Big Buck Contest and fund-raiser honors son, and his love of the outdoors

UPPER SANDUSKY – The “Big Buck Contest” and fund-raiser this Saturday is one family’s way of honoring their son and his love of the outdoors.

Barb Ley-Davidson and her husband, Tom Davidson, are gearing up for the “Big Buck Contest Scoring & Event Day” at the Wyandot County Rod & Gun Club. It’s a day for gamers to cash in. But it’s also a day to remember their son, Jacob, who died in a car accident five years ago.

“We’re just really blessed with the public and how they have supported us,” Barb Ley-Davidson said about the fifth annual event, which also includes a raffle drawing. “Once we close out this year, we start selling hunting tickets again for next year.”

Half of the proceeds from the event will go to the hunter who bagged the biggest deer last season, Ley-Davidson said, while the remainder will be given to the Jacob Davidson Memorial Scholarship Fund to benefit graduating seniors from Wyandot County high schools.

Jacob, who learned to hunt at an early age, was a junior at Upper Sandusky High School when he was killed in a car accident on January 27, 2016, just shy of his 17th birthday. He regularly hunted with his father, who came up with the idea to hold a contest in his memory after his death.

To be eligible, area hunters must buy their $20 tickets before Ohio’s whitetail deer season begins in September, Ley-Davidson said. Then, they can have the antlers scored on contest day free of charge and are automatically entered in the raffle drawing, which this year has a compound bow as the grand prize.

Raffle tickets are also $20 each and may be purchased in advance at Ley’s Jewelry, 225 N. Sandusky Ave. in Bucyrus, or in person until 1 p.m. on Saturday. In addition to the Bowtech Guardian Limited Edition Compound Bow, a revolver, gift certificates, and dozens of other prizes will be awarded, she said.

Each year the Big Buck Contest generates about $3,500 in scholarship money, Ley-Davidson said, which is usually split up and awarded to three deserving students. First consideration is always given to graduates planning to pursue careers in either wildlife or agriculture, she said.

The contest, which also has a youth division, usually draws about 150 entrants, who hail from Wyandot, Crawford, and surrounding counties, Ley-Davidson said, while as many as 300 tickets are sold for the raffle drawing. Buyers do not have to be present to win.

The raffle will start at 1 p.m. Tickets can also be purchased via PayPal or Venmo through the Jacob Davidson Memorial Scholarship Fund Facebook page. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Rod & Gun Club, 15127 County Highway 113 in Upper Sandusky.