect spot.”

Layne took his shot, and hit the buck. Then, it was a matter of tracking it down.

“The deer jumped straight up and took off running,” Jay said. “He ran about 30 yards or so.”

When the two approached the animal, Layne’s excitement was obvious, but so was his father’s.

“It was really exciting,” Jay said. “I think I was more excited than he was.”

But Layne was happy as well.

“I didn’t see the deer laying on the ground because he ran into the woods,” Layne said. “But I was really happy because I thought it was a six pointer, and I found out that it was really a seven pointer.”

Although Layne already has a buck for the trophy case, he is hoping to go bigger and better before the season closes.

“I’m hoping to get an eight or 10-pointer soon,” Layne said.