It's About Living!

[CoryTDF]

This was the most frustrating season I have ever had as a hunter. My daughter is 8 and she passed her HS course this spring. She has been looking forward to hunting all summer. We had some great land worked out all the way up until about a  week before the season when we were told that it was now a no-go. So, we made calls and tried to find some new land. Opening day saw us sitting on a hill on some public land that resembled a pumpkin patch. Our opening weekend ended with seeing far more orange than brown. I was extremely disappointed as this was the moment I have been waiting 8 years for. I wanted to get out and hunt with my little girl and everything was falling apart. She is not big enough to walk the hills and make a shot on a buck that is jumped up. We had to have a stand and everything had to be perfect.

I secured a piece of property on the first Monday of the season and we sat on the edge of the field that night. 30 min before shooting light was over a nice 4pt whitetail came out into the field and offered a 100 yard shot. I don't think I have ever experienced "buck fever'' like I did in that moment. This was the moment my little girl was about to kill her first buck! I had her prone out and use my backpack as a rest. She slowly took up the slack and the shot rang. I watched in horror as the buck trotted off after being cleanly missed. My heart was broken. Ellie began to cry and I held her close telling her it was alright. The truck ride home was painful but she sounded off from the back seat "it's ok I'll get the next one."

The next night we sat in the same spot and she was again resting the crosshairs on a nice whitetail buck. By brother had the camera rolling and I was watching intently through my binoculars. She said ''I'm ready'' and then the rifle barked. Whop! the buck jumped and ran back at us before turning and running to the field edge. It stood for about 10 seconds and then slipped back into the brush before she could steady for another shot. We waited about 20 minutes and went to find blood. I could not find a single drop, not a single fleck of blood anywhere. We gave it our best effort and found nothing, so, we went home to review the footage. After putting the footage into our editing software we were able to see it frame by frame and it showed that the buck had been hit but the bullet just barely went through the brisket area. He would live to see another day for sure. We again felt heartbroken.

My brother and I took half days the next two days and gave Ellie more range time. We found that her rifle had lost it's zero at one point or another and that was likely the reason for the low hit. During the range time she either developed a jerk or had completely lost confidence in the rifle and her shooting was not up to standard. We switched rifles and got her shooting again. After she began to consistently group on paper we put out balloons at different yardages. She had to pop 5 balloons in a row before she was allowed to go back out and hunt. It took some time but in the end we had her confidence back up and her shooting skills redialed in.

The next hunts were colossal failures due to awful weather and other humans. We sat in the rain with nothing to look at for hours on end and she never complained about the weather once. She wanted to get a buck! The next two days of hunting were ruined by people walking, driving, trespassing, and overall just screwing up our hunting in every way possible. I was loosing faith and beginning to get angry. My little girl would not let this shake her spirits and for her I kept my head. We had to get her a deer! She had worked so hard and she needed to feel success to boost her confidence.

The last night of the season found us sitting on a hilltop over looking a piece of land that has great potential for deer. We had hunted for bucks the whole season but today was about filling a tag. Ellie was completely ok with the idea of shooing a doe and I was not going to talk her out of it. She needed to fill that tag and feel that accomplishment. We sat watching the field edge and we had a discussion about what hunting is really all about. We discussed the importance of spending time together and making memories. We talked about how this special time together is more important than it is to kill an animal. She put her arm around my shoulder and hugged me while saying ''I love you daddy." Just then I heard the sound of a pickup truck. I watched in horror and my blood boiled as a truck full of orange drove right through the field we were sitting in. I was sure that our season was over.

Ellie asked me what time it was and when I told her we still had about an hour she smiled and said ''we still have time.'' I agreed but was not as optimistic, as I figured that pickup would be returning soon effectively ruining any chance we might still have. I had pulled out my phone and was sorting through pictures of deer while having Ellie point with a piece of grass where she would shoot each one. A loud crack came from the tree line. My phone was promptly dropped and soon after a nice size whitetail doe came into view.

Ellie and I had been playing a game where I pointed out an object on the field edge and had her find it in the scope. She had looked at the trail about 100 times now and so it was not hard for her to find the deer. My brother told me that he was ready and the camera was rolling so I flipped the safety off the rifle and pulled up my glasses. "When you're ready, steady the crosshairs and shoot" I watched the doe turn broadside... Boom-Whop! The doe jumped and wheeled running back to the tree line and into the brush. I grabbed Ellie and hugged her "You nailed her baby, you nailed her!"

Our eyes were trained on the grass in front of us searching for that crimson trail to victory. Ellie pulled on my sleeve and handed me a piece of grass "is this blood dad?" It sure was, it was about the size of a pin drop and in that moment I felt so proud of my little girl I almost began to cry. She started giggling and telling me that she was sure we would find her now. I let her work the blood out until the end. "She is right here Dad! Oh, she is so gorgeous. She is going to taste so good!" My eyes filled with water and I grabbed my baby girl with a sense of pride in her I had never known until that moment.

She was such a trooper through all the obstacles, the disappointments of missed shots, and the human element that so often ruins hunts. She dealt with just about every bad thing that can happen while hunting, and all in just one season. Through it all she stayed positive. This doe may not have the rack that we hoped for but it felt just as good. Through the loss of this deer's life was birthed a new found love for a sport that is so much more than killing. This great sport is now part of the sinew that holds together the love of father and child and the platform upon which years of bonding will be laid. No, this is not about killing, it's about living.   

[NRA4LIFE]

That's awesome.  Nice writeup and congrats to the new hunter.

[bosshogg112]

Great write up and what a nice fat doe the little lady took.  Congratulations!!!

[pianoman9701]

So cool, Cory. Congratulations to your great hunter.

[Widgeondeke]

thanks for sharing your story.  That's a nice big doe 

Congrats to Ellie 

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

Congrtas!!!!!!! Great story with an even better ending.

[go4steelhd]

Nice work Cory.
And a big congrats to your daughter on her first deer

[jennabug]

That's great!  Congrats to her for keeping such a great mindset.

[jackelope]

Great story, Cory. I'm sure you're incredibly proud of her for sticking with it. Congrats to both of you and thanks for sharing.

[Boss .300 winmag]

Nice write up pops. 

Tell the little huntress congrats on a great first deer. 

I can still remember all my three kids first deer, and the exact spots it took place. It's extra special every year I see them while hunting.

[lamrith]

awesome write up and thanks for sharing.  Nice fat doe, she will taste great!

[Whitpirate]

That's the stuff we live for!  Congrats to your little girl and enjoy that excellent table fare!

[724wd]

great stuff!

[Timberstalker]

Awesome. You've got a great new hunting partner.
What an awesome end to a tough season.

[tgomez]

Congradulations to the young lady. A proud dad I'm sure! Great story and memorable pictures.