Gonzales teen nails big Union Parish 13-point

Breaux shot buck — which measured 160 inches — before even getting to stand

Grant Breaux had plenty to be thankful for this past Thanksgiving season.

The 16-year-old sophomore who lives in Gonzales and attends St. Amant High School was visiting his grandmother at the opposite end of the state up in Farmerville when a deer hunt paid big dividends for the South Louisiana teen.

“My dad and uncles and I were at my grandma’s during Thanksgiving week to get to spend time with her, but also to get to deer hunt on her land in Union Parish near Farmerville,” Breaux said.

Relying on the lunar charts that indicate the best times when wildlife will be active, Breaux noticed that the chart for Nov. 24 showed the best time for deer movement on that date was 10 a.m.

“I slept in and had breakfast with my grandma, got my gear together and didn’t leave her house until after 9,” Breaux said. “I had a feeling that something good might be about to happen so I was extra careful in my approach to my stand, which was located in the middle of three open lanes at the edge of a cow pasture.”

He rode a 4-wheeler from his grandma’s house, but stopped short of the pasture.

“I got off the 4-wheeler as quietly as I could and was careful in opening the metal gate not wanting to make any noise,” he said. “I started toward my stand when I looked down the lane to my right and I saw a deer.

“I didn’t know if it was a buck or doe.”

The young hunter eased up to a tree and propped his .30-06 against the trunk, and the deer looked his way. It was then Breaux was able to see the fine set of antlers on the deer’s head.

“When I saw the antlers, I had to calm myself down, take a deep breath and put the crosshairs on the shoulder and took a shot,” he said. “When I shot, the buck took off running and I had no idea if I hit it or not.”

Walking to the spot where the deer was standing when he shot, Breaux found blood but couldn’t determine which way the deer ran.

“I called my uncle who came to help me, he soon found a blood trail and the buck was piled up about 100 yards from where I shot,” Breaux said. “When I got there and saw the buck up close, to tell you the truth, I just couldn’t believe that I had shot a deer this big without ever making it to my stand.”

The buck tipped the scales at 195 pounds, sported 13 points on a heavy rack with 17 ⅝ inches of air between the two sides and 25-inch main beams.

Buckmasters measured the rack at 153 6/8, while Simmons’ Sporting Goods in Bastrop scored the buck at slightly more than 160 inches.

Don’t forget to enter photos of your bucks in the Nikon Big Buck Photo Contest to be eligible for monthly giveaways and the random drawing for Nikon optics at the end of the contest.

Read other stories about big bucks killed this season by clicking here.

About Glynn Harris 508 Articles
Glynn Harris is a long-time outdoor writer from Ruston. He writes weekly outdoor columns for several north Louisiana newspapers, has magazine credits in a number of state and national magazines and broadcasts four outdoor radio broadcasts each week. He has won more than 50 writing and broadcasting awards during his 47 year career.