A tiny sound and her eyes turned. There, about 60 yards out was her quarry. After four long days hunting in the bite of a cold, post-Thanksgiving Texas, she had her chance. In a smooth, practice-oiled motion, Brea raised her .223, sighted theTasco scope on the buck, and slowly squeezed the trigger.
At about 5:00 PM on December 1 st, 2008, eight-year-old Brea Leighanne Glover took her first buck, a 250-260 Ib. eight-point, the largest buck to be taken by an under seventeen-year-old in the state of Texas for this season, according to Boone and Crockett Officials,
There is a great temptation to focus on the rifle, the ammunition, the weather, the lure, or any of the other various conditions searching for how such a young hunter could accomplish this incredible take.
Maybe more than a few of us hopes to find out how we could reproduce such a feat. In the interview, Brea revealed some of her insights and acknowledgements that to me may be the real heart of the story.
At only six-years-old, Brea told her mother (Brandie Glover) and father (Brian Glover) of her desire to hunt. Both hunters, Brea's mom and dad discussed it and decided to see their daughter got both the training and the facility to accomplish her goal. Brea had been inspired by her family, including her brother Blane. Her grandfathers joined in, teaching Brea and allowing her to practice and to hunt on their lands, open range leases with no high fences.
Brea's practice started with a BB gun. Seeing her progress her"Papaw, maternal grandfather Terry Hill and family arranged for a custom-made .22 sized and balanced for the young shooter to reduce kick. Using various targets and cans, Brea practiced until she was competent.
With family approval, Brea advanced to her single shot .223. In addition to squeezing off rounds, she was encouraged to work diligently with her sighting and scope techniques. Quite a bit of Brea's practice was accomplished with no ammunition.
After a miss during her first hunt, Brea's family returned her to dry-firing to hone confidence and to reduce flinch during the trigger pull.
For five more days, Brea continued her drills.
Brea found a doe and, without ammunition sighted in on her target, practicing each step from beginning to end, sight, breathe, safety off, pull the trigger, repeat. Terry Hill, working closely with Brea, also brilliantly suggested she say "Bang" after each trigger pull to build Brea's comfort with the long practice.
And, as important as these, Brea had a full round of support. It might have been her mom, her best friend and hunting buddy, in the stand with her, but every member of her family played a unique supporting role in the success of Brea's hunt.
Ghostwritten by Edward Goldman, at the request of Howard Pearlman, February 16, 2009; interview was conducted January 10, 2008 by Howard Pearlman, Hunter Education Instructor by the authority of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
