It’s been a while and I probably should have written this one while it was still fresh in my mind. The good news is for everyone reading this: this one will be proofread to ensure the accuracy of events, which means the majority of grammar and spelling issues should be squashed. Without further ado…

Her first deer season, her first deer.

Leading up to deer season, I’m certain there was some apprehension. When the summer rolled around and things were on lock down, all programs went remote, including the hunter safety course. That was actually an incentive for a lot of people, especially Beth. The pressure of having know it all kids that grew up around hunting was removed and folks could just learn at their own pace. She jumped at the opportunity and I was glad for it.

The original motivation was to have an extra hunter on deck with extra tags and I wasn’t certain just how into hunting, if at all, Beth might be. The closer opening day came the more planning that happened, I think the nerves began to build. We had gone up to the pond and sighted in rifles and did a little family shooting. Wouldn’t you know it, a four point buck made an appearance while we were shooting. He almost showed no interest or fear, and the rut was coming on, clearly. I jokingly told her that buck had her name on it.

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The night before Beth said she was going to bow out and wasn’t sure she would go in the morning. I gave her a hard time and said we were sticking to the plan and she was coming with me. Topher was going to Lola’s and we were all setup. We had everything staged and all we had to do was get some breakfast and head out the door.

It was a very early morning. Lola had Topher up at 4:30AM and he was out the door by 5AM so that they could get up to Uncle Dwight and Aunt Sara’s so they could get out on opening day as well. We can’t have an expedition without treats and coffee, so the brewmaster made sure that she had the necessities and all of the modern conveniences of hunting in an elevated blind. Once we arrived we headed up into the tower and got situated.

We were setup for about an hour when three doe stepped out into the field in front of us. We had the windows open and Beth grabbed her rifle. It was the first time I went hunting without any intention of shooting something, with the exception of a field full of deer. It was an adult and two first year doe. We picked out the big one and Beth tried to get comfortable behind the scope while watching and waiting for an opportunity. The little ones kept spoiling the shot and then when she was alone, it was a bad angle. They were moving along pretty steadily also, and after about 5 minutes they had completed the crossing and were gone. While it felt a little disappointing, it was a great learning opportunity. I told Beth she got to see how they moved, she got to feel how getting setup felt, and now had an overall better understanding of what to expect when the next encounter happened. She was more nervous about getting set up than shooting.

I jokingly said that my dad would have told us that he would have let them go to wait for the buck that would be trailing them. If that wasn’t prophetic: 20 minutes later a four point buck comes trotting out on our near side of the field, right where the doe had emerged, and he was moving! He was definitely on the scent for a girlfriend. Beth was instantly setup and looking down scope following him across the field. I thought I had to slow him down so I did my best attempt at a doe bleat to see if I could get him to stop. It didn’t work instantly but he stopped right at the edge of the field, and turned perfectly broadside to take a quick look. Beth was on it and sent one. I wasn’t looking down scope with my rifle, I was just watching the whole thing unfold. It was about 120 yards and he bucked up and I knew she hit him! Beth instantly felt hesitation at having taken the shot and lamented that she didn’t think it was a good shot. I reassured her she definitely hit him and we’ll just have to go check it out.

We gathered ourselves together, and after five minutes, descended from the tower and headed over to where he stood. We instantly found blood, bright red blood, and I explained that was a great shot. It indicated a lung hit, and there was a very steady trail to follow. I told her we’d cross the little creek and he’d just be on the other side. Sure enough, maybe 40-50 yards in and there he was. Turns out he was a five point and I told her that it had to be the same deer we had seen while sighting rifles in. She was so proud, she was beaming! “I shot him with my own rifle!”

My brother made sure to tell her how spoiled she was. Her first deer, a buck, on opening day during her first season of hunting. What a great morning it turned out to be. Dwight and Sara were in the nearby woods and came to inspect things. It was the perfect first deer.

Normally that would be the end of my post, but if you shoot your first deer on opening day and you have three tags, you keep hunting. Having had such early success, Beth was eager to keep at it too, which is great! I told her that this isn’t how things normally go, and the two weeks that followed were a much better indication of how things normally go. We didn’t see a thing, not one single deer. We continued to hunt together in the tower, and as the season carried on without seeing much, the conversation turned toward splitting up to cover more ground. She insisted that the first deer was beginner’s luck and I said it was no such thing and she’d do great.

After several more days together hunting we geared up for an afternoon hunt and we decided we’re going to split up for the first time. Beth would take the tower and I would head into the blind in the woods. As Beth tells it, she no more than gets her last step up into the tower and the door shut behind her when a button buck appears right below her. The windows weren’t even open yet and she was doing everything she could to try to be quiet to get things opened up to give herself a shot at it. The general rule is that we let antler-less singles go since they’re probably button bucks, but she was in go mode. Fortunately for him, he kept moving, into the pines and onward before she could get him in her sights. She was bummed and thought: Well, at least I saw something and had some action.

It wasn’t the only action she’d get as 14 turkeys crossed the field in front of her. She sent me pictures of them and no more than 10 minutes later they were right next to me. I’d never been so close to wild turkeys before. I just watched the big woods chickens move through pecking and purring as they moved. They were no more than 10 yards from me and it was really awesome to see them. I couldn’t be disappointed in the afternoon at this point, deer or no. It wasn’t long, maybe 15-20 minutes later and a shot rang out, a loud one. I had the phone in my hand instantly.

“Was that you?”

“A bunch of them headed your way. Yep!”

I was so excited I wanted to head right out to check out how things went, but as the report stated, I need to wait it out to make sure I wouldn’t spoil my own opportunity. I gave it 20 minutes and after not seeing anything, I then texted her that I was headed her way. As I emerged into the clearing I could see she was already out of the tower (blaze orange shows up in that elevated blind really well and I didn’t see any blaze orange up there) and she was already looking. I got to the field and yelled out for her. She yelled back from the direction she shot her buck at. I headed up to her and she was looking for blood where the deer stood and didn’t find any. She said she watched where he went in and so that’s where we started looking, rather than where she hit him. I was really proud of her foresight, to keep an eye on things and not getting caught up in the action, like following through your swing and keeping your eye on the ball.

Again she lamented the shot but the blood trail was another great one. I reassured her she definitely got her, this time a doe, as she’d already filled her buck tag. While she shot the buck in the morning and we had endless daylight, the doe was shot in the evening and the sunlight was going to be gone in the next 30 minutes. We had our pack and had flashlights on hand if it came to it. We followed the blood trail and obviously disturbed leaves for the majority of the track until we lost the trail. Beth began to worry but I told her that the trail we were following was so good that I was certain it was because it had bled out and it was right next to us, we just had to find it. Sure enough, 10 feet away the doe was laying next to a big pine. Another perfect shot, this time the liver and one of the lungs. She was so proud of herself, on another level this time, she’d done this on her own.

We dragged it out to the field, and by this time it was dark. She wanted to field dress this deer, as I had done the buck. She was gloved up and started the process, and between the car lights as her main source of light and only having verbal commands, she gave up dressing duties and I jumped in to help finish things out. She wanted to understand what I was doing so I made sure I did a better job explaining things as I went. At this point in the season it was Beth 2, Jason 0.

I eventually rounded out our season with one more doe, so we turned out to be well stocked. I didn’t get my own deer until I had played guide for friends and helped a second get their first deer ever. I guess I need to consider becoming an outfitter. In all, this was the best season I think I’ve ever had, and it didn’t have to do with me accomplishing anything myself, but taking great satisfaction in seeing others be successful in their own hunting pursuits. After hunting since the age of 12, you forget what it’s like to hunt for the first time, and it makes me really look forward to taking Topher out for his first real hunt, and to see his own pride.

There is nothing more empowering in the world than providing yourself with food, be it with gardening or hunting. Providing for yourself and for your family gives an individual a sense of empowerment that I think everyone should feel, even if it’s just three tomatoes and a basil plant. Hunting and gathered is something that is built into our DNA, and experiencing both/either is such a feeling of accomplishment.