John Wallace “JW” Jones, 15, of St. Francisville harvested a piebald 6-point buck in West Feliciana Parish on Dec. 23. The evening before the hunt, his father, Bennett Jones, captured a picture of the deer at 5:10 p.m., marking the first time the buck appeared on their lease. Unbeknownst to them, a friend had the same piebald buck on camera for the past three years approximately one mile away in neighboring East Feliciana Parish.
Wanting an opportunity at the deer, JW insisted on hunting the area the following afternoon. Although Bennett was unsure the buck would return, he encouraged his son to give it a try.
JW left camp at 2 p.m. and was in the blind by 2:15. The hunt remained slow, and by 5:20 p.m., JW had not seen a deer and texted his father expressing his disappointment. Bennett responded with encouragement, reminding him that anything could happen in the final minutes of shooting light.
At 5:32 p.m., JW texted that he could see a buck approaching. Less than a minute later, Bennett heard the shot. JW immediately called to report that he had shot the piebald buck, but the deer did not go down. His father instructed him to remain in the blind and wait for him to arrive.
Immediately after, Bennett called his wife, Amy, to let her know that JW had shot a once-in-a-lifetime buck and asked her to say a quick prayer that the shot was true and the deer would be recovered.
Approximately 35 minutes later, Bennett and their friend Jack, who had the buck on camera for the past three years, arrived at JW’s location and began searching for blood. After several minutes, none was found. JW remained confident, stating that he saw the deer jump and falter at the shot.
After roughly 15 minutes of searching the immediate area, the group moved about 50 yards in the direction the deer had traveled. Within minutes, JW spotted the buck lying dead approximately 65 yards from the shot location. The 7mm-08 bullet struck both lungs, but there was no exit wound, resulting in no blood trail. Excitement set in for the group as they admired the once-in-a-lifetime hunting achievement.
The buck was recovered and will be full-body mounted and displayed proudly in the Jones family home.