Dave Jones

The Dave Jones BuckNot only had Dave Jones seen the giant Illinois record-breaking buck before, he had actually missed it in 2002 with his bow due to a devastating equipment malfunction. That miss haunted him for almost a year, and he vowed at that moment to do whatever it took to claim that buck for his wall.

This buck was not only known to Dave, but most of the hunters in the county knew of the buck. He had been hunted hard for several years and was a legendary buck around campfires throughout the area.

Days after missing the deer, Dave developed some film taken by his trail camera. There in print, was a picture of that same giant buck that had evaded his arrow. It was almost as if the deer was taunting him. He kept the image on his refrigerator as motivation for his quest. As the months passed, he’d find himself pausing to look at the photo or taking it down and staring at it over a cup of coffee.

When his birthday came around in March 2003, Dave’s girlfriend Lisa surprised him with a unique birthday cake. She had taken the picture of the non-typical buck to the baker, who duplicated it in icing on the cake.

You can only guess what he wished for when he blew out his candles. The following bow season, his birthday wish would come true, but not without a lot of hard work, planning and dedication on Dave’s part.

Dave completely changed his equipment setup and practiced and practiced until he had worn out a set of carbon arrows and “Robin Hooded” four arrows.

After moving his stand to an ideal spot approximately 50 yards from its original location, Dave stayed away from it all summer long. He bid his time until the first cold snap of the season. When he felt the chill in the air, he knew the time was right.

He climbed in his stand and within moments, he watched a flurry of deer activity. After seeing several small deer darting out of the woods, he spotted his coveted trophy walking out into a small pasture just 200 yards in the distance. Dave clashed together a set of rattling antlers causing the buck to stop and look his way, but the buck continued on his path across the pasture away from the stand.

After several minutes had passed and seeing nothing, Dave turned around and hung his bow up on the hanger by his stand. When he turned back around, he spotted the massive buck only 100 yards away standing there in the open pasture. Then, the buck began to slowly move in his direction. Now the monster buck was out of the pasture and in the dense woods where Dave was set up. When the deer stopped in front of a large limb, Dave seized the moment to draw his bow. The buck began walking and stopping periodically, but Dave couldn’t find an opening to shoot through. Finally, the buck stepped up on a dirt mound only 18 yards away from the stand offering Dave the perfect shot, which of course he took. "When he stepped up on that mound and gave me a clear shot, I introduced him to Mr. Muzzy", said Jones.

Feeling the punch of the Muzzy broadhead, the buck spun around and ran back across the open pasture in the direction of its bedding area. Dave inspected the arrow, which was covered with blood, but he wasn’t sure if he had double-lunged the deer or not. So, the seasoned hunter made the wise decision to wait until dark to go after the buck. He called his friend Dan Lowman for help, and when darkness fell, the two went in search of the deer. The blood trail was not hard to find, and in a matter of minutes, they were able to walk up to the buck which lay still in the moonlight. Dave smiled when he realized his Muzzy broadhead had done its job well.

Fumbling with excitement, the elated hunter struggled to count the points on the rack, but there were so many that he kept losing track. Finally, he counted 36.

When he eventually got the 7 ½-year-old deer scored, he was thrilled to find out that the buck’s 267 1/8 net inches beat the old Illinois state record of 251 6/8 inches. In fact, Dave had taken the #4 non-typical archery buck in the entire world. The massive buck grossed 293 4/8 inches, had an 18 2/8-inch inside spread, a 27 2/8-inch outside spread and 7-inch bases. A year’s worth of planning and wishing had definitely paid off. Very few bowhunters get a second chance on any game animal, but Dave Jones' determination got him a second chance, the #4 Pope & Young Non-Typical in the world, and secured himself a spot in the Muzzy 200 Club.

Dave Jones trail camHere is the trail camera photo mentioned earlier. The buck was caught on film about 12 hours before Dave Jones missed with his first shot at the monster. Jones harvested the buck a year after this photo was taken. Dave estimates that the buck added around 30 inches of antler mass making him a 200 class buck at the time of the photo.