# Son's First Deer



## Lil' Rob (Apr 11, 2004)

My son finally (his words) harvested his first deer, a nice sized doe. We hunted separate stands on Saturday and seen a fair amount of movement and action. He had a buck trailing a doe early in the morning, but they never presented a shot opportunity. Later in the morning he had two does heading his way, but they were spooked off by a coyote coming from the opposite direction. The coyote came right past me, but I didn’t stand a chance with a bow as it was moving a good pace. Later in the afternoon a group of 4 does passed between us, but neither of us had a shot opportunity, as they were on the move, likely spooked up by someone on an adjoining property. We’d heard a fair number of shots throughout the day coming from nearby and adjacent properties. He decided to call it a day after that, so I took him home. By that point, he was a bit discouraged and not sure if he wanted to come back out on Sunday. I decided to return to my stand, and after getting settled back in, I seen a respectable 6-pointer pass right by his stand about 3pm and then a small doe later about 4:30pm. After I got home and told him about this, he was set on returning Sunday morning. As is usual, the day after any gun opener, things were super-slow. Finally, about 10:40, we were thinking about packing up for the day, two does came in from behind him and one offered him a decent shot opportunity. At first, he thought he had missed. I encouraged him to get out of the stand and look for blood. I watched him from my stand, and although I was looking through a lot trees, I could tell he wasn’t finding any blood. He called my cell phone and told me what I had suspected. I asked if he wanted me to come look more with him and he said yes. When I finally got over to him, he was sitting on downed tree and was emotionally deflated and sad. We had a moment together and got back to looking. Just a short distance from where he stopped looking I was able to find blood. I could tell it was a gut shot, but at the same time also saw some good looking blood. It took a little effort, a little bit of time, but we tracked her down. The 20-gauge slug hit her a little far back, catching the stomach and liver before taking out one lung on its exit behind and under the back of the shoulder. Then, of course, we had the joy of dragging her out. Somehow, even though he is 14.5 years old, this old man still did the majority of the dragging? I am still trying to figure out that one.

I am both proud and happy for him. He’s put in a lot of time and effort over the years, and is certainly deserving of this. He’s had a couple misses over the years, primarily when he first started. Deer fever got the best of him on those occasions. He’s also had a few occasions where he passed on a shot because he didn’t feel they were good shots. I am almost more proud of those moments. I know that I will remember this vividly for the rest of my life and I am sure he will look back many, many years from now and do the same.


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## ya13ya03 (Sep 21, 2010)

Congrats. Looks like a good sized doe.


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## FlyFishRich (Feb 3, 2016)

Congrats Rob and your son. I think I met your son when he was in day care lol. Dang time flies lol. Nice doe and congrats again to your son........Rich


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## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

we all remember our 1st like it was yesterday. 30 yrs from now he'll still be able to tell his story. congrats to your son.
sherman


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## Smitty82 (Mar 13, 2011)

Nice Doe! Congratulations!


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## BuckeyeFishin07 (Apr 10, 2017)

Looks like he is real proud of it as should be! Very nice doe!


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## bobk (Apr 30, 2004)

Great story to read. Your son as well as you deserve congratulations. Nice size doe as well.


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## fireline (Jun 14, 2007)

Congratulations and thanks for sharing.


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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

Good going! Rob, I know you're a busy guy! but you're doing it right!


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## 1MoreKast (Mar 15, 2008)

What an awesome story! Way to go.


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