The little girl (well, I guess not so little anymore) is becoming quite the deer hunter!
On the Friday after Thanksgiving we headed out to my parents small farm where they have a 9 acre wheat field that the deer have been using but we haven't hunted very hard. We have a shooting house on the field, but the wind was wrong for it so we have a ladder stand in the back of the field for just those occasions. We got her equipped with a safety harness and climbed in the stand about 3:45 and got settled. We again practiced aiming at different points in the field and she felt really comfortable. I gave her the range finder to check some yardages and she did that for quite a while.
As the sun started dropping Abby said she could hear something in the woods behind us. Sure enough, I could finally hear it right behind us. I got turned around a bit and spotted a couple deer moving through the woods. Figuring they would make it to the field we just waited. Abby had said that she wanted a buck but would shoot a doe if it got late. Soon we spotted a buck at the far back edge of the field but he was just too far for a good shot (150+ yards). Before long a parade of does and fawns started into the field followed by a small buck. Abby checked out the buck with the binos and declared that he was too small. She did great with the deer all around us in the field, and deer behind us in the woods. They were all within 10-75 yards. Finally the small buck scattered the does and a couple got around on the downwind side of us and got nervous. It was getting late and those deer didn't spook too bad, but enough to leave the field. I was thinking it was over and despite already seeing a dozen deer I didn't think she would get a shot this evening.
After catching our breath and talking about the action Abby said "Dad, I hear more deer coming!" Sure enough I could hear some more deer coming on both sides of the stand. Finally a big doe and 2 small does came out in the field and Abby declared she would shoot the big doe. We got her gun up and ready and was just waiting for them to clear some limbs for a shot. Just then I noticed another deer come into the field and I got the binos on it and told Abby it was a buck! She said "How big?"
I told her I tought it was a 6 pointer but wasn't sure. I asked if she wanted to shoot the buck and she said "Yeah!". The buck pushed the other deer out in the field a bit and I had Abby ready, or so I thought. The buck cleared the limbs and I asked if she was ready and she said she was. I pulled the hammer back and told her the standard "Aim and squeeze, aim and squeeze...". She squeezed the trigger and without a flinch or anything the gun went "CLICK"! My first thought was a bad round, but I quickly realized that Daddy wasn't used to a hammer gun with a SAFETY! When the gun clicked the doe and 2 small deer headed to the edge of the field and the buck was starting to follow. I quickly flipped the safety off, pulled back the hammer, bleated to stop the buck and started to quickly say "Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze" and at the shot the deer dropped in his tracks!
After confirming the deer was finished the high-fives and hugs started and the hotline lit up. If you've never tried to safely get an excited 7 year old girl out of a treestand with all the gear you don't know what you're missing. I was carrying backpacks, guns, etc. up and down the ladder while she's talking on the phone to her Mom, Mawmaw, etc. I got her down and we headed over the 65 yards to check out HER FIRST BUCK! The trophy five pointer was a perfect first buck!
It's so funny what kids will say... A couple things I can think of was when she said "Daddy, why when they shoot them on TV they run but when I shoot they just fall right over?" While talking to HODY on the phone he asked her how far the deer ran when she shot and Abby replied "He didn't!".
It was another great afternoon spent in the stand with my Baby Girl! Memories that I'm sure neither of us will forget. I am so proud of her and the hunter she is growing into.
Thanks for letting me share...
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