Father and Son Tag a Pair of Big Sooner State Bucks

Paul Powers hadn’t personally targeted a specific buck in a few years, but this 182 4/8-inch-grossing typical got his attention this fall. Photo courtesy of Paul Powers.

The Powers family of Oklahoma is no stranger to the Realtree Rack Report. Paul Powers was featured in a Rack Report in 2018 with his 186 4/8-inch buck, and his wife, Jaicee, made the lineup last fall with her 160-inch archery buck. This year, Paul and his son, Jaxon, both took outstanding bucks soon after the Oklahoma archery opener. Jaxon’s buck had the largest body of any deer the Powers clan has ever taken, and Paul’s buck pushed 180 inches as a typical.

Paul spent the spring and summer patterning a deer he’d known as “Basket” for the last three seasons. Intentionally, he had passed the buck in 2022 and 2023 in hopes that it would push the envelope and reach mega-status. The buck did just that this season.

“I got pictures of him right away in the summer,” Paul said. “I didn’t think he was as big as he turned out to be because I never really got a great picture. He was always turned just right, making it difficult to tell what he was. I thought about letting him go and having my cousin’s son hunt him.”

The buck has it all: long beams, solid mass, and tall tines. Talk about a bowhunter’s dream buck. Photo courtesy of Paul Powers.

Paul moved some cameras around and tried to get better pictures of the buck. Lo and behold, he captured some, and they showed that the deer was better than Paul had originally thought. Since he hadn’t hunted a particular buck for himself in a couple years, Paul decided he would pursue this deer.

“He didn’t show up the first afternoon I hunted him,” Paul explained. “The second afternoon, a buck I call Basket Jr. came in. He resembles Basket, but he’s two years younger and quite a bit smaller. Next, a buck I call Leaper, who Basket ran with, came in. When he appeared, I was pretty sure I’d be getting an opportunity. I was hunting in a persimmon thicket, and I had four does right around me. Basket appeared to my left about 17 yards away. I was self-filming, and I wasn’t very high up because there weren’t any big trees to set up in. I was only 8 feet high.

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“He stood quartering to me for a long time,” Paul said. “I had my released hooked up and the buck on the camera. Finally, he turned and gave me an opportunity, so I started drawing my bow. He froze and so did I. He turned completely away, and I finished drawing back. He walked away from me and out of frame. With several other deer around me, I didn’t feel comfortable with letting down and adjusting the camera. At about 32 yards, he turned. I made a perfect pass-through shot. I returned an hour and a half later, and he had run less than 60 yards after being hit. I was pretty pumped! He grossed 182 4/8 inches.”

Jaxon was up to bat next, and his target deer was an old bruiser with an impossibly massive rack with some extra kickers.

“We’ve had him around for two years,” Paul said. “Last year, he was a mainframe 8-pointer. He had nowhere near the mass that he does now. This year, we watched him all summer since June in an area where a lot of our bucks spend the summertime.”

This is the buck that Paul Powers helped his son, Jaxon, target this October. Photo courtesy of Paul Powers.

After killing four deer with a rifle during previous seasons, Jaxon was thrilled to try hunting with a crossbow. “It was fun to use a crossbow for the first time this season,” he said. “Our crossbow shoots hard, but it doesn’t kick like a rifle, so I like it better than a rifle. I practiced with it before my hunt out to 40 yards and was shooting great.”

Young Jaxon got his opportunity to take the heavy buck on his first deer hunt of the season.

“We just got into a stand overlooking a Bermuda grass meadow,” Jaxon said, “and my dad was getting the crossbow up into the stand and trimming a limb when deer started walking right underneath us. They didn’t even look up. It was in the upper 80s that afternoon with winds about 5-10 miles per hour.

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“A little bit later,” he continued, “a big 8-pointer came out right beneath us and almost brushed the ladder. We were talking about whether or not I should shoot that one, but then the bigger buck we were after walked out. He came on the same path, and just like the 8-pointer, he almost brushed the ladder. He was so close!”

Paul had a lot to keep tabs on throughout the encounter. “Whenever I hunt with my boys or my daughter, there is always a lot going on,” he said. “Jaxon was to my right, and I was helping him support the crossbow. Jaxon’s twin brother, Trevor, was over my left shoulder, and I was making sure that he was on the buck with the video camera and had pushed the record button. Jaxon kept saying, ‘I’m on him! I’m on him!’ I told him to calm down and wait for the buck to offer a better angle.”

Jaxon Powers (left) took this awesome buck on Oct. 6. His brother, Trevor, (right) filmed the hunt. Photo courtesy of Paul Powers.

“He had his butt to us,” Jaxon recalled. “Then, he was quartering away. When he finally turned broadside, I shot him. I 10-ringed him.”

The buck charged 75 yards out into the Bermuda grass, spread his legs, and toppled over. The celebration between father and sons ensued.

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“Jaxon is just obsessed with hunting and fishing,” Paul said. “He’d be out from daylight to dark 365 days a year if he could be. He is very comfortable and skilled with whatever weapon he’s using. I felt good about him making the shot. The main thing was pulling it all off without being busted. There were 10 does and three other bucks in the field, and all were within 50 yards at the time when Jaxon shot.”

Jaxon recalled that his heart was pounding as they walked out to the downed buck, and Paul said that it is the biggest-bodied buck the family has taken. With a monster typical and a bruiser-bodied old buck down, the Powers family has experienced an unforgettable season, regardless of what happens the rest of the year. As well, both hunts will be featured on future episodes of Final Descent Outdoors.