This Saturday was opening day for deer gun season (for youth hunters.)

I am so proud of my 14 year old son I just wanted to brag on him for a minute. My wife and I work hard at trying to build confidence in his abilities yet he is never sure of himself and holds his head low (even though he is almost 6 feet tall...lol).

My son, who is very shy, has had to overcome major learning disability's in his education, and that has given him little confidence in himself.

He finally gained the courage to fire a gun last year. And to our dismay, he could hit bullseye's at 50 yards using the new H@R Riffled 20 gauge slug gun I bought him as a gift. We then took him to a hunters safety course where with tremendous trepidation he passed with a score of 97.

As he gained confidence with shooting and practicing playfully on paper targets within the home I became confident he could hunt this upcoming youth season.

I had two safety concerns that had to be addressed. One, his line of sight must be unabated (edge of field), and his mother (who also hunts) must sit with him and give the ok before the gun could be fired. To keep him from being to nervous, I would sit in a stand 50 yards to his backside.

I wanted him to have the experience of a lifetime so I set him up on a spot where I consistently see 20 to 30 deer each day (no big bucks of course) during the rut weeks.

So in his stand at 5:15 in the am (with small grumblings) -way before light, he and his mom sat.

However, the morning of the hunt was warm, and no deer was seen until 8:30 am, out at 190 yards. By lunch we called it quits on that field and I took him to some other woodlands to post, while I drove the brush and hopefully the deer to him. Unfortunately, no deer were seen at all.

Thankfully he just smiled and enjoyed the day. It simply was a gorgeous day with lots of sun and cool breezes. I told him there was just one more chance. To go back to where we were in the morning.

It was a long sit for a young man. I put him and his mother in the stand two hours before dark, knowing the deer would come out just before dark.

Well, that just what happened. It was so incredible to see the orange silhouette of my son aim and shoot in front of himself out into the soy field.

Tuns out, he had 20 dear around his stand and another dozen in the open field. But the largest deer, the "big ones" as he called it were at 100 yards. To my wife's amazement, he choose to not shoot the smaller deer close by but rather picked a large older deer in the open pack.

With a quit whisper, he got the ok and then fired my wife said.

Mannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn. I tell you. My heart never beat so hard. I was so excited as a father to see what happened.

By the time I got to his stand all I could see is my son bopping up and down saying I got him, I got Him!!!!

Got HER he did. Classic bang - flop! Deer dropped flat? Unbelievable!

With all the deer I have shot, that has never happened...lol

Anyway, we hugged, hi-fived, and jumped for joy. This 170 lbs doe stands at 6 foot 9 inches in the picture (you can see me in the back. I am 6'4 and 300lbs.)

Largest doe I have ever seen up close. My doe I took with a bow this year was half this size...lol!

So his first hunt, single shot, and ultimate harvest. Man, you got to love that.


D