Tiff's First Deer

After accompanying me to the stand one time last year, she was hooked. Being a hunter safety instructor I got her booked for a class and was proud to present her with her card after she scored a 98% on the written test.

She spent the rest of the year practicing with her bow as well as a rifle to ensure she was ready when the moment of truth came. After an uneventful season, and two misses ( one with the bow and one with the gun ), she was ready to pack it in for the season. I convinced her to give it one more try this year so we headed out on January 8th, the last day of the two day late rifle, in Dorchester County. We were relaxing comfortably in a ground blind on the edge of a pine thicket where I found several deer had been bedding on a regular basis. The afternoon was rather quiet with the exception of two very vocal foxes that just wouldn't leave the area. About 4:45 the foxes left the area and immediately things became quiet and out came the squirrels.

About 5:25 with shooting light rapidly fading I looked at her and apologized for not making it happen this year. I starting moving forward in the seat to stand up when she grabbed my arm and said “ Don't move, I see one “ ! I looked up just in time to see one staring right at the blind, giving us the ole head bob. I froze in my tracks and eventually the deer lowered his head and continued browsing. A few more wandered in and I could see her excitement was building by the second.

With about a minute left to spare he stepped into the narrow shooting lane and she said “ I’m going to shoot “. Before I could respond, the .308 barked and down he went without taking another step. I must say the feeling that I felt at that moment could never be duplicated. He was no Boone Crockett buck. In fact he was a button buck, but it didn't matter to either of us. In her eyes and mine, he was the deer of a lifetime and if I never shoot another deer the rest of my life it was worth it.