Your first deer?

[TeacherMan]

I was 9 years old when I shot my first deer and elk. This is the story of my deer. I was above Loomis in the Okanogan, we headed up toward Chapaka lake, we had crested the lop of the graid and there was a sage flat off of the right side of the truck and about 10 does where out at the edge of the flat. My dad let me out of the truck and drove just up the road to park it. He expected me to sit there and wait for him, I didn't  . I loaded my 243 and set out over the flat, I got within about 150 yds of a big doe and shot, wack, they all ran right into a fog bank, I went straight at them. I crested the hill and saw the deer they where moving around a hill I could see blood on the side of one of them in my scope so I fired again, missing, I laid down and shot again, she jumped again. About this time my dad got down the hill to me and was about to have a heart attack figuring he would see a herd of deer laying dead. I explained to him what I had done to that point. I started to head toward where to deer went and he grabbed my shoulder and had me go around the hill, instead of headed at them I went to where they where going. We looped around the hill and where within 50yds of my doe, she was all hunched up. I lift my gun and got ready to shoot again but my dad stopped me. He ad me use a log for a rest and shoot her in the head. I still remember her head didn't move but her entire body did a back flit and it was over. I hit her 3 out of the 4 shots. 3 in the guts one in the head. Pretty stinky. We cleaned her up, got in the truck and ended up driving back to Auburn that night, I had ruined my hunt, I shot one on the way to camp. We never even took our tent out. I didn't get to go camping  . November rolled around and I got to hunt for elk in the Little Naches and I got a nice big cow on that hunt. I got to camp that week. Man what I would do to be back in school, take advantage of it with your kids if you have a job that allows it. I don't and I don't get to hunt like I use to, your kid will appreciate it in the future.

[walt]

I killed my first deer when I was 11 years old.  I grew up in a hunting family and had been raised around guns and hunting.  I started shooting a 22 and a 410 at about 7.  Eleven was the magic age when my mom agreed that I was ready to take hunters safety and carry a rifle.  I think Dad thought I was ready as soon as I could walk.  Well, after passing the test and practicing throughout the summer with my new to me winchester 30-30 opening day finally came.  Dad and I were up well before dawn and headed up Wenas Rd. into Umtanum.  We parked just before dawn and started working our way east, toward the river.  About a mile in we split up with dad working the north side of the canyon we were hunting and me on the south.  It was a pretty good sized canyon with a creek running down the middle.  We kept creeping side hill down the canyon about 2 more miles without seeing anything.  The plan was to meet at the bottom at 11 and decide what to do next.  At about 10:30 I was creeping through a small draw when I see a deer bedded in the game trail I am on about 60 yards in front of me.  I freeze and he picks his head up and looks back over his shoulder at me.  Its a buck!  I had played this scenario out in my head hundreds of times so I don't even remember easing my rifle up to my shoulder.  I placed the sight pin on his right front shoulder and squeezed the trigger.  BOOM!  followed immediately by me sqweeling "I got him Dad."  At the shot he tried to jump up but I had destroyed his shoulder.  He attempted to run but fell, tried again and fell again.  After yelling to my dad I racked another round and finished him off with one in the neck.  I don't know who was more excited me or dad.  Even the 3 hour pack back to the rig couldn't wipe the smiles off our faces.   I wish I had pictures to share but I will always have the memories. 

[7mmfan]

October 13th, 1997. Sheridan Wyoming. I was 13 years old and had been on hunting trips with my dad and brother before but had never seen anything killed. This was the very first time that I ever got to hunt. It was about 15 minutes into the first day and dad and I split up in this big canyon. He took the bottom and I took the sidehill. I was walking along and saw this big pile of rocks that looked cool so I climbed up to them and low and behold, what was on the other side of them but a dandy 3x4. He saw me the exact same time I saw him and we sat there about 50 yards apart staring at eachother for what seemed like hours but was probably more like a second or two. All I could see was his head over the top of the sage brush so thats what I shot at... and missed. My dad said that he was sure someone with a machine gun fired the next three shots. The deer got up and ran sidehill right infront of me and and I shot 3 times at him hitting him twice right behind the shoulder. Later we found a hole in his ear where I think my first shot went. All went great until we looked at what we had to drag the deer up to the truck. About 1500' of elevation gain in about 1501'. We rallied the troups and got my two uncles and brother and got it up. They vowed to never help me drag another deer out again. Since then they've helped with at least half a dozen multi-mile drags. I guess thats what I get for not liking to hunt around other people!

[PacificNWhunter]

I was 13 years old and about 3 month out of hunters ED. My Dad and I hunted the entire general W. Side season without seeing any antlers, well he saw a few but I was trying to get the whole thing figured out and probably missed allot of deer along the way. It was the 1st day of the late season and I was chomping at the bit to get out in the woods, Dad had to work that morning and there was no talking my Mom into getting up and driving me out to the woods. It was looking like I was not going to be able to go out hunting.....but I had to go, if there was a way I was going to find it. I ended up finding a ride from my future brother in-laws father, Larry.  Morning came quickly and I awoke to find the morning clear and COLD...well for the west side anything in the 30's is good. I gathered my things and waiting at the end of the drive way to be picked up. We got out to the hunting spot about 45 minutes before first light, quietly managed to pick our way up an old clearing and positioned ourselves for the morning hunt. Light came and we saw NOTHING.....After awhile we decided to walk back to the truck and try a patch of timber down the road. While walking out I noticed a slight brown movement to my right. DEER! there were 3 does walking parallel to us paying us no attention. We sat and watched them for 20 minutes hoping a rack would be close by..again no more movement and the does fed off. We decided to move again....I followed up the rear as we headed back down the trail towards the truck. About another 25 yards after seeing the does I turned around for one last look and was surprised to see a 2x2 standing 45 feet away on the same trail I was!  I dropped to a knee took aim with my .300 savage and sent a 150 grn bullet speeding towards the buck. I MISSED! but the buck did not seem to care...he turned walked about 30 yards farther and turned broad side. This time I found a stump leveled the .300 again and delivered the fatal shot. Larry missed the whole thing except for the last shot. Larry assisted me getting the buck gutted and back to the truck. We took the long way home to show Dad my first buck, he was very excited and actually left work early to help me get the buck skinned.

I'm heading to my parents this weekend and will try and find the pic's, scan and then post them for you all. Bone, I have a too have a couple scars on my left from that first deer.

[strutnrut1984]

my first deer was taken at age 12 on ourfarm in crawford county pennsylvania in 1977. it was a very large doe. my dad set me next to a big tree in a fence row between a small hay field and a redbrush field. he  went into the thicket.next thing i knew there were deer runnig everywhere. and a big doe slid to a stop a mere 10 yds from me.i cocked the hammer on my 32winspl. shakin like a leaf i fired and dropped her.a spine shot i was so excited i couldnt rack in anothe round. dad came down and finished her off i was very proud.   the next year i baged my first buck in the same spot a small 3x2. we had got there about an hour before light on opeing day. and sat on our buckets we had built a nice little blind out of branches and brush and dad had an old car hood for the roof. well any way it started gttin light  i saw 3 deer feedin in the hay field i whispered to dad i think one is a buck. he said no all does. but it got lighter i said dad i see horns. he scoped them and said albe darnd one is a buck. so he got me ready for a shot. i fired and the dirt flew up under his belly lol he jumped and stopped lookin around m dad steadied my rifle with his hand because i really had the shakes then. and my next shot was on the money. i will always remeber those times with my dad. and thank him for making me a hunter. he passed in 03 from cancer. and even after 57 deer to my credit im still a shakin fool afterwards lol. thanks for your time      strut

[fishseeker]

Growing up it was more about fishing than huntig, Dad was a road hunter. Had hunted a couple time with guys from high school somewhere out of Orting. In 1972 at the age of 21, I went with my  Dad and new step brother-in-law on my first real opening weekend hunt. Jim and his brothers and their dad had cabins in Mazama on the Harts Pass rd. Opening moring we hunted across the rd. from the cabins below Goat Wall, saw a couple does. after breakfast and a nap we went down where Goat Cr. crosses the Rd. to Winthrop and went in twoards the Methow, I followed the cr. aways and Dad and Jim spread out in other areas. Hit the river and started back toward the rig. came to a small opening and saw some legs in the brush on the other side walk off.Waited a few minutes and creeped across the opening. Got down on my knee and was looking for the deer. Found legs again about 75 yards away,Steped to my right and saw the legs where twin forkys  walking head to tail, Drop to my knee and put the crosshairs behind the shoulders and fired. Deer jumped and ran. Jim hollered Hey. to let me know he was there. Told him I got one. Walked over to where the deer was standing and there was Pink and red stuff on the branches. Deer went 20 yards and died laying over a log. Jim went to get the rig but the rd. was blocked Dad was sitting in the car, Jim told him I got one but he would not come to leave the rig to come to see it. I was very excited and heart broke at he same time! Vowed that would never happen with me and it hasn't! That was the only real hunt I got to go on with my dad! Booze became more important to him after that than anything!

[C-Money]

I got my first deer in Pennsylvania when I was 12. I was the first day of doe season. A group of twelve doe came up into a bunch of hemlock trees where I was sitting out of the swamp. I had my doe by 730am. Used Grandpa's Marlin 30-30. Just about everyone in our family has killed a deer with that old rifle. My family has sure taken alot of deer back there! My first and only Elk to date came in 2006 from the Clockum. It was the only spike in a group of 50 plus. They all ran down the canyoun single file and the spike was about the 25th animal. Can you believe there was not another hunter around! Was a great experience Great times, and warm memories!

[Hoytstaffshooter83]

I was 12, shot my first deer with my bow on my 2nd day deer hunting, we were driving down a logging road and drove past this alder patch and a doe was standing it in, we drove past got out hiked back and my buddy said take her, I drew and punched the crap out of the trigger but the arrow went right through her, hit the heart dead on and got both lungs, she turned, walked a few steps, stopped and fell over dead!!!!! I will never forget it, but every deer since has been just as special

[stlhdr1]

12 years old, shot a spike at 125 yards with a Remington pump 30-06.  I still remember the balling sounds it was making when I ran up to it...  Gave me nightmares for weeks. 

Keith

[clindsayrun]

I shot my first deer this year!  :rockin:javascript:void(0);
Rockin' at 28 years old!

I've been a bird hunter my entire life. My family used to live to duck hunt. I can remember being like 12 or 13 and being so disappointed when the hunting shows were about whitetail hunting. About the time my brothers and I were heading off to college we somehow made the shift into big game hunting. Now it feels like we've been chasing deer, bear and elk our entire lives rather than a few years.

I've previously had a couple of unsuccessful seasons in western Washington.  My little brother on the other hand has been a west side deer killing machine for like 9 years! I spent five seasons living in Arizona. You can hunt archery over the counter but rifle tags are by lottery drawing. I never drew a rifle deer tag and never connected with the bow! I did draw a cow elk tag down there and I shot plenty of Javelina, so it wasn't all bad.

This season I drew a special access permit for the Mary Eder Unit near Oroville. The Eder unit is about a half mile from my house. In fact I can see much of it out of my kitchen window. The day that tag showed up in the mail I almost had a heart attack I was so pumped!  I was saddened that I wouldn't be hunting with my brothers, but it was a worthy trade. I did quite a bit of scouting and saw a few pretty good deer.

For those who weren't aware WDFW gave out 5 archery, 5 muzzle loader and 5 modern tags.

Anyway October 11th is also my son's birthday. He was having his first birthday this year and the party was starting at 2:30. I made a promise that I would be there by 3.

So opening morning I headed out, it was about a 60 second drive from my house. There were nine does in the Unit's parking area and about five more walking along the road. From sun up on I was counting deer. Over the course of my day I saw easily 400-500 deer. A good mixture of whitetail and mule deer. I saw quite a few bucks, but most were pretty small. I figured I had a week to fill the tag, and I most likely will never draw it again, so I wanted to shoot a pretty good deer. One of my brothers had predicted that I would hold out for at least a 5x5. My other brother thought I would shoot the first legal deer to walk in front of me. Anyway, lots of deer out there. I saw two different pair of whitetail is locked antlers, sparring over their respective patches of land. It was a pretty good show.

I saw one good 5x5 whitetail but couldn't make it happen. About noon I was working a rocky section of ledges up by the border. I came over a small rise and saw 6 mule deer at 50 yards working up the hill towards me. There were two or three 3x3's a bunch of forked horns and one 4x4 leading the bachelor group. He looked good enough to me so at 35 yards I put one in his neck. He went strait down like a ton of bricks.  Later he was scored at 140 gross.

I was pretty pumped. As it worked out my father and brothers had just showed up at my place for my son's birthday party. I gave them a call and they headed out to meet me. I gutted the deer and had to drag it for about a half mile until I ran into my dad and brothers.  We all dragged the deer the 3/4 mile to the gate and loaded him into the truck. While we were dragging the deer out we ran into a hog of a 6x6 whitetail at 75 yards.

Anyway it was a great hunt. I took a good deer and was still able to share the experience with my family.

A lot of guys have told me that I should have held out for a bigger deer, but it's tough when you're really looking to put meat in the freezer and you've never bagged a deer to begin with.

I also met a 9 year old boy who drew a tag. He was out there with his father and younger brother and bagged a fantastic 4x4 whitetail.

Oh, just for information I saw 12 other hunters (not counting the boy and his father and brother) that morning.  javascript:void(0);
Dunno
Maybe they all had the "extra-special access" permit. Fish and Game Officers can't be everywhere at once and these guys knew it. Later I talked to a warden and he told me last season they found 21 gut piles on the unit.

Attached are a couple of pictures. The first is my deer on the ground. The second is after I cleaned the skull.  Later I'll post pics of the finished european mount.
-Corey

[Elk4me]

I had to wait until I was 29 to get my first one. I didn't start until I was 27 when I got out of the Navy. I was hunting with Fishseeker and his wife West of Yakima on Whites Ridge. It was opening day and I was not far from camp, I could hear my dog barking and I wasn't sure what was wrong with her so I returned and untangled the chain. I walked back behind the camp a couple hundred yards and "Nature Called Loudly". Yup, you guessed it. Just about time for the paperwork and I hear "crash, snap, crunch", look up and about 100 yds through the brush is a four point broadside just lookin at me wondering "What is that aroma". I grabbed my rifle and waddled sideways (pants restricting any full steps while around the ankles). I shot him through the lungs and he dropped where he stood. I finished the paperwork and went over to him, tagged him and went to find my brother to show me what to do next. It's the pits asking "little brother" how to gut your first deer. I haven't lived it down yet. We had to bail out fast due to the temperature was hitting 70 before we got it field dressed and ready to go. I found out later that Fishseeker's wife had run him to me while she was walking back to camp because she got cold.

[270Shooter]

Last year, about 40 miles north of Great Falls Montana. We hunted all morning and the other kid I was with shot a 3x3. We saw some pigs but couldn't catch up to them. Then as we were heading in for a snack we spotted about 10 deer about 1/2 behind the house. So we parked it and headed up through a little saddle and I looked over all of the deer and spotted a 3x3 with eye guards and said I was gonna shoot him. The wind was blowing about 20 mph and I ranged him at 285 yards. He kept on stopping right in front of and behind does so I had to wait and wait. Finally he stepped clear and BOOOOOOM!!!! My .270 Barked. I hit him a little low and back and he was headed up the hill but slowing down so I fired again and missed. Then I calmed down and shot him again as he was slowing down and that one knocked him down. But he quickly stood back up so I shot one more time and put it right in his boiler again and he was down for good! He died on a very steep him which made gutting him a little more fun. It wasn't pretty but it sure was fun and I can't wait to go back!

[wilsongideon]

I was sixteen using my dads 6mm. I had hunted for two years with my brother and brother in law and never seen anything legal hunting the lower okanogan and methow seems like we always sat out on the wheat fields three or four times a year but never seen much except hunters and a few doe coughing their lungs out trying to find a sage patch that didnt have two hunters sitting on it. I got lucky with my little brother who was eleven at the time and we hiked up a sage draw between two wheat fields and jumped what looked like a big fork with a couple doe. . . I wasnt sure of what i was seeing through my tasco 10 x 50s with one eye closed and so we trudged through the wheat in the general direction of where the deer had ran to. . .pretty soon we spooked them again and again i was pretty sure the main beams split  right out on the tips but i wasnt going to shoot unlesss i saw that one inch split for sure . . .my brother kept telling me he wanted to shoot it to and man that was tough not to but finally the third time we found that buck about 10000 dust filled boot steps away we were able to sneak up on him a little and at probably 50 to 80 yards could tell through the rifle scope that he did indeed branch at the tips again fullfilling the 3 point min. req. and as he winded us and started to quarter away that 6mm hit him through the lungs missed both shoulders and I harvested the first buck in my family.

[addicted]

i love this thread. all these memories are awesome.

[PacificNWhunter]

Took me awhile but I finally found the pic's of my first buck.... ALMOST made me think I should spend more time unpacking boxes in the new house then on here. Sorry if it is blurry, have not figured out the scanning stuff.