Hunting Bambi

Wednesday, December 3 - Opening Day - I was in the deer box by 6:45 in the morning, stayed until 9:30am. The heater was sure nice until it quit. That afternoon I picked up Madelyn from school and after she changed into her hunting clothes we headed to the box. We arrived at 3:45pm and stayed until after 5:00pm. Madelyn was quite the hunter and fell asleep. She didn't miss out on any action because I did not see a deer the entire day.




Thursday, December 4 - I decided that I would hunt before work since I didn't see a thing on opening day. I was in the box from 6:45am-8:30am. It was a balmy 20 degrees. I was sure thankful for the protection from the box. Two small does came up to the feeder. I decided to pass them up because they were really small. I was just happy to actually see a couple deer on the property.

Sunday, December 7 (early afternoon) - Ryan, Madelyn and I headed out to the property to put corn in the feeder and fix the heater in the box. On our way, we spotted a nice 8-point buck hot on a doe's trail. We drove home changed into hunting clothes, I grabbed my rifle and Madelyn grabbed her bb gun. When we got back Ryan sent me to a hedge row while he and Madelyn walked through hoping to scare out the buck. Sure enough they did scare up the doe and buck, but they weren't stopping for me and I'm not much on shooting a running target. Ryan's buddy, Andy, then met us at the property and walked more brush, as I found a nice resting spot on top of an oil tank in hopes to get a good shot at the buck. We never did see the buck and doe again but it sure was an exciting hunt.

At 3:45pm Ryan headed to his deer stand and Madelyn and I got comfy in the box. After Madelyn talked herself into exhaustion, she fell asleep. Ryan called me on the cell about 4:30pm to tell me that a small 6-point buck walked under his stand and was headed my way. Shortly after 5:00pm I called Ryan's cell to tell him we were heading to the truck, he didn't answer, and as I hung up I spotted the 6-point walking towards the feeder. I attempted to shake Madelyn awake and tell her I was going to shoot. She opened her eyes but fell right back asleep. I had no time to waste, I opened the window and rested the gun on the ledge. At that time the deer had went behind a cedar tree and I thought maybe he heard me talking and ran another way. I waited what seemed like forever (probably less than a minute) and the deer appeared from behind the tree. I looked through the scope and pointed right at the deer's lungs. I closed my eyes and pulled the trigger. The deer jumped and trotted off. I quickly dialed Ryan's cell and told him I shot him and then called my dad. Although at that point I wasn't sure if I had really got him. I then looked out the window and thought I saw the buck drop. Madelyn was awake by then, of course, and we headed out of the box to go to the deer. Ryan called to tell me he was going home to get his knife and wait for Andy to bring the key to the gate because I had them locked off the property. He then said to get back in the box because he didn't want me jumping the deer and then we would have to track it further. I knew that, but was so excited I had forgotten. I went back to the box, but couldn't wait so we got back out and went to the spot where I shot the buck. At that time, Ryan, Andy, and Andy's cop friend showed up. I told them where I thought the buck had dropped, but was still not sure I had actually hit the thing. Sure enough there the buck laid, dead. I had double lung shot him. Perfect shot!!! I was still shaking and giddy from the excitement. I could not believe I had actually shot my first deer. Ryan and Andy assisted me with gutting the deer. Madelyn was in awe and stood by quietly soaking it all in. Once we got home Ryan hung the deer in our shed. Madelyn kept telling me she was so proud of me and that it was awesome that I shot a deer. I am so happy that Madelyn was with me when I shot my first deer. Although, she basically slept through the actual shooting, she did experience the excitement afterwards. I'm very thankful for Ryan on our friend Andy for setting up the hunting box. They even laid carpet and had a propane heater set up for me. They also set an automatic corn feeder to lure in the deer. I was one pampered and spoiled hunter.






Tonight Ryan and his buddy, Chuck, cut up all the deer meat and Ryan is going to process the meat in the near future.

I can now scratch off shooting a deer on my bucket list. Although, I'm thinking I may just be tempted to go out again next year for a bigger and better deer.