Bubba Williams and his 6-year-old son, Cason, frequently make the trip from Bay Minette to Alabama's famed Black Belt in pursuit of deer season memories.
They kicked off the 2025-26 season with a special father-son outing to Dallas County during the mid-November youth hunting weekend. Hopes were high.
"We knew there was a big six-point in the area," Bubba Williams said. "We were waiting on him to step out, but then this big eight-point showed up."
Cason, a first grader at Pine Grove Elementary School in Bay Minette, didn't hesitate. The young hunter made the most of his opportunity, harvesting the impressive eight-point and marking an unforgettable start to the season.
Proud of the moment, Bubba snapped a photo of his son with the deer and entered it into the 14th annual Big Buck Photo Contest sponsored by the Alabama Black Belt Adventures Association (ALBBAA). The photo received the most online votes, making Cason the contest winner.
As the winner, Cason receives a $100 gift card and a copy of Black Belt Bounty, a coffee table book filled with stunning images, wildlife essays, colorful stories on our hunting and fishing traditions, wild game recipes and more. In addition, Buckmasters provides Cason with a hat, buck knife, and a 1-year subscription to Buckmasters Magazine.
Cason's photo garnered more than 1,600 online votes to win. Addison Bridges, an 18-year-old student at Wallace Community College in Selma, finished second with about 1,000 votes. Third-place finisher Braxton Lee, an 8-year-old student at Ivy Classical Academy in Prattville, received 239 votes.
The contest attracted more than 125 entries and garnered thousands of online votes. All of the bucks shown in the first-, second-, and third-place photos were harvested in Dallas County.
"Our photo contests are designed to highlight the amazing hunting opportunities that so many people enjoy right here in the Black Belt," ALBBAA director Pam Swanner said. "It's always gratifying to see photos that commemorate family memories, and it's extra special knowing this year's winner came from a father-son hunt."
"We want to thank everyone who participated and submitted entries into the contest and everybody who cast an online vote," Swanner continued. "The Black Belt offers the very best hunting, fishing and other outdoor recreation activities, and we want our photo contests to celebrate that tradition."
ALBBAA's annual Big Gobbler Photo Contest launches next month and runs through the end of Alabama's spring turkey season.
The Black Belt includes the following 23 counties: Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Crenshaw, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Lee, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, Monroe, Montgomery, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Russell, Sumter, Tuscaloosa and Wilcox.