Truck-Buck 2019-20: Week 6 Winner, Cade Croft

Week 6: Cade Croft, 147 3/8 typical
County: Harris
Date: Oct. 21

The gun season scoring periods began with Week 6 of the contest, and from then on each week the highest-scoring buck earns the hunter a Browning deer rifle.

On the Monday following opening weekend of gun season, 14-year-old Cade Croft was hunting over a food plot. Cade is the son of Cory Croft, a wildlife biologist who helps landowners manage their properties for conservation and quality hunting. Cade turns 15 in August, and he will be a 9th grader at Harris County High School this fall.

“He has been deer hunting since he was 6 years old,” Cory said. “He took his first buck at 7 and has been fortunate enough to harvest several mature bucks over the last few years. He took his first buck with a compound bow in 2018. He enjoys all types of hunting and is an avid fisherman.”

Week 6: Cade Croft, 14, of Pine Mountain, with his Harris County 11-point buck from opening week of gun season that netted 147 3/8.

About the buck that would put him in the Shoot-Out, Cade said, “We have had pictures of this deer for three years. He was 5 1/2 and on the Hit List this year.

“He came into the food plot and chased a doe out of the field. I was worried I missed my chance, but he came back out a few minutes later,” Cade said.

Cade was hunting with a .270 when he made the shot on the 208-lb. live-weight buck.

“After about an hour following the blood trail, we decided to call a tracking dog. Thanks to Lyle Avis for bringing out his great tracking dog and helping us find my buck.”

The buck had a main-frame 10-point rack with a 2-inch kicker on the left side, and a remarkable 9 6/8-inch brow tine on the right side. It tallied a net score of 147 7/8.

Cade will be shooting in the finals to win a new Silverado pickup truck from long time Truck-Buck sponsor John Megel Chevrolet. He has a $1,140 Browning deer rifle and a prize package which includes Antler Addict Mineral and 4S Draw from 4S Advanced Wildlife Solutions, a safety harness from Hunter Safety System and Shoot-Out shirts from Realtree.

GON’s Official All-Time Harris County Buck Rankings