The month of January, 2010, was probably the most emotional time ever in the life of Jason Smigura of Marksville, La.  Just a month before, on December 15, 2009, he lost his Dad, David Smigura Sr. of Centerpoint, La., and was at the lowest point that he had ever been.  Life is funny how things can change, and on January 9, 2010, his life went from the bottom to the top in ten short minutes.

Jason Smigura’s big change came when a monster Avoyelles Parish buck showed his face to him for the first time.  “I had never seen the buck before.  Afterwards, I heard someone about four miles away had some pictures of him, but I never even knew he was around,” laughed Smigura.  That afternoon started like any other hunting trip the Avoyelles Parish farmer had experienced.  After arriving at his stand at a few minutes after 3:00 P.M., he watched a few does and expected the day to be like all the rest, but at 5:38 P.M., life threw him a hanging curve ball and he knocked it out of the park.  “I saw the buck come out and I could see his large main beams.  It was getting pretty dark, so I went ahead and took the first shot he gave me,” Smigura recalls.  After getting the buck in his scope, he squeezed his .45-70, and watched as the buck ran off.  After trailing him for nearly thirty yards, Smigura couldn’t believe what he saw.  “The first thing I thought was ‘What’s wrong with his rack?’, but then I realized just how many points he had.  I was emotional; I started to cry because I had lost my Dad just a few weeks before.  Man, I wish he could have seen that deer.  It’s almost like he sent that deer to me.  He loved to hunt and he would have been proud of that buck,” Smigura said.  He immediately called a buddy for some assistance and before long, he had more than enough willing hands to help.  “The stand was only about 50 yards behind my house, so when I made it back, there were several guysnthere waiting to see the deer,” Smigura laughed.  The buck had a unique rack to go along with a touching story.  He had 15 points, weighed 270lbs., and had a green score of 183 6/8″.  “If I never kill another good buck, I’m still happy.  This buck is probably the best I’ll ever do, but I’m still going to hunt though, that’s for sure!” exclaimed Smigura.

Jason Smigura shows off the brute that he killed in January of 2010 in Avoyelles Parish.

Life is like a wheel, one moment your down and the next moment you’re riding high.  For Jason Smigura, it didn’t take long for that wheel to rotate from the bottom to the top.  Great stories like this don’t come around everyday, but when it does; the happiness it brings to a person is infectious.  The members of BayouBucks.com send out big congratulations to Jason and we all wish him the best this hunting season.