This year was a successful family deer hunt. We hunt north central Texas and south central Oklahoma. This year Martin was out of school the whole week of Thanksgiving so we camped about 8 days and hunted hard.

Mom (Kristie) was the first to score, first rattle out of the box opening morning, with a nice 10 point.



My goal was mainly to help Martin get a deer and we hunted the next several days seeing nothing but doe. Then on Wednesday before Thanksgiving we were sitting on a sendero in heavy timber with a fairly strong wind. We could see up and down wind about 200 yards with the opening being about 20-30 feet wide.

Just before sunset the wind began to die. We hadn’t seen a single thing when all of the sudden a deer walked into the cut about 200 yds away and began to walk towards us...from what had been the down wind side.

I put my binoculars on it and saw it was a very good buck. I told Martin to get ready and get his rifle on the deer and watch him through his scope while on his shooting bipod. I would tell him when he was close enough for him to shoot. The deer kept coming and got to 125 yards and stopped as the wind kicked up a little blowing straight from us to him. Martin had only shot one deer before and wanted a broadside shot. This deer stayed standing facing us and started getting nervous as he was getting our scent. I was watching the deer through my scope telling Martin to shoot him in the base of the neck. He kept whispering he wasn’t sure as we had not practiced that shot. About that time the deer picked his head up real high and really began sniffing the wind and looking. His tail went up and he picked up a front leg to bolt and I shot him as he was a really big deer.

When I shot...the deer went down on his chest and just bulldozed into the underbrush and all was still. I just knew the deer was dead right there. We just watched a bit and then went to look. When we got where I thought the deer would be laying...there was nothing but a skid 10 feet long into the leaves. I looked hard and found some blood but it was scant. I went in the direction he was going and found more blood splotches. The light was dim in the deep woods as it was overcast, late in the evening, and I couldn’t barely make them out. About 25 yards along and I found a big puddle an knew the deer would be dead ahead. But as we went along...the blood thinned again and I was getting where I couldn’t see it. I then told Martin he was going to have to follow the blood as I couldn’t see it in this light without almost crawling. I gave him a crash course on how to tell it from the natural red on some oak leaves and other red things on the ground and to show me if he was unsure and to never loose the location of the last known spot. His young eyes with all his outdoor training...took to the trail like a walker hound on a hot coon track. He walked along at a pretty fair pace pointing and saying “here, here, here” just like I instructed. He lost it a couple of times but I pressed him to keep trying and he picked it back up and finally the blood became heavier. I just walked along behind scanning ahead. Finally...about 150 yds away from the shot...I saw the deer laying dead about 30 yards ahead. I let Martin trail right up to it. When he walked up on that deer...his holler conveyed his satisfaction. He was so proud...but not nearly as proud as I was of him and his job well done.


I had called Mom and she drove the Jeep over close to us and found us in time to take our picture.

Field dressing my deer...I found out why deer went so far. A frontal shot taken as the deer was departing...I intended to hit the spine in the base of the neck but missed the spine a little to the right. The bullet went through the right hemithorax taking only the right lung into the right dorsal abdomen and exited in right loin just in front of the right hip. With a pumping heart and one working lung he was able to go a good ways and all the blood stayed in the chest and abdomen making him very hard to trail.

Well the next day Martin and I were at it again hard trying to find him a buck. We hunted religiously every possible minute but it was not until the Saturday evening after Thanksgiving when he got his chance. This buck gave him a good broadside shot at 95 yards. It was bang flop as his little .300 Blackout did it’s job for the second time. This year Martin had even spotted this dear coming before I saw it. He has become an accomplished hunter at the young age of 9.

Very nice deer tell the young man concrats,

Tremendous deer and huge congrats to the young hunter !

Those are great bucks.

Congratulations

I can't think of anything more rewarding and fun.
Happy for you Doc.

Family fun! The things great memories are made of.

Great bucks for all of you!

Congrats to Martin and Dad

Good times right there!
Thanks for sharing.

Cool trip Lane

Kid shots bigger deer than I do

Well done

Mike

quote:

Kid shots bigger deer than I do

My daughter always says that I am more excited about her shooting game then I am about shooting my own.

A lot of truth to that.

Way to go. Great deer and great family. USA needs more of that

congratulations

must say i love the dark antlers on those first two

although the smile behind buck #3 is the winner of the week

Outstanding family affair!

Thanks everyone and Merry Christmas to you all.

Great Christmas Story!

Great story, great looking bucks. Congratulations to you and your family on a great hunt.

Cool story,cool family and some cool bucks.Congrats to the family!!

I'm reading the story and following the autopsy report think this guy must be a Docto.. oh yeah,,, nevermind.

Great thread---Congrats to the three of you!

Tremendous post, Lane! Thanks for sharing your family's season with us. So glad Martin tagged out and made a great memory. You and Kristie took two very fine bucks!

Lane,

Very nice on many levels. Congrats to your family.

Mark

Great story! This is what hunting is all about in my opinion.

That is one proud dad. I can’t wait for my boy to shoot his first deer

Outstanding Doc! Great stuff there, and Merry Christmas to the Easter family.

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Merry Christmas to you and your family. Days like those make life worth living.

Congratulations Lane, on some good hunting partners.

Thanks everyone.

Family hunting trips.....doesn't get any better than that. Congrats to you all on some fine animals. Great story and pics. Merry Christmas.

Family trips like that always warm this old man's heart!

Well done, Lane. Your married well and raised your son well!

Best regards, D. Nelson

great stuff- congrats

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Congrats to all you guys. Hunting together!!

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Thank you again everyone.

That's what it's all about right there. Way to get it done, and congrats to everybody in your great family.

Congrats to you Lane and Martin. I was in my 30’s before I shot a buck comparable to Martin’s.

That's awesome way to go ! Lots of good memories!

Kids grow up so fast, so many parents miss out on that, All my kids, grandkids grew up and consider the first day of deer season better than any other holiday, like there dad and father and fathers father, hunting and cowboying was and is to this day a way of life..

Family is what its all about, and those kids won't be smoking dope or stealing cars, they grow up to be family oriented and hard working citizens..

Your doing it right and the payback will be worth more than gold. Nice bucks.

The sad part is so many kids don't have snowballs chance it hell, it,s just the way of the world..So many are born with a shit sandwhich in both hands..

Thanks again for all the nice replies. Happy New Year to each and every one of you.