Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Michael's first whitetail


Climbing down from the stand

A cat nap after a long day of hunting on Saturday
This is my 7 year old grandson Michael. He has been fishing and hunting with me since he was 2 years old. He has mastered fishing for Stripers with his largest catch on the lake being an 18 pound Striper. This is his first year actually carrying a weapon into the field. We bought him a youth model 50 cal. black powder gun which he has shot many times and is very comfortable with. We went hunting last Saturday but did not see a deer so this morning he said that he would like to harvest the first deer that he could get a good shot at. At 7 am this deer walked by our stand. Michael got set up properly with his gun resting on the rail of the stand, I took his safety off and pulled back the hammer. I told him that when the deer got into an opening where he could take a good shot to let me know and I would stop the deer. He nodded his head and I grunted at the deer which was standing broadside at 70 yards. BAM...the deer fell right over. Michael was not nervous when he shot, he was calmer than I was. I don't even think he blinked his eye, he watched the deer flinch and fall over sideways. Then the adrenalin kicked in, he was amazed what his round had done. His aim was true, the deer never knew what hit him. After 30 minutes of recapturing every second of his event in the stand we climbed out to go claim his bounty. We said a prayer over the deer paying homage to the deer and thanking God for giving us the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors together and giving us this wonderful meat to enjoy this winter.
Second picture is Mike climbing out of our stand. The third and most precious picture shows Mike after sitting in the stand for 9 hours on Saturday. Contrary to what some people think, hunting is not just killing. Our countless hours on the water and in the woods whether catching fish or waiting to get a glimpse of wildlife will mold Michael into a person who can respect the things in life that most people never experience...Mother Nature.
Michael and I enjoy every minute we have together, and this will be a memory that will be etched in our memories forever.

3 comments:

Jimmie said...

way to go Michael very glad for u & proud of u I knew u would do it good job
Jimmie

Dave Wabeke said...

Congrats! Nothing like your first deer and it's even Moore special in that you had your Grandpa along!

Jim just FYI my son Jonathan just got accepted to the Baval Academy. He'll be rowing for them on their Crew Team. I'll sure miss my hunting buddy!

Anonymous said...

Well said and well done.