Great start! (Son bags first deer)
10-23-2006, 09:24 AM
#1
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,693
Great start! (Son bags first deer)
What a great weekend. My son harvested his first deer - a very respectible doe. What's amazing is the 70 minutes in the stand Saturday morning it took to get the deer was the only 70 minutes he's spent hunting - this was his first trip out!
Here's the story: We kicked a deer out walking to the stands Satruday morning. Within 10 minutes of being in the stands here comes a doe, then a yearling. My son patiently waited for his shot and let one fly - two feet over the doe's back! I thought that the hunt was over but the deer circled back. Between a grunting buck we heard earlier in the area and a mysterious long "twig" dropping at a high rate of speed from above, the doe was on high alert. Every time she got back into position over the bait pile either the yearling was on the opposite side of the vitals or she would look up. She frequently walked away from the pile circling then coming back in. My son patiently waited for nearly an hour to take his second shot (I was going out of my mind watching this event unfold - "Draw! Shoot! Shoot!" - I was ready to scream). He finally got a good opening and took another shot, which wound up to be a horrible shot but turned out ok - he spined the deer midway back, which wasn't a vital hit so I got down and quickly finished her off.
My son then learned how to field dress a deer. We had the deer skinned and hanging by 11am Saturday and butchered it Sunday. I think I was more excited than my son and far more excited than I was when I shot my first deer many moons ago. Wow what an experience.
Over the past couple of months I've been trying to pass down 26 years of hunting experience and have stressed a couple of things - not to shoot at the whole deer and to follow through. He has nice 4" groups at the range all day long, but forgot about both of those things over that deer. I can understand though that his excitement and inexperience caused his mind to go blank when he shot but the important thing is he learned. When the deer came in the first time he was shaking so bad he couldn't stand up right away.
Anyway, the proud hunter:
Here's the story: We kicked a deer out walking to the stands Satruday morning. Within 10 minutes of being in the stands here comes a doe, then a yearling. My son patiently waited for his shot and let one fly - two feet over the doe's back! I thought that the hunt was over but the deer circled back. Between a grunting buck we heard earlier in the area and a mysterious long "twig" dropping at a high rate of speed from above, the doe was on high alert. Every time she got back into position over the bait pile either the yearling was on the opposite side of the vitals or she would look up. She frequently walked away from the pile circling then coming back in. My son patiently waited for nearly an hour to take his second shot (I was going out of my mind watching this event unfold - "Draw! Shoot! Shoot!" - I was ready to scream). He finally got a good opening and took another shot, which wound up to be a horrible shot but turned out ok - he spined the deer midway back, which wasn't a vital hit so I got down and quickly finished her off.
My son then learned how to field dress a deer. We had the deer skinned and hanging by 11am Saturday and butchered it Sunday. I think I was more excited than my son and far more excited than I was when I shot my first deer many moons ago. Wow what an experience.
Over the past couple of months I've been trying to pass down 26 years of hunting experience and have stressed a couple of things - not to shoot at the whole deer and to follow through. He has nice 4" groups at the range all day long, but forgot about both of those things over that deer. I can understand though that his excitement and inexperience caused his mind to go blank when he shot but the important thing is he learned. When the deer came in the first time he was shaking so bad he couldn't stand up right away.
Anyway, the proud hunter:
10-23-2006, 09:48 AM
#4
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Hoosier Country, Baby!
Posts: 1,710
RE: Great start! (Son bags first deer)
Congrats! What's really eery is that your son looks just like my husband did as a young teen... they could be twins!
That's awesome, I did the same thing with the first deer I shot with my bow too... forgot everything I had learned due to nerves. Unfortunately, I didn't find her.
The second one was a bad shot too, but I ended up recovering him, only 40 yards from where I shot him... I ended up hitting a major artery.
You've made a memory to last a lifetime, hopefully many more to come to you and your son!
That's awesome, I did the same thing with the first deer I shot with my bow too... forgot everything I had learned due to nerves. Unfortunately, I didn't find her.
The second one was a bad shot too, but I ended up recovering him, only 40 yards from where I shot him... I ended up hitting a major artery.You've made a memory to last a lifetime, hopefully many more to come to you and your son!
Your son will be hooked for life now. I love to hear stories about Dad's and the kids hunting together. Thanks for the post.