I remember my first deer like it just happened. I see the large red oaks surrounded by snow and thin ice. I remember the sound of ice breaking and thinking my friend was walking toward me, only to peek around an oak tree to see a buck walking towards me. I slowly turned and raised my Remington 870 twenty gauge with Remington 2¾” slugs aimed and squeezed the trigger. I heard the slug hit the deer at the same time the gun barked. The buck dropped and I ran over and finished him off with one in the neck. I felt like I had accomplished something great. I was the only one of the four boys in the family that had shot a buck, and it was my first year hunting deer at sixteen.
The First Archery Deer
My first archery deer didn’t come as easy. I got a Bear Whitetail compound bow for $35.00 from my brother, who said you can’t kill a deer with a bow. I missed 23 deer that season and somehow managed to kill a button buck. That bow was so slow deer would jump out of the way of the arrow. I learned a lot about deer hunting that year though.
Hunting with My Daughter
Years later, I got to experience this feeling all over again with my daughter who wanted to bow hunt when she was fourteen, so I got her a youth bow and we practiced until she was accurate out to twenty-five yards. I slowly increased her bow’s poundage as she got stronger, and it helped with her accuracy. By October, she was deadly with her bow. The first weekend, I put her in a stand that was on a travel corridor. At twilight, I heard a loud growl-like roar and started laughing. Two seconds later, my daughter comes over my walkie-talkie, “What was that?” Knowing she thought it was a bear. I finally gained my composure and told her it was the farmer’s mule. The next night, I got a call on my walkie-talkie, “Dad, I got one!” I told her to stay seated; I’d be right there. I grabbed the four-wheeler and shot out to her stand. When I came down the trail, she was still shaking. The deer was only twenty yards from her stand. We were both so proud.
Hunting with My Son
A few years later in Virginia, I got to live it again with my son while on a dog-driven hunt that was a whole other kind of hunting. I have helped a lot of hunters harvest their first deer, but none compares to your own child’s first deer.
Having your child harvest their first deer is a special moment for any parent. It's a culmination of practice, patience, and shared experiences that create lasting memories. I look forward to many more hunts with my children and helping others experience their first deer harvest.
#FirstDeer #FamilyHunting #ArcheryHunting #YouthHunting #HuntingMemories #Remington870 #BearWhitetail #HuntingTraditions
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