I have been hunting with my son since he was old enough to walk, having him in the blind with me on many occasions. We’ve seen a few deer during this time, but nothing we had an opportunity to harvest. Generally I can only take him out in October and early November, since it starts to get colder as the season progresses, and having a fidgety young lad with you during these times cuts into your chances of any success!
Fast forward to Saturday morning – we were both nestled into our ground blind together, which is on a 6 foot elevated platform in the corner of a harvested soybean field where I have been seeing several does thoughout October, and getting some trail cam pic’s of a basket eight-point buck lately. We were both sitting comfortably in the blind, him playing Pokemon Go while I perused the bush lines for any movement….hey, whatever keeps him quiet….lol! At about 8AM I saw a deer emerge from the bush line about 150 yards away, and I gave my son a nudge to let him know. We thought it was a doe initially, and my son was happy we were even seeing a deer together, as it was the first time this season he got to see one (after many days of sitting together). As the deer began to walk into the field, the sun caught the antler, and we were able to tell it was a buck! The deer looked as though he’d cut straight across the open field, away from our position. As he began to move away, I let out a few loud grunts from my grunt tube. The bucks head snapped up to look, and then he immediately began a bee-line trot towards our position! My son and I were caught off-guard, and didn’t expect this to happen so fast! We quickly placed the Matrix 380 on the tripod I had setup, to face the direction the deer was coming. As he approached, he was about 40 yards away directly in front of our blind, walking slowly. That’s not a shot I was comfortable taking, so we let him pass. He then reached the tree line on the opposite side of our field, holding up and looking around for the source of the grunts. He then entered the tree line, where we could not see him for several minutes. My son then saw him on the opposite side, in some long swale grass, heading away (once again!). Out of desperation, I let out several more loud grunts – and low-and-behold he changed his course once again, and was trying to circle downwind of us (which was behind/left of our setup). I let my son know that the buck was trying to get a scent, to figure out what was going on (teaching moment!). I felt this buck had a good chance of winding us if he did so. He dropped out of sight for a minute or two as he was moving in our direction, so in that time I scrambled to relocate the tripod and chair for my son to get setup for a shot in this new direction, if it worked out. We had just finished (what felt like having a dance party within the blind with all of our movement!), when my son said “there he is dad!” – and he was at 25 yards, broadside- with no knowledge we were there. My son had the Matrix on the tripod, cradled in his shoulder, and scope on the target. I peeked to see the buck, and get the yardage to tell my son what chevron to use. Once I did this, he whispered “I’m on him dad – can I shoot?” , “I’m on him dad – can I shoot?”. I took one last look to ensure the bow limbs were clear of the blind and we had a good shot towards the target, and then I said “Let him have it, buddy!”. He sent the Zombie Executioner tipped with the 125 gr Slick Trick and trailing Lumenok on its way, and all I heard was the distinct ‘thwack’ of the arrow hitting its mark. The buck took a few hops and was out of sight.
We both took a moment to collect ourselves, and my son showed me his hand, which was shaking with excitement. He said “I didn’t think it would feel like this!”, referring to the increased heart rate and adrenaline rush that accompanies such a moment. We knew he’d made a good shot, but still waited 30 minutes before climbing down and collecting our trophy.
The buck only went 50 yards, towards the stream, before expiring. The shot was text book perfect, taking out the lungs – all of his pre-season practice had paid off.
Although I didn’t make him field dress the animal THIS TIME, I’m sure we’ll have many years in the future where he can repay the favour. This was the most incredible experience to share with my son, especially when hunting has been such an integral part of our family’s lifestyle. It’s a very special moment, and to have an eight-point buck as your first harvest is icing on the cake. He did everything right, and hopefully this is one of many successful days afield we can share together.
Congrats, little man! Dad is super proud of you!
