My main goal for this season was for my oldest son, Cooper, now 7 years old, to get his first deer. I posted this story a few weeks ago about his first hog back in September. https://discussions.texasbowhunter.c...d.php?t=746378
He has been very excited and ready for this deer season. We have been hunting our property but the right “spike” has not given us a shot yet. Last weekend I got the invite to go down to my buddy’s ranch in South Texas. We still needed to kill several does and cull bucks down there so this would be a great opportunity for Coop to get his first deer. The bow blinds we have set up on the ranch are perfect for kids and I knew it would be a target rich environment. Me and both boys loaded up and made it to the ranch on Friday night. Saturday morning was supposed to be a little cold, so the three of us bundled up and climbed into the “House” blind. I wanted to be close to the house in case my youngest son wasn’t going to make the whole hunt. I didn’t want to disturb the other hunters on the ranch if we left early.
At first light we immediately had 25 deer around us. Bucks, does and fawns, too many in fact. It was very difficult to single out a good sized doe and the bucks were keeping the does from getting comfortable. They all fed and left before we could get a good shot opportunity. A little while later a doe that was limping badly came in with 2 fawns. She began eating perfect at 18 yards broadside. Cooper settled in behind the crossbow and was ready for the shot.
When I gave him the go ahead, “doe fever” kicked in and he began giggling uncontrollably. He completely lost it and had to back away from the crossbow and take his eyes off the deer. He ended up chuckling so much he spooked the deer out. It was a priceless first opportunity.
By this time, younger brother, Brigham, was not having it anymore. I tried to negotiate with him, but he was ready to go.
I quickly ran him back to camp, got him some donuts and Cooper and I headed back to the blind. At about 9:30 am a big doe and her fawn came in and began feeding. We might get another chance after all. I whispered to Coop to take a few deep breathes and he was ready for another go at it. The big doe was quartering to us a bit, and Cooper patiently waited for the right shot. Finally, it all came together and he squeezed off the shot. “Smack”! He couldn’t have hit her anymore perfect. She leaped into the air and took off running.
I knew she wouldn’t go far. Cooper immediately said “Holy cow!”, upon impact. My favorite line from Cooper after the shot was, “She blew up!”, because of all the blood that was coming out of her. We both celebrated in the blind with high fives and fist bumps. We went and got little brother before setting out on the track.
The track was pretty easy as expected and I let Cooper lead the way. It wasn’t long until he found his first deer. He was very excited and told the “whole” story for me on video. We called Mom and told her too. It was a very exciting time as you can expect. The doe ended up weighing 106 lbs., a good start to his hunting career. He is completely “ate” up with hunting now. He was driving me crazy wanting to shoot some of Mr. Eric’s trophy bucks the rest of the weekend and asks nearly every day to go shoot a buck at home. I couldn’t be happier or more proud of my boy.
Thanks Mr. Eric for the opportunity! We love the ranch!
He has been very excited and ready for this deer season. We have been hunting our property but the right “spike” has not given us a shot yet. Last weekend I got the invite to go down to my buddy’s ranch in South Texas. We still needed to kill several does and cull bucks down there so this would be a great opportunity for Coop to get his first deer. The bow blinds we have set up on the ranch are perfect for kids and I knew it would be a target rich environment. Me and both boys loaded up and made it to the ranch on Friday night. Saturday morning was supposed to be a little cold, so the three of us bundled up and climbed into the “House” blind. I wanted to be close to the house in case my youngest son wasn’t going to make the whole hunt. I didn’t want to disturb the other hunters on the ranch if we left early.
At first light we immediately had 25 deer around us. Bucks, does and fawns, too many in fact. It was very difficult to single out a good sized doe and the bucks were keeping the does from getting comfortable. They all fed and left before we could get a good shot opportunity. A little while later a doe that was limping badly came in with 2 fawns. She began eating perfect at 18 yards broadside. Cooper settled in behind the crossbow and was ready for the shot.
When I gave him the go ahead, “doe fever” kicked in and he began giggling uncontrollably. He completely lost it and had to back away from the crossbow and take his eyes off the deer. He ended up chuckling so much he spooked the deer out. It was a priceless first opportunity.
By this time, younger brother, Brigham, was not having it anymore. I tried to negotiate with him, but he was ready to go.
I quickly ran him back to camp, got him some donuts and Cooper and I headed back to the blind. At about 9:30 am a big doe and her fawn came in and began feeding. We might get another chance after all. I whispered to Coop to take a few deep breathes and he was ready for another go at it. The big doe was quartering to us a bit, and Cooper patiently waited for the right shot. Finally, it all came together and he squeezed off the shot. “Smack”! He couldn’t have hit her anymore perfect. She leaped into the air and took off running.
I knew she wouldn’t go far. Cooper immediately said “Holy cow!”, upon impact. My favorite line from Cooper after the shot was, “She blew up!”, because of all the blood that was coming out of her. We both celebrated in the blind with high fives and fist bumps. We went and got little brother before setting out on the track.
The track was pretty easy as expected and I let Cooper lead the way. It wasn’t long until he found his first deer. He was very excited and told the “whole” story for me on video. We called Mom and told her too. It was a very exciting time as you can expect. The doe ended up weighing 106 lbs., a good start to his hunting career. He is completely “ate” up with hunting now. He was driving me crazy wanting to shoot some of Mr. Eric’s trophy bucks the rest of the weekend and asks nearly every day to go shoot a buck at home. I couldn’t be happier or more proud of my boy.
Thanks Mr. Eric for the opportunity! We love the ranch!
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