The Missouri Fall Youth Deer Hunt took place over October 30th & 31st. This past spring, I invited our eleven-year-old niece, Rebecca (of Albuquerque, NM) fly out to hunt deer. She's not very big, but included inside her 70 pounds is a LOT of responsible behavior and a great attitude & heart.
I had taken her shooting twice during the past couple years. She had impressed me because she listened so well and shot with utmost concentration. Good stuff!
On Friday, I took her to the range (out back) and gave her the opportunity to get some live fire practice at deer-like targets with one of my rimfire rifles. I also took her out to the stand with the actual rifle she would hunt with (a Savage Model 110 - .243 Win) to see how many cushions I'd need to get her boosted up to be able to safely shoot. I also gave her plenty of time with the Savage so she could shoulder the gun and dry-fire the heck out of it! I do not let young hunters shoot the "deer rifle" until they pull the trigger on the deer. No use getting them flinching!
On Saturday morning, she became the earliest hunter to score on our farm (that I know of anyway). It was just light enough to shoot when three deer came out into an open area close to our stand. It took a moment or two, but she got the gun shouldered and aimed. I coached her to make sure she would stay calm (she was not really nervous that I could tell)
Just as soon as I affirmed she had the cross-hairs centered on the buck's shoulder and I was confident the gun's muzzle was staying steady, I told her "If you want to shoot, you can, it's a good shot"...BOOM! Later while we kept an eye on the downed deer, she told me she did not feel any recoil. They never do. After the shot when she began to shake a bit...the 'ol deer hunter's adrenaline rush. She told me it was a very cool feeling! She's a hunter!
Rebecca did not hesitate to pull the trigger and made a shot any hunter would be proud of...from right at 70 yards, she squeezed off the round. The deer took 5 steps, fell over and did NOT move. While waiting to make sure the deer was dead (and not going to run off) we watched 4 more bucks walk through. One even "fought/sparred" with Rebecca's buck as it lay unmoving. Talk about an opportunist!
Here are some photos.
BTW...the only "bad" thing to happen during this hunt...Rebecca was disappointed when I told her we would not be cooking her deer's heart for dinner that night (she was looking forward to that after hearing from her brother how good it is). She'd blown all but the bottom 1" of the deer's heart into an unidentifiable mass. What a great shot! An interesting side note...Rebecca is a sweet little girl...but she was a first-rate helper while I field-dressed the deer. She was interested in seeing the internal organs and told everyone how much she enjoyed that part of hunting...you never know how a person will react to "that part" of hunting.
A couple years ago...her first time shooting:
On the way to the range to practice:
A serious shooter:
With "standard issue" pink hunting boots:
Range time with the Marlin Model 56:
Practice hitting the shoulder:
Jazper (the range dog) stops in for a scratch behind the ear:
Maybe a "kiss" too:
In the stand getting in plenty of dry-fire practice with the rifle:
Back from the range...Grand-Bob and Kylar ham it up:
Shortly after taking her 1st deer...hard to miss that smile:
Tagging her deer:
How many points? See the deer stand behind Rebecca?
Seven points!
Rebecca has told me she's going to get her Hunter's Safety taken by next season so she can shoot a buck and a doe. I like her attitude!
Bob
I had taken her shooting twice during the past couple years. She had impressed me because she listened so well and shot with utmost concentration. Good stuff!
On Friday, I took her to the range (out back) and gave her the opportunity to get some live fire practice at deer-like targets with one of my rimfire rifles. I also took her out to the stand with the actual rifle she would hunt with (a Savage Model 110 - .243 Win) to see how many cushions I'd need to get her boosted up to be able to safely shoot. I also gave her plenty of time with the Savage so she could shoulder the gun and dry-fire the heck out of it! I do not let young hunters shoot the "deer rifle" until they pull the trigger on the deer. No use getting them flinching!
On Saturday morning, she became the earliest hunter to score on our farm (that I know of anyway). It was just light enough to shoot when three deer came out into an open area close to our stand. It took a moment or two, but she got the gun shouldered and aimed. I coached her to make sure she would stay calm (she was not really nervous that I could tell)
Just as soon as I affirmed she had the cross-hairs centered on the buck's shoulder and I was confident the gun's muzzle was staying steady, I told her "If you want to shoot, you can, it's a good shot"...BOOM! Later while we kept an eye on the downed deer, she told me she did not feel any recoil. They never do. After the shot when she began to shake a bit...the 'ol deer hunter's adrenaline rush. She told me it was a very cool feeling! She's a hunter!
Rebecca did not hesitate to pull the trigger and made a shot any hunter would be proud of...from right at 70 yards, she squeezed off the round. The deer took 5 steps, fell over and did NOT move. While waiting to make sure the deer was dead (and not going to run off) we watched 4 more bucks walk through. One even "fought/sparred" with Rebecca's buck as it lay unmoving. Talk about an opportunist!
Here are some photos.
BTW...the only "bad" thing to happen during this hunt...Rebecca was disappointed when I told her we would not be cooking her deer's heart for dinner that night (she was looking forward to that after hearing from her brother how good it is). She'd blown all but the bottom 1" of the deer's heart into an unidentifiable mass. What a great shot! An interesting side note...Rebecca is a sweet little girl...but she was a first-rate helper while I field-dressed the deer. She was interested in seeing the internal organs and told everyone how much she enjoyed that part of hunting...you never know how a person will react to "that part" of hunting.
A couple years ago...her first time shooting:
On the way to the range to practice:
A serious shooter:
With "standard issue" pink hunting boots:
Range time with the Marlin Model 56:
Practice hitting the shoulder:
Jazper (the range dog) stops in for a scratch behind the ear:
Maybe a "kiss" too:
In the stand getting in plenty of dry-fire practice with the rifle:
Back from the range...Grand-Bob and Kylar ham it up:
Shortly after taking her 1st deer...hard to miss that smile:
Tagging her deer:
How many points? See the deer stand behind Rebecca?
Seven points!
Rebecca has told me she's going to get her Hunter's Safety taken by next season so she can shoot a buck and a doe. I like her attitude!
Bob
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