Hey with the upcoming season finally upon us , i was sitting at the table last ngiht with the family , sharing stories of times spent at deer camp. I was wondering if any of you guys remember your first hunt with dad , or by yourself up there? i remember mine like it was yesterday.

I was 9 yrs old , and it was freezing cold. It all started saturday when we got there in the early morning , and quickly did the needed things to get camp running for the weekend , went shopping , went to get water , and so on. I remember bugging my dad all day though to get out the old 12 gauage and hit the woods with him for some small game. Dad shot a few rabbits that day with the help of his dog ( me) . That night i got to sit in the living room with my cousins while the guys played cards and had a few beers. Sunday proved to be unforgettable as well . I awoke to the smell of bacon and eggs at about 6 AM because it is impossible to sleep any longer. We all filled into the kitchen , and ate to discuss wut the day would bring. After breakfast we all piled into the truck and headed for the range. That was the time i first got to shoot dads rifle. After he got it sighted in to where he wanted , he said it , " Go ahead son , take a shot" . I nervously climbed up onto the bench , and put on my ear muffs. He helped me secure the gun tightly in my shoulder , " remember dont remove the safety until your are positive on what you want to shoot" . I found the target in the scope , rested the crosshair on the bull , and clicked off the safety. As most first year shooters do , i was nervous about the kick , and jerked when i let the bullet fly. A hole punched through the paper and into the earth about 5 inches left. After that , the day couldnt go slower. Due to the fact that tommorow i got to head out with dad onto the hill.

When monday morning finally came after a night filled with thoughts that wouldnt let me sleep, i was up before the alarm. We all once again loaded into the kitchen to fill up on a nice breakfast as all the guys shared their fantasies of what the day could bring. It seemed like a day before we were all in the truck headed down to the bridge. We unloaded form the truck , and started the journy into the dark hills. After about what seemed like 2 hours and 3 miles of walking , i asked dad if we could take a break. We all know those young legs have trouble in the snow.he said sure , and we picked a nice log to sit up against . As daylight approatched , he said that this spot would do jsut fine , and we could remain seated . What happned next is what fuels my fire. At day break , the WAR started. Shots were ringing out everywhere. Deer were flying past in herds of 10-15 , but unforunatley, they were all bald.. Later that day , we moved from our spot , another half mile to GRAMPA" S old spot. it was so amazing to sit where my pap once did , and share the view. He died the year before , and i never got to share a hunt wiht him. i was attentive the entire time , but i saw that look in my dads eye , yes thats right , he was gonna doze off soon. As he did , i spotted a deer working the top of the hill , i got up my tiny binos. But due to them being jsut kids binos , i couldnt see , " Dad , Dad , theres a deer up on the hill" i said, " where " ? i pointed the deer out , and he tossed up his binos, its jsut a doe son he said. Not even a minute later , a shot rang out from jsut below us , that sounded liek a bomb fell right on us.Then i saw it , a herd of deer came trucking up the hill at full bore , the leader was a small 3 pointer , and i said " dad take him" my dad was already ahead of me , but didnt shoot. The 3 kept flying past up past us , and i heard a shot from up there , then saw an orange dot emerge from behind a tree. then I saw y my dad didnt shoot , A monster 8 pointer was behind a line of doe, bringing up the rear. the buck stopped , but he only offered a neck shot . My dad threw up the gun , and BOOM!!! the deer disappeared. But my heart sank when the rest of the deer went over the hill , and 5 seconds later he followed. We went to try to find blood , but couldnt find ne , thats when i looked jsut over my head level and on a tree there was a ZING mark ,he grazed the tree sending his bullet to god only knows where. The rest of the day we walked around and saw some doe , but no more buck. That night we had to return home though due to him having to work. But it was an awesome day affield and it hooked me for likfe .. The day with dad....