Hey Everyone:

My daughter killed her first deer ever last evening. She is 12 years and it was her first time ever hunting deer. In Pennsylvania, the junior hunters get three days in October to hunt antlerless deer with a rifle. We made plans to go hunting as soon as she got home from school. We went to one area and found no recent sign of deer activity. So, we drove to another area. We were walking along a steep, thick, hillside when we jumped a deep below us. It ran (slowly) away from us, parllel with the ridge. We were standing there deciding what to do when I noticed a deer behind us, almost walking the same path we did.


I got Kaitlyn turned around and she saw the deer. We moved slightly to get next to a small tree. There were two young deer about 70 yards away. There was a decent opening to the deer and I asked her if she had a clear shot. She said that she did, so I told her to squeeze a shot. She missed. The deer did not know where the shot came from. After about a minute, they went back to feeding. Kaitlyn was upset that she missed.

I tried to calm her down and tell her it was O.K. to miss and that she would get another shot. After a few minutes, the deer moved a little closer and she had a clear shot. I was behind her talking to her, telling her "crosshairs on the shoulder...squeeze" She yanked the trigger and flinched badly. I was supporting her from behind and trying to steady her. After the shot, she was shaking very badly. Buck Fever had set in, along with the sadness of missing the deer again. We were standing on the side of a steep hill and were not on good footing. She was crying. I told her to kneel down and wait for a minute.

The deer had jumped about five yards after her second shot, but did not spook. They resumed feeding again. After another few minutes, one of the deer began quartering toward us on the upslope side. I got Kaitlyn into position with a much better rest at the side of the tree and tried to steady her as she prepared for the shot. The deer presented several shot opportunities, but I told her to wait until the shot was perfect. The deer emerged into a small clearing, stopped, and looked right at us. Fortunately, she was locked on to the deer. I told her to take the shot when she was ready.

At the shot I saw that the deer's left, front leg was dragging. As it turned and ran back the direction from which it came, I saw blood on the side of the deer's chest. I knew it was a good shot. The deer ran about 10 -15 yards and was down for good.

My daughter, who remained fairly calm during the third shot, was VERY excited as we came to the deer for photos and field-dressing. She told me that she felt kinda sad. I told her good, and that feeling a little sad was O.K.

I had a disposable camera with us, but the flash did not work and the light was fading fast, so I do not know how many good field pictures we will get. The above pictures were taken at the house, not exactly the best setting, but at least we will have those if the field photos are no good.

I am proud of my daughter, who battled through some tough moments and came through with a good shot at the end. Maybe we should have waited on the first shots, but she was doing well during practice at that range. As you know, sometimes the presence of an animal changes things. I think the next time will be a little easier for her. She can't wait, and neither can I.

By the way, the rifle was a Remington Model 7 in .260 Rem, shooting 120 grain Nosler BT.

Congrats to Kaitlyn! And to you as a father. Nate

Excellent - I love those kid photos.

Fantastic, that's a memory that both of you will share forever. Lucky you.

Congrats to you and your daughter...fantastic.

MG

Nicely done Kaitlyn! Your Dad's right, its OK to be a little sad, after all you took responsibilty for that animals life. And that is good. Its so much better to carry that responsibility yourself and KNOW where your meal comes from; rather than rely on anonimous source at the meat counter. It sounds like your Dad is teaching you proper respect for the game animals you will undoubtably hunt in the future. Nicly done indeed; to both of you.

Congradulations Kaitlyn! I can't say it any better than Rusty Marlin has already! Best of luck to you and your Dad on all of your hunts in the future.

congrats to your daughter and to you dad for being a dad and beibg patient with her

Way to go Kaitlyn!!



Hey - Nice hat!!

Congratulations to you both -- I know that you are proud of her.

Congrats on a memory that will last a lifetime for you and your daughter. Let Kaitlyn know that even adults get buck fever.

Congrats and also, nice choice of caliber and load..... I shoot a 260 Rem, but in a Ruger, with the Nosler 120 grain ballistic tip....

So far this season, your daughter has had better luck that I have had.....

If she never hunts deer again, I say more power to her. If she turns into an avid hunter, that's great too. The only thing that matters is that she feels good about what she's done, and the way forward; no outside pressure.

She was old enough to know the results of her action. Mixed emotions isn't necessarily a bad thing when it comes to starting a hunting career.

The stories that make me nervous are the ones where a four or five-year-old kills their first deer. That parent-child dynamic spooks me. I always wonder about the parent.

Personally, I didn't have mixed emotions on my first deer. That came later on my third, fourth or fifth. Since we hunted mule deer in New Mexico it was alway walk-n-stalk. You were on your own. It would be your choice. I remember hunting a few years, hunting hard, hoping in a way that I wouldn't have a buck jump-up, because I knew I was a hunter, and the result would be automatic. I wouldn't hold fire, and I wouldn't shoot to miss. I found it weird to have those strong, contrary, emotions. I think part of the issue was my best friend decided he didn't want to hunt deer any more. We made differrent choices. I'm sure he is not a hunter now. I'm sure I am.

My congratulations go cwilson. Nice job of introducing your daughter to hunting.

cwilson, thanks for sharing the story.

Congratulaions Kaitlyn!

You know, having emotions for the game animals you take, managing them and making good decisions as they drive your adrenaline up, and reflecting on the moral issues of hunting are all part of being an honorable hunter in my mind. I think it's great you are getting to share this with your daughter.

Good luck with ya'lls future hunting adventures!

Kaitlyn, way to go!!

I will say this, I get more of a kick out of seeing kids with their trophies than us big guys.

You go girl...congrats...

Super!

friar

Thanks for the kind replies.

Hunting with kids sure gives a different perspective and I recommend it to everyone. Take a kid hunting!! Kaitlyn's deer was the first animal that she ever had shot at, but we had several exciting, but "unsuccessful" hunts in the spring for turkeys. We had a lot of close encounters and a couple of gobblers used up all of their luck with us. (Maybe we can find them this fall) All summer long, she talked about the spring turkey hunts and hearing literally hundreds of gobbles and having turkey close many times. I asked her yesterday about her favorite hunt to date, and she said that the gobbler that flew off the roost and landed within 10 yards of us (but escaped without her being able to get a shot off) was her faviorite, and most exciting hunt.

As has been said here many times, the taking of an animal is not required to have a great hunt or to create a life long memeory. I am thankful that she has chosen to hunt. Her older sister does not hunt. Her younger brother is chomping at the bit and her younger sister is a solid "maybe".

Congratulations to her and yourself.

Way to go!!!When my daughter was around 12 yrs old,she wanted to start hunting.I thought "great".I really wanted her to shoot a deer.She wanted to start with squirrels,so we went squirrel hunting.She liked it for two years then told me she didnt want to hunt anymore.She never had the desire to shoot a deer.I was disappointed but supported her decission.I never pressured her but told her if she ever wanted to go again I would do so.She never did.

Last week,my girlfriend,"who has never hunted before"shot her first deer in the early muzzleloader season.It was really cool being there with her and watching the whole scene.She had to take her time to get a clear shot.The instant the doe stepped into an opening my girlfriend squeezed the trigger and made a perfect behind the shoulder shot.I dont know which one of us is more proud.She definitely wants to shoot another one.

A tinge of sadness shows respect for life. A good start.

Alright, Kaitlyn! Where were you guys hunting? If it's in WMU 2A, I might need some help finding some deer to hunt there!

quote:

Originally posted by JustinL01:
Alright, Kaitlyn! Where were you guys hunting? If it's in WMU 2A, I might need some help finding some deer to hunt there!

JustinL01: We were hunting in WMU 2C, near our home. We do not have a surplus of deer here either. The last 3 or 4 years have really reduced the numbers.

Congratulations on the great memories you created. Great choice of rifle and caliber for a young shooter.

Excellent!

Great choice for a caliber.

I started my daughter at 12 with a 7x57 and reloads. She has gotten better every year. I did have her hunt in the house with an empty gun working the bolt and dry firing the the gun at pictures on the wall. This "real" practice helped my daughter feel good about gun handling. Practice crawling and taking off the safety as well. I did send the family shopping while we used the house for our hunting practice.

Here is a shot of my daughter last years antelope harvest. Her dropped the first one at 200 yds and the second with a lung shot at 360 yds (lasered). I knocked the next two down at 200 & 260 yds. Four antelopes with four shots and we were feeling great.

We kept two and donated two to the local food bank.