Many years ago when I was much younger I shot a button buck in Maine while hunting with my dad and a bunch of family friends. At the time I felt really bad and a touch embarrassed that I was with all of these seasoned hunters who had taken many big deer over their lifetime and I ended up shooting what I thought was a big doe but which turned out to be in fact a button buck who lost a lot of size once he hit the ground. Now many years later I don't feel embarrassed and I don't think about how bad I felt for taking a buck out of the population, what I think about and what is burned into my memory is the time I spent with my dad and those other guys. I remember what it was like sitting around at night recalling our days hunt and the excitement that we all felt every morning before heading out. My dad has a bad shoulder now and probably won't ever hunt again and so for me the memory is the real trophy. The memory of your first deer is the trophy not the size of the animal. Treasure it for what it is not for what you feel like it should have been.

Congratulations on your first deer.