A Virgin Hunter No More!

Yesterday was the second of the State JR deer hunting days for 2010. I was unable to take Ariel out on the first one as we were celebrating my friend Phil's wedding in New Hampshire so I promised Ariel that I would do everything in my power to take her out this weekend. I was worried about my work schedule but my daylight hours were kept open so we left the house well before sunrise and were sitting in the woods by 05:30.

I was excited to spend the day one-on-one with my daughter as we have many times before but today was going to be different. The reason why is because for the first time in her short 12 years of life she was allowed to be the hunter and not just a spectator. Today was just for her and we were both excited to see what events the day would hold.

We were greeted early by a large flock of wild turkey's which graced us with their presence for about 30 minutes before moving on from the woods and into the hay fields. We were up in the "Grand Stand" and cuddled together to help keep each other warm in the 28 degree F. morning air. While sharing some simple conversation I spotted a decent buck walking parallel to us at about 80 yards. He never presented a shot but we were happy just to have seen a deer during our first trip out. About 30 minutes later Ariel spotted a doe walking the same route as the buck had followed by another doe who presented a shot for me but thankfully for the deer I was not allowed to have a firearm with me as it was a day just for JR hunters. Ariel raised her rifle at one point but due to some small branches decided it was too risky to take the shot with her .243 so we resolved to watch the deer as they worked their way through the woods and around the pond.

We decided to head out of the woods to get some food in our bellies and met up with my friend Jayson and his son Ryan for breakfast. Ryan shot a beautiful 8 point wall hanger last Saturday during the first JR Hunting day so we were excited to finally get a chance to hear first hand about his adventure from the previous weekend.

 After breakfast we ran a few errands and headed back out into the woods for night stand.

The we were back in our stand at 14:00 and it was much, much warmer than in the morning - it was almost 65 degrees F. We settled in and I explained to Ariel that it would be closer to 15:30-16:00 before the deer would start moving again. 

Once the sun started settling into the tree limbs the temperature immediately began to drop and I informed Ariel to get ready the "magic hour" was upon us. She rolled her eyes at me thinking I was trying to be funny but quickly realized that I was serious when the first of 2 deer came crashing through the woods and the brook behind us! 

The deer were on my side of the stand and Ariel had to get in a very awkward position to try and take a shot as the deer was standing in the brook. Her first shot was high (It was at this very moment I realized I have never had her shoot at an angle from an elevated position - a mistake on my part) and the deer jumped into the brush between us and a pond wondering what just happened. The second deer began to move through the thicket and crossed into the brook at the same section as the first, Ariel felt confident and prepared for another shot, she took her time and when the gun went off the deer mule kicked and appeared to me to be a good hit! I responded to this when Ariel informed me she had missed - I really doubted her and when we saw the deer again it was acting very funny and looked injured to me. I informed Ariel that she needed to take another shot and I was able to stop the deer by in a gap between the trees by bleating and this time her aim was true. I saw the deer was down and the emotions began to set in for me - I had just watched my daughter harvest her first deer at 12 years old!

As we were making our way out of the stand and to the deer Ariel explained that the deer was jumped onto the shore just as she was squeezing the trigger and that she thought she may have under it. I was unable to see any visual damage to its legs but I assume that some gravel may have bruised its legs when the round hit under it.

We walked up on the deer and verified it was a clean kill then walked over to the edge of the brook to make sure there was no sign of the first deer being wounded (we actually had a chance to shoot the first deer while taking care of the one that was down but due to the fact I had to leave for work we let her walk.) Ariel was calm, cool and collected during the entire process which surprised me but made me proud and a little envious at the same time - I still come unglued at the seams when I see a deer while hunting!

We spent a few moments admiring the deer and expressing our thanks for the ability to provide for our family with the meat this animal would provide while acknowledging the bitter sweet moment of knowing we were responsible for ending the life of a living creature. These emotions are very important to me and I explained to my daughter that these emotions are normal and that if she ever loses the possession of these emotions that she should stop hunting. I enjoy hunting and raising animals for meat but there has never been a moment that I have been happy with the physical act of ending the life of a living animal and I always do my best to show it the respect it deserves. I hope that my actions have been noticed by my kids and that as discussions with them about it will always be fresh in their memory.

I am proud of how my daughter handled her self today and that while filling our freezer with fresh venison she showed she is still a soft hearted person and especially that she shares my interests in life which include all things hunting and fishing.

Congratulations to both Ryan and Ariel on harvesting their first deer, I pray that you both manage to have years like this throughout your life but remember to enjoy the time you get to spend in the woods admiring all of the beautiful nature that surrounds you whether you get a deer every year or not.