The 2020 deer hunting season is just getting kicked off, and Kansas’ previous state record is already in serious jeopardy.

14-year-old Paslie Werth took a shot at a 40-point, free-ranging whitetail buck while participating in the state’s youth hunt over the weekend, and landed herself a spot in the record books. The giant buck tallied a gross green score of 282 6/8 inches.

To provide some perspective, the current Kansas state record non-typical whitetail taken by firearm dates back to 1987 and scored 280 4/8 inches. That buck was harvested by Joseph Waters in Shawnee County.

Paslie was hunting on her families property with her father in Kiowa County, and didn’t have to wait very long to get the deer in her crosshairs. The buck was shot just two days into the youth season, which began September 5th.

“I hunted all day Saturday – opening day – and all day Sunday,” Paslie explained. “It was Sunday evening when I had the opportunity to shoot him.”

The family had been keeping tabs on this particular buck for the last three years, Paslie’s mother, Dionne, told the Topeka Capital-Journal. “We feel very fortunate that she was the one [who] was able to harvest him.”

And even though she’s been watching this deer grow through trail camera photos for years, seeing the enormous rack in person prompted a little bit of buck fever in Paslie.

“When he stood up at 25 yards, I was in shock of his massive rack,” the young hunter said.

Still though, she was able to persevere through it and make a clean shot on a truly impressive deer. Way to go Paslie!

As Paslie pointed out to reporters, this wasn’t her first go around with a giant Kansas whitetail, which probably helped immensely when she needed to stay calm in the moment. She said this was her fourth buck she’s harvested since she started hunting, and that her previous best was a 12-point scoring 178 inches.

Following every Boone & Crockett certification, the antlers must go through a 60 day drying process before it can be officially scored. If the unofficial score does hold up, however, it would be the new state record whitetail taken with a firearm.