An East Texas hunter, Rickey Brewer, spent three years tracking a massive buck on the Red River Army Depot. Last October, he had the opportunity to shoot the 31-point buck with his bow, but the shot was obstructed. Determined to see the buck taken down, Brewer put his 14-year-old daughter, Reili, in position to make the kill this year. With a green score of around 240 inches, this buck could potentially become the new record for the highest-scoring whitetail ever killed by a youth hunter in the state.
Despite the less-than-ideal weather conditions on October 29, Reili climbed into a ladder stand while her father sat on the ground. The hunting spot was located in a hardwood bottom with an abundance of oak trees dropping acorns. Brewer tried to lure the buck into range by using blind grunts and rattling.
On that particular day, Brewer and his daughter encountered four different bucks, but Reili refused to shoot anything other than the giant buck they had been pursuing. Brewer was confident in their chances because they were in a relatively unpressured area. The Red River Army Depot has limited public access, allowing only military personnel, veterans, base employees, policemen, teachers, and service officials to hunt on the base.
Brewer had received trail camera photos of the buck during daytime in the days leading up to their hunt. He was aware that the hardwood bottom provided ample food and cover for the buck. Feeling confident, Brewer left to warm up in his truck, leaving Reili in the stand wearing his rain gear.
Within minutes of Brewer’s departure, Reili spotted the buck walking down a trail, feasting on acorns. When the buck stepped behind a tree, she raised her rifle, aimed at its shoulder, and pulled the trigger. Brewer, who had only been gone for a few minutes, heard the shot and received a call from his ecstatic daughter claiming that she had shot the big one.
Brewer rushed back to the stand, running 400 yards as fast as he could. Reili made the shot from 40 yards using a bolt-action Savage rifle chambered in .350 Legend. The buck only managed to take a few steps before dropping.
After field dressing the buck, Brewer and Reili contacted the base’s hunt coordinator, who assisted in transporting the buck out of the muddy woods using his truck. The buck weighed 160 pounds dressed, and they estimated its age to be around 5.5 years old.
The buck’s massive, non-typical rack boasts 31 points, with 29 of them being scorable. Brewer’s taxidermist gave it a green score of 238 1/8 inches. If these measurements hold after the 60-day drying period, it will surpass the current Texas youth record of 209 inches.
