Due to time and distance, I seldom get the chance to hunt my home state of Louisiana. So an invitation to open the Whitetail season with my cousin on his Louisiana farm was most welcome. The weather was unseasonably warm, so the deer were keeping their activities to a minimum. Two days on the stand passed without a glimpse of a deer. Our other two hunters had seen deer and one had killed a small fork horn. My stand was situated in a marshy area with lots of brush. Looked like a good area to me so I politely declined the offers to move me to a getter area and chose to hang fast in the swamp. My perseverance was rewarded shortly after dawn on day three. A deer had emerged from the swamp but was hanging close to the thicket to conceal his headgear. As the swamp grew lighter the antlers of a shooter buck were revealed. I set up for the shot and admired the beefy frame and thick barrel of the Contender.

The little gun as envisioned by J. D. Jones was chambered for the .358 JDJ sometimes referred to as the .358 x .444 because it is based on the .444 Marlin case necked down to 35 Caliber. This Little Beast delivers the power of a .358 Winchester rifle in a handgun sized package. Its throaty roar and hefty recoil leave no doubt that you have indeed encountered a J.D. Jones “Hand Cannon”. Squeezing the trigger on the Contender destroyed the reverie of the forest and put my quarry unto full flight. I mentally replayed the aftermath of the shot. My sight picture was good. Tail down. Flat out running. No leaping. All of these can be indicators of a fatal hit.

I received a text from Cousin asking about the shot. Told him I thought it was 50/50 without inspection. We agreed to wait two hours before taking up the trail. After the appropriate wait and a little searching, we found a handsome Louisiana Swamp Buck piled up a next the creek bank. The little JDJ had done its job as had the 200 grain Remington Core-Lokt. The old deer sported a perfect 8 Point Rack and weighed 160.2 pounds.

T/C blued Contender frame; Custom 10.5” barrel with MagNaport porting. Simmons 2 x 7 scope clamped to a TSOB base by four Weaver Grand Slam rings. Custom tuned trigger, fitted with Pachmayer Gripper grips and forend. Standard hunting load is the R-P 200 gr PSP over 53.0 gr. of AA-2520. Distance to kill 71 yards.

Congratulations, that is a nice deer!

Nice little buck. Where were you hunting. I live about half way between Ball & Pollock, just north of the Alex./Pineville area. I grew up at Larto and love hunting the swamps. I've hunted in and around the Saline swamp and the Dewey Wills WMA all my life.

North of Farmerville (NE LA). I lived in Alexandria for a while and hunted in your same spots. Moved to California but still have a place around Columbia.

You are on a roll...congrats!!! That is another very nice buck, and the mass of the antlers certainly capture one's attention. I enjoyed all of the details in your story -- felt like I was there.

Thanks for sharing, and congrats again!

Very nice!! Great looking buck.

Congrats on another nice deer this year, and nice story too!

Congratulations, Sawfish. Having lived in NW LA a long time, I can assure you your deer's not the usual "if it's brown, it's down" deer we usually see in LA. Good job on a nice deer. I didn't realize you're a native of Louisiana. I graduated from college in Monroe (NLU at the time, but now ULM) and had a sister and her family who lived in Farmerville about 30 years or so. Thx for sharing your hunt w/ us. I enjoyed reading it.

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Congrats great buck!!!

Excellent, congratulations on a great buck!

Nice buck, and great write-up!

Congrats on another nice buck!

Great deer. Always good to use one of JD's masterpieces.

Well done and congratulations.

Very nice deer. Yes the 358 JDJ is a good caliber. Have a 14'' that has never let me down.Like your writeup with details.

Thanks.

Congrats on a very nice buck!

Good looking buck, love those JDJ hand cannons.