"Big Poppa," an absolutely massive buck, has officially found his place in the New York State Big Buck Club records book with a final gross score of 180 1/8. The multi-year chess match between Big Poppa and hunter Jeremy Williams came to an end last fall when Williams bagged the 12-point buck. Now Big Poppa adorns Williams's wall, a reminder of the twists and turns that led Williams to that fateful day. Williams had Big Poppa mounted by Waffy's Whitetails Taxidermy Studio, who posted about the whitetail on his Facebook page.
"Once in a lifetime surely pertains to this hunters successful 2023 NY buck season," he wrote. "I give you ....... The Jeremy Williams buck. Most have already heard the story of this well known trophy roaming the Tioga Center woods for the last several years. Seemingly having little fear, as most mature whitetails do, about being seen in daylight hours. After missing this buck the year before with bow I would imagine Jeremy wondered if he'd ever get another crack at this giant. An old boy once told me that 'A buck is born with somebody's tag already on it.' The older I get the more I truly believe this to be true. It was Jeremy's day and nothing was going to change that."
The story of Big Poppa starts on a sunny summer day in 2022. Jeremy Williams was on the Susquehanna River fishing for catfish near his home in Lounsberry, New York, when out from the tree line stepped a beautiful buck with gorgeously tall antlers in full velvet perched atop its head. Williams, 41, watched in awe as the deer meandered along the riverbank. This encounter kicked off an intense journey of cat-and-mouse which ended Nov. 18 of this year when Williams took the deer, nicknamed "Big Poppa."
As Williams told Wide Open Spaces, at first, he called the the buck "Ribcage" because his beams looked just like that bony structure. But after the passing of the property's owner, who was affectionally called "Poppa," Williams and his crew started calling the buck Big Poppa as a tribute.
Hunting "Big Poppa"
Facebook, Jeremy Williams
As a recovered addict, Williams knows the value of showing up every day and putting in the work to stay focused. He decided to keep chasing the deer, as long as it took. After his first glimpse of the deer, which at that time was an 11-point, with five on one side and six on the other, Williams set up trail cameras across his family's 500-acre parcel. By mid-October 2022, Williams was able to gain enough intel to figure out the deer's patterns and anticipate where he would show up next.
On Oct. 10, Williams had the opportunity to fling an arrow at Big Poppa. "It was perfect for a bow situation," Williams told Wide Open Spaces. "He came in about twenty yards and turned sideways. It was the perfect scenario and I completely missed him." His arrow passed about three feet above the buck's back.
That was heart-wrenching for Williams, who believed that would be his only chance at Big Poppa. The deer was known to travel across the river, road, and property lines, and several other hunters were pursuing him just as hard.
"It was a real gut-punch feeling," Williams said. "Missing an eight-point or something knocks you low, but missing something of that caliber was like double of that horrible feeling. I didn't even want to go out after that."
Neither Williams, nor his family, ever laid eyes on Big Poppa the rest of that season.
Photo Courtesy of Jeremy Williams
How Williams Bagged the Big Buck
Fast forward to 2023 and there were no Big Poppa sightings—until he showed up on camera in late summer. After that, Williams's trail cameras caught lots of images of the deer. Williams thought that this deer would certainly be harvested during bow season, but fate had something else in store.
There was one known bow season encounter with Big Poppa: When Williams's niece saw him while bowhunting but got busted by two does, who ruined the opportunity to send an arrow at the buck.
"He was a strange deer," Williams said. "He was difficult to pattern. Plus, he was light-footed and sneaky. He moved through the woods carefully, like a cat stalking a mouse. He wasn't careless. He took his time with every step."
Finally, it was opening morning of the rifle season in Tioga County. After making sure his hunting partners were settled into their spots, Williams scurried into his own spot. At that point, dawn had broken over the horizon and he didn't need a flashlight to see where he was going. He made it to his spot and began climbing the tree with his climbing tree stand.
"I was about halfway up the tree and a little out of breath, so I took a moment to sit on the back metal bar," Williams said. "I sat for a few seconds and then I heard something. I turned around and there he was about thirty yards behind me."
Williams was caught unprepared.
"He was a smart deer," Williams said. "He would take a few steps and sniff and stop. Every time he stopped, I had to be a statue."
The next two minutes passed excruciatingly slowly. Williams had to grab his .308-caliber Thompson/Center Encore and turn around to get a shot at the buck. The first shot sent the deer running down the hill. The second shot knocked him over.
Williams let out shouts of joy so loud, his neighbor could hear the celebration from across the river. When it all came together, it felt like a huge victory. If not for his continued sobriety, Williams said, he would not have been able to harvest Big Poppa.
"It was an experience that I'll never experience again," Williams said. "He was by far the hardest deer I have ever focused on. It was a blessing for sure, especially after everything that led to him."
Photo Courtesy of Jeremy Williams
Williams estimates that Big Poppa was six and half years old based on trail camera footage from his neighbor, who had caught him on camera years before.
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