(I know this is an archery site and forum so if this needs to be moved please do) It's hard to explain the emotion that comes as a father when you hunt with your kids for the first time so bear with me as I share probably one of the best moments of my life. My oldest son, Owen, turned 10 this year so in WI he is able to hunt under the mentor program. We practiced shooting shotgun, rifle, and bow this summer. He started breaking clay targets consistently with his single shot .410 and showed he was pretty darn accurate with my .300 Blackout AR out to 100 yards. He can't pull enough weight back for bow so I knew he would likely shoot his first deer with a rifle. A few weeks ago, I took him on the youth duck hunt in WI and he was able to harvest 5 ducks and I was thrilled! I was just hoping he'd get one at some point this year so he was off to a great start. Fast forward to this weekend and the WI youth deer hunt. Had a wedding Saturday and the weather was crummy anyway so we didn't end up going out, but the forecast for Sunday looked decent other than the temps getting a little warm so Sunday afternoon was going to be his first and only shot at hunting deer (until gun season at least). We got to our stand about 4:15 P.M. and got settled into our elevated Stump blind that we had just built and put out in July. Got everything situated and had my son practice holding the rifle out of each window and get comfortable with the rest. We had a couple lawn chairs that I brought to sit in and they took up more room than I liked so I told him I'd fold mine up and kneel when it got a bit later so we had more room to maneuver if necessary. I knew the deer wouldn't be moving for a while so I reviewed some deer anatomy photos and shot placement angles with him just for a refresher. We chatted about hunting and he went through what-if scenarios on the deer he was hoping we would see. My goal was to get him a shot at a doe or small buck within 50 yards just to get a good first experience under his belt and build confidence. The property we hunt has a good deer population so seeing deer is generally almost a sure thing and I was relatively confident he would get a shot opportunity. The minutes ticked by and around 5:30 I was getting texts from my nephew and brother that they were starting to see deer on their property adjacent to ours (they were bowhunting), but it was still quiet by us. Our property is largely CRP with cattails and we were overlooking a food plot I had planted adjacent to a tract of timber to our north with marsh grass, cattails and smaller aspen trees to our south. Wind was out of the SSW at about 5-10 and dying down perfectly as the temps dropped. At 5:51, my nephew sends a text that he had drawn back and let an arrow fly at year and a half old buck and had a pretty good hit he thought. He hadn't shot and recovered a deer with his bow yet so I was really excited for him and so was my son. I told him the deer were moving and to just be patient. I liked our chances. A little after 6:00 P.M., I hear a rustling to my southwest and peak over my shoulder. A decent buck was behind us on the edge of the grass cattails at about 40 yards. He was facing directly at us so all I could see was neck and rack. Right at the ears with decent height and mass. Didn't think the buck was huge, but it would be a heckuva first buck for my son. Unfortunately, it was right on top of us and in the absolute worst window for my son to shoot. I wasn't even sure how we were going to maneuver to get a shot honestly. The buck started rubbing on a small aspen tree so I grabbed the gun and set it on the window rest and told my son to climb over me slowly. He almost got in position and the buck looked up and was staring right at us. I told my son not to move. His feet were in an awkward position and he was kind of straddling my legs. The buck stared at us for a good 5 minutes. Thankfully, it was upwind and we held statue still. The buck eventually resumed rubbing and started to walk to the S/SE along the cattail edge. It was broadside, but the body was covered by trees and brush. No shot. My son was now in better position, but the buck continued to be in heavy cover. There were a couple brief opportunities, but nothing high percentage so I told my son to be patient and wait for a good shot. The minutes ticked by. He was crawling. I was relaying text messages to my brother/nephew when I could. The buck turned and started cutting east, still at a snail's pace, but my son's angle out of the corner window was becoming increasingly difficult. I told him we had to try and move to the back center window, but his chair was facing the other direction and in the way. I was able to fold up the chair out of the way and while the buck was behind some heavier cover, he was able to move windows. This was the one window we had not practiced out of and it was lower than the rest. Too high for him to kneel and shoot, but too low to stand and shoot since I wanted him to have a rest. He was shaking like a leaf even though this encounter was now going on 20 minutes. I locked my wrists to my hands and made a makeshift chair with my arms for him to sit on. He kept tracking the buck with his scope, but still no shot. A small clearing was just ahead and of course when the buck got there, he took a few quick steps and was through before my son could lock on for a shot. He was now in thinner cover, but among the little aspen trees. He'd take a step or two and we just needed a little window, but there was always just one tree in the way. Finally, he stepped into a small opening at about 50 yards where it looked as if his vitals were exposed. My son was ready and I told him if he felt steady and comfortable, now was the time. BANG! The first shot rang out and the buck gave a giant mule kick and ran a little forward and stopped. I thought he had a good hit by how the buck reacted, but after he stood there for a bit and partially concealed by brush, I told my son to shoot again. BANG! A few more steps. Shoot again. BANG! A few more steps. BANG! The magazine was empty as I didn't think he'd need more than four shots or wouldn't be able to take more at least. The buck ran a little further and stood again about 100 yards away. My other bullets were in the backpack we brought so I quickly fumbled through the pack and grabbed the box. I grabbed another round and chambered it and told my son to steady and take one last good shot. BANG! The buck charged forward and disappeared out of sight. I thought he might've got another good hit on the last shot. He was excited and stressed and happy and sad all at once. He was shaking profusely. "I had to hit it dad" "I hit it, right dad?" I assured him I thought he did, but that I wasn't sure so that we should pack up our stuff and back out. As we were packing up and with the door to our blind wide open, two bucks emerged from the area we had just shot toward and started sparring. One of the bucks was decent and my son thought it might be his buck, but I assured him that wasn't likely. We waited for those bucks to clear off and walked back to the ATV. We live right across the road from our hunting land so I told him we'd go get some supper, help my nephew with his buck if needed, and then go look for his. Looking back at the time stamped text string, I had texted my brother the first time at 6:08 after we had been staring at the buck for a couple minutes and the shots rang out at 6:35. 30 minutes of a cat and mouse game and my son had kept his composure as best he could throughout. I said a little prayer that we would find it and complete the awesome experience. I called my brother when we got home and they were already on good blood on my nephew's deer and were pretty confident it was dead. Minutes later I received a picture message with the buck. Sweet! One found. I waited for them to gut it and get back to my house. By the time we took care of his deer and drove the ATVs back down, it was 9:30. I had my son and nephew stay by the blind for reference and my brother and I started looking for blood in the area he shot. Nothing. Couldn't find blood or hair or anything. Combed back and forth and still nothing. We use Barnes Vortex with the TacTX bullets and while they leave a trail of carnage on the internal organs of deer the blood trails have been sparse. Knowing this, I just walked in the direction I last saw the deer charge into to do a quick body search before backing out until morning. I caught a glimpse of a big "rock" looking object laying on the ground through some cover and knew immediately I had found the deer! I shouted that I found it and everyone came running. I walked up on the massive body and pulled the head up and realized it was a deer I knew well. We had named him Junior and had a bit of a history on camera with him. I did not for a second think it was this buck when we were encountering him, but I never got much more than a frontal view of the rack and knew it was a nice deer, but not that it was Junior. My son and I share some high fives and hugs and all of us were absolutely jacked! It was an experience I will remember forever! We believe the buck to be 5 years old and he was only 12.25" wide, but green scored 136 7/8" with 13 scoreable points (15 total). Sorry for the long story, but even recalling each moment as I type this, gets me almost shaky again! Take your kids hunting! It is one of the most fulfilling things you will ever do!
Great read! Awesome story! Congrats to you and your son. That's what it's all about. Cant wait for my boys to get older, so I can take em hunting. Good for you! That's a nice buck too.
Congrats Shawn Jennings ProGold Easton FMJ 339 grains NAP Spitfire DoubleCross 100 grains 2017 Team 3 Shed Hunting 2017 Team 6 Turkey Hunting 2017 Team 5 Deer Hunting
Great buck and great story!! I can't wait to share the same experiences with my son when he is old enough!
Congrats to you both. It was youth weekend here too and my BIL and I took my 2 nephews out and they both scored bucks too. It makes all the effort worth it to see the smiles on there faces.
Awesome story, 136 inch buck at 10 years old is so cool. My boys got a few years to go but I look forward to taking him out. Congrats again.
Phenomenal. What a great deer too. Now your big challenge might be keeping him from being jaded by such early success. Lol. Congratulations.
I told him he'll realize how fortunate he was when he will be 30 and talking about the biggest buck he ever shot when he was 10.
