The Thrill of Your First Deer

I am twenty years old, and have never hunted before this season.  I went out several times during bow season and had no luck.  By the time gun season came along, I was discouraged and frustrated.  I wanted to kill a buck so badly or even just a doe!  Today was the day I was going to kill my first deer; I could feel it in my bones.

           

My boyfriend, Corey, has hunted since he was three years old.  When it comes to hunting, he has taught me everything I know!  He took me out the first day of gun season in hopes of getting me a deer.  Although I had no luck in bow season, he still had faith in me.  He coached me all the way to our ground blind, as we walked quietly through the woods.  We sat there waiting and watching, I grew anxious.  There was a field and lake in front of us, and woods behind us.  We were both busy watching different ways for a deer to approach us.  At this point, an hour has passed and I was looking in front of us while Corey was looking behind us.  All of a sudden, he nudged me and had an excited look on his face while whispering in a serious tone for me to look.  I looked over quickly and saw a doe.  My heart was racing and my hands were shaking as I turned around and put up my gun.  Corey had to duck as I aimed over him.  The doe had gone out of sight over a hill for about five seconds.  It was 20 yards in front of me by the time it was in sight again.  There was no way I was going to miss this shot.  It was running towards me as I followed it carefully through my scope.  When it was 15 yards away, it had stopped.  I could only hear my heart pounding as I aimed my gun at another heart.  I didn’t waste one second to pull the trigger.  Corey jumped up frantically as we watched it run down the hill.  It didn’t make it far before it started rolling down the hill and didn’t get up.  Corey high-fived me and congratulated me for killing my first deer.  I had mixed emotions as soon as I knew I had killed it.  I was so excited that I had finally killed my first deer, but I was very sad I had taken a life.  My eyes got watery talking to Corey, but when he hugged me and told me “good job,” I felt very proud.  We went down the hill to see my kill.  I was still shaking when we approached it.  I grabbed one end as Corey grabbed the other, and we dragged it through the woods to field dress it.  When we came across the heart, we saw that the bullet went right through the middle of it.  Corey had always quoted from one of his favorite movies, “aim small, miss small,” and that’s exactly what I did.  If it wasn’t for Corey’s coaching and patience, I would have never been able to kill that deer. 

           

Even though it wasn’t a buck, I was still thrilled.  I have never experienced such a nervous and exciting feeling.  There isn’t anything that I want more than to experience the same feeling again.  All of the hours sitting and waiting finally paid off.  Hunting definitely teaches you to keep your chin up and persevere.  If I had given up after bow season, I wouldn’t have this story to share!

On top of harvesting my first deer little did I know that when Corey had cleaned it he saved the hide. He tanned it and made it into a vest to give to me as a surprise Christmas gift.    

- <3 - Charrie