Bowhunter Tags a 200-Inch Buck in the St. Louis Suburbs After 5 Years of Hunting Him
Brian Gailis hunted his great 200-inch buck for 5 years before finally taking him down.
St. Louis and its surrounding suburbs line the shores of the Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois rivers, and this confluence makes for fertile ground for growing huge whitetail bucks. Retired police officer Brian Gailis, 53, hunts in this area, combing the white oak ridges and tangled river bottoms, major travel corridors for rutting bucks.
“The area is a patchwork of private land municipal land [which are off limits to hunting], and knowing where you can hunt is crucial to getting a shot at one of these big suburban bucks,” says Gailis. “I regularly hunt the river bottoms and in 2017, I saw a giant 8-pointer I thought would score 150 inches. I saw him along a power line, so I started calling him the Power Line Buck, but he was dogging a doe and never offered me a shot.”
Over the years, Gailis got trail camera photos of the buck and found several of its shed antlers. The buck continued to grow larger each year. At 3:30 a.m. on Nov. 24, Gailis’ alarm clock went off, and he almost rolled over to go back to sleep after days of unsuccessful bowhunting.
“But my wife Tracy said to check the moon chart to see if it was supposed to be a good morning, and it was,” says Gailis. “So, I got out of bed and climbed to my treestand at 6 a.m. The moon chart indicated that deer would be moving early, and they were. Almost immediately after settling into the stand, I heard deer moving around through oak leaves.” Gailis saw deer as soon as it was light, so he picked up a Primos can call and made two doe bleats.
“Right away, I heard a deer coming from the ridge above me, and I looked around the tree and spotted the Power Line Buck coming to my tree,” Gailis recalls. “He walked into one of my open shooting lanes and stopped perfectly at 10 yards when I made a soft mouth grunt call.”
Gailis drew his bow and shot. The buck took off but stopped at 25 yards and stood there for 20 seconds, says Gailis. Then he stumbled, took two steps, and disappeared into thick cover. Gailis waited 45 minutes, then climbed down to trail the deer.
The huge non-typical buck will score over 200 inches.
The 8.5-year-old buck had a field-dressed weight of 235 pounds, with an estimated live weight of 290 pounds. According to an official Boone & Crockett scorer, the buck has 17 scoreable points and a non-typical green score of 202 1/8.
“It was a long five years getting this buck,” says Gailis. “My wife Tracy loves telling me if it wasn’t for her prodding me that morning to check the moon chart, I never would have got out of bed and got him within bow range. And, of course, she’s right.”
“It was a long five years getting this buck,” says Gailis. “My wife Tracy loves telling me if it wasn’t for her prodding me that morning to check the moon chart, I never would have got out of bed and got him within bow range. And, of course, she’s right.”
A skilled hunter, dedicated conservationist, and advocate for ethical practices. Respected in the hunting community, he balances human activity with environmental preservation.