The journey began over 6 years ago when my wife and I were blessed with our son Andrew.
I couldn't wait until I could get the little fellow into the woods. When he was 2, I started taking him squirrel hunting with me.
At the age of 4, I took him deer hunting with me for the first time.
Last year, I took him along, gun hunting, and he spotted the first deer and was very excited. He was also with me when I shot one and I knew that the following year he would be ready to try on his own.
Over the spring and summer I made him a permanent blind and planted a small food plot. I had bought him a .410 and later realized that it had too much kick for him. So I went with plan B and got him a muzzleloader. That worked perfect and he spent late summer/early fall shooting all the time. I got a full-sized cardboard deer target that shows the vitals and he kept punching holes in it. I felt extremely confident, that given the opportunity, Andrew would place the shot where it needed to be.
So, Saturday morning of youth season finally arrives and I wasn't sure Andrew would be able to go. He was up sick all night but chose to go out anyway. We got into the blind at 6:45 a.m. and things were quiet. Around 9:00 a.m., he started to get restless and I told him we should try to stay until 10:00. At 9:55, I heard a deer coming out of the thicket. He came across an old drag road and as he started to cross a small creek, Andrew was able to get on the gun. When his buck stepped into the plot and was about 30 yards away, Andrew decided that he had an itch on his head that couldn't wait! lol. The buck saw him move and started the "head bob thing". I said, "If you're on him take the shot." The next thing I knew his muzzy barked and he sent a 200-grain shockwave powered by 70-grain of 777 right through the bucks' lungs. He ran about 80 yards and we heard him crash. Words cannot express how proud I am of Andrew!!! I can guarantee that things were done right by this son/father team last weekend and it will always be done the right way (by this team) for that matter!
I couldn't wait until I could get the little fellow into the woods. When he was 2, I started taking him squirrel hunting with me.
At the age of 4, I took him deer hunting with me for the first time.
Last year, I took him along, gun hunting, and he spotted the first deer and was very excited. He was also with me when I shot one and I knew that the following year he would be ready to try on his own.
Over the spring and summer I made him a permanent blind and planted a small food plot. I had bought him a .410 and later realized that it had too much kick for him. So I went with plan B and got him a muzzleloader. That worked perfect and he spent late summer/early fall shooting all the time. I got a full-sized cardboard deer target that shows the vitals and he kept punching holes in it. I felt extremely confident, that given the opportunity, Andrew would place the shot where it needed to be.
So, Saturday morning of youth season finally arrives and I wasn't sure Andrew would be able to go. He was up sick all night but chose to go out anyway. We got into the blind at 6:45 a.m. and things were quiet. Around 9:00 a.m., he started to get restless and I told him we should try to stay until 10:00. At 9:55, I heard a deer coming out of the thicket. He came across an old drag road and as he started to cross a small creek, Andrew was able to get on the gun. When his buck stepped into the plot and was about 30 yards away, Andrew decided that he had an itch on his head that couldn't wait! lol. The buck saw him move and started the "head bob thing". I said, "If you're on him take the shot." The next thing I knew his muzzy barked and he sent a 200-grain shockwave powered by 70-grain of 777 right through the bucks' lungs. He ran about 80 yards and we heard him crash. Words cannot express how proud I am of Andrew!!! I can guarantee that things were done right by this son/father team last weekend and it will always be done the right way (by this team) for that matter!
