JW Leonard had been hunting an elusive buck for nearly three years in Pointe Coupee Parish and finally, on Oct. 6, 2025, the buck made its appearance. This particular buck had only been seen on one camera over those three years, despite numerous deer cameras placed throughout the property.
On that Monday, Oct. 6, 2025, the buck appeared on camera at 2:30 p.m. JW noticed it and told his employee, “Look, it’s at the feeder now.” The employee urged JW to go after it, but JW hesitated, saying he would only scare it off. After several people encouraged him to go, JW finally decided to head out and arrived at his stand around 5 p.m. By 7 p.m., there was still no sign of the buck, and JW thought, “Well, he did it to me again.” But at 7:01 p.m., the giant buck appeared, offering a shot.
After taking the shot, JW climbed down from his tree stand, saw blood, and quickly left the woods. He immediately called Johnny Torres and Jacob Dedon for help tracking the massive buck. After about 30 yards of tracking, they found the monster. The buck unofficially scored 167 3/8 and weighed an impressive 216 pounds.
JW Leonard had finally taken down his dream buck.