When a youth starts hunting, one of his biggest dreams is to take a deer larger than the biggest deer his Dad has ever killed. When the youth turns into a young adult, the dream of one day hanging a trophy buck next to “Dear ole Dad’s” mount burns inside like never before, growing stronger every year. For Jacques Dugas of Lafayette, LA, his dream buck would come at the ripe old age of 15—and not only was it bigger than his father Mark Dugas’ largest deer—it was the biggest one ever taken in his family.

Jacques Dugas’ story began last hunting season when he came in contact with his dream buck for three hunts in a row on his family’s private property in Avoyelles Parish. With the buck never presenting a shot that year, the hunter’s dreams for nearly 365 nights were of this deer and what it would take to get him. “We knew this deer was here and we waited until the rut was full-swing before we even attempted to go into that spot again. When we did, it was just like we left it last year; the ground was torn up and there were rubs everywhere,” explained Dugas.

On January 1, 2010, with the wind in his favor, Dugas decided it was time to hunt the Primos Double Bull ground blind they had placed in the area. At around 4:00 PM, a doe and her yearling passed by, but after they got out of sight, the afternoon went rather slowly for the hunter. Then, an hour later, Dugas saw another doe running, and knew he’d better be on high alert. It didn’t take long for action to pick up, as a large buck started making his way toward the hidden hunter. “I could see antlers coming down the trail, but I lost them for a little bit. When I finally saw them again, he was about 50 yards from me. He was being very cautious—taking a step, waiting, then taking another step; it was getting very frustrating,” laughed the young man.

Jacques Dugas and his overly impressive, 175" P&Y Avoyelles Parish buck.

Dugas knew it was a good deer, but when the buck walked through an opening and the hunter saw just how long it took him to proceed across, it set-in how big the deer’s body really was. Finally, the buck closed the distance to 25 yards, and Dugas decided to draw his bow.  As he nervously awaited, the buck closed his distance to a mere 15 yards, and after a careful examination of exactly where to place his arrow, his Matthews Switchback XT sent a 3 blade Muzzy broadhead in the buck’s direction. As the deer bounded off, Dugas immediately tried to radio his dad, Mark Dugas, to tell him the news, but there was no answer. He next tried his uncle, and when this call was answered, Dugas exclaimed, “I shot him! He’s the biggest buck I’ve ever seen!”

The reason Mark didn’t answer was simple: “I had deer all over me, but I was listening to Jacques on the radio, and I just knew. The feeling was really overwhelming!”

After the shot, it was decided that the group would meet at the camp to give the buck time to expire and the younger Dugas to calm down. “We grilled him pretty hard about his shot,” explained his dad Mark. “What he could see…how the buck reacted…stuff like that. His answers gave us hope, but you just never really know for sure.”

With the help of their tracking dogs, the buck was found not 50 yards from where the shot was made.

The Dugas Buck’s stats are as good as the story: a mainframe 10-point with two “kickers,” an inside spread that spanned 22″, massive 6″ bases, and a score of 175 1/8″ Gross P&Y. The weight of the buck was beyond impressive, registering in at a hefty 283 pounds!

Jacques Dugas (left) and his father Mark Dugas, still relishing the next day in excitement from the younger hunter arrowing this monster bayou buck.

A hunter starts his journey into deer hunting with thoughts of some day eclipsing the one who introduced him to the sport. Some hunters actually accomplish this feat, and some of us are still looking for the deer that will rest beside our hero’s trophy buck. For Jacques Dugas, that wait is over. He now has the daunting task of maintaining his high status within the family. After talking with this group of experienced hunters, I think he’ll have his hands full! BayouBucks.com sends out a big congratulations to Jacques on a job well done on taking a great Louisiana whitetail.