Soon after Elizabeth killed her first deer, Molly decided that she wasn't so scared of the deer rifle after all. Nothing like having your big sister show you up to get you motivated! We started practicing her shooting & I was really surprised at how well she did! She was apprehensive at first, but she quickly warmed up & got excited after seeing how well she could shoot.
Finally everything fell into place & we got to go hunting late one afternoon about a week before Christmas. Not sure who was more excited - me or Molly!
Well things started out a little slow and soon got slower. So whats a deer hunter to do when there are no deer around?
I must confess that I took a little nap that afternoon too, but we were both wide awake by the time the first deer made their appearance. Unfortunately, the spike and handful of does never presented Molly with a shot that she was comfortable with. We were able to hunt 1 or 2 more times before Christmas, but never did get a shot. I was afraid that Molly would start to get frustrated, especially since Elizabeth had killed a buck on her very first hunt, but she was a real trooper. At the end of every unsuccessful hunt, we'd both say "we'll just get one next time!"
Dec. 28th was very cold with the remnants of our Christmas Eve snow still on the ground. I hurried home from work early so that Molly & I could go hunt the Grove that afternoon. We put on all the clothes that we could stand (and still be able to walk), put extra clothes + a blanket + a Nintendo DSi in the backpack, packed a cooler full of snacks, and headed to the farm. About 30 minutes later, we were settled into the shooting house.
We did pretty good for the first hour or so, but then we started getting cold.
Got all warmed up in the blanket and then.... yep, you guessed it! :)
I woke her up when the first deer stepped out about 4:30. She got really excited when I told her it was a spike. We watched him feed around for 5 or 10 minutes, but he never came close enough for a shot. I could see the disappointment on Molly's face when he left the field, but I could also tell that she was getting cold - real cold. She finally asked "Daddy, can we leave now? I'm cold!" I told her that it wasn't much longer until dark & I really thought that the spike might come back. I said "come sit in my lap & let's see if we can get you warm." I pulled her boots off and stuck her feet in a toboggan, wrapped her up in the blanket, and hugged her tight. Pretty soon she told me that she was getting warmer and thought that she could make it.
Finally, about 15 minutes later, I looked over my shoulder and saw the same spike step out into the field behind us. I whispered to Molly that we needed to get ready. The way we were seated, we both had to stand up and turn completely around. Luckily, the buck was concentrating on eating and never even looked up. I finally got the window open, the curtain pulled up, and Molly's gun pointed the right direction.
Somewhere about now, we had managed to make enough noise to alert the deer. Molly had just found him in her scope then he threw his head up took a couple of steps toward us. Not only was he staring a hole through us, but there was also a tree blocking most of his body. "Daddy I can't see him now" Molly whispered. "OK sweetie, here let's try a trick" I said as I tried to sound calm. I slid her gun about 2 feet to the right. That was just enough to allow her to see around the tree and get his chest in her scope.
2 things suddenly occurred to me at this point. 1) in all of our practice and talk about shooting deer, we had only discussed broadside shots. Molly knew to aim 1/2 way up the body, right behind the shoulder but we had not talked about a frontal shot. 2) Molly had never shot the rifle without me helping to support it. We practiced with the gun on a shooting stick, with her aiming and pulling the trigger, but with me helping to hold it sturdy.
So with the buck about to flee and me having to hold the curtain up to keep it out of her face, I told her "Just put the cross-hairs in the center of his chest and squeeze the trigger sweetie". "OK I see him. I'm gonna shoot..." BANG! The buck jumped straight up in the air and then bolted through a fence and into the woods. I knew immediately that he was hit hard by the way he reacted. I screamed "you got him baby!" as I grabbed her for a huge hug.
What happened next is my favorite memory of the deer season and maybe one of my all time favorite memories as Molly's Daddy. She looked up at me with tears in her eyes and a surprised look on her face and said "I did?! I can't believe it! I finally got one! I've waited for so long!!!" :)) It almost brings a tear to my eye just thinking about it now. She was so sweet and so excited! And honestly, I really had no idea until that moment just how bad she really wanted to get a deer.
So we got our stuff together and hurried to get down before dark. We found the spot where the buck had gone through the fence,but I was just a little concerned when we didn't find much blood. I told Molly that he would probably run straight down the hill since he was hurt and that we'd just take our time and look really good. I was concentrating on the ground, trying to find any trace of blood when Molly started yelling "Daddy I see him! There he is! See him - he's laying right there!" Sure enough, he was!
Once again, I'm not sure who was more excited, Molly or me! But I am sure of one thing - I have never seen a hunter more proud of their first deer!
