My Life of Hunting

My 10 point buck i shot this year

            One thing that a lot of people probably don’t know about me is that I am very big into hunting. Hunting is like a sport for my family and I. when I started hunting I was 8 years old. When I was younger around the age of 6, my dad always took me with him to sit with him and watch and learn. When my dad finally decided I was ready to get my hunting license, he took me to the great Gander Mountain to get the hunter safety course book. I studied for days and filled out that book completely until it was finally time for me to start the class. The place I had to go for the class was a freezing greenhouse. The class was 8 hours long and it was the middle of winter. As soon as we stepped foot in the classroom area, everyone turned and looked at me cause guess what? I was the only and youngest girl. Half the class was adults.

            So throughout the day I endured the freezing cold and nasty hot chocolate given to us because I knew it would all be worth it in the end. After our half hour lunch break, we kept going through our books. Finally, it was time to take the test. One of the instructors took me outside to help me read or if I needed anything because mind you, I was only 8 years old. Even though he was there to help me, I didn't need him. I finished my test in about 15 minutes and ran to the teacher to get it graded. Everyone continued to stare at me as I stood over and watched him grade.

            After an agonizing wait, I passed! I got a 96% on my test at 8 years old! The teacher stood up and announced and all the adults happily clapped for me. I was so excited I grabbed my dad’s phone and called my mom as soon as they handed me my license.

            Over the next week or two, my dad and I went out and bought all of my hunting gear. When I had everything and was ready to go, my dad picked a good night to go hunting and the date was set. I was so excited for going I smiled the whole car ride to the property. When we got there I was used to the usual drill because I had sat with my dad before but this time, I got to carry my crossbow.

            We walked back into the woods, climbed up our tree stand, and sat and waited. Within the first 45 minutes of waiting, a buck stepped right out in front of our stand! I was so excited I was shaking and couldn’t focus. My dad taught me a trick to control my "buck fever". It’s a method called "bras". It stands for breathe, relax, aim, and squeeze. I thought of that the whole time, told my dad to stop it, and pulled the trigger! I shot my first deer! I was so extremely excited that I started crying.

            About 15 minutes later, my dad’s friends showed up to help us track the deer. It took about 5 minutes to find it because I made a pretty good shot. Ever since this day, I have been hunting in all different places and all different animals. I have shot a couple of pheasants and 5 bucks and around 3 or 4 doe. This year’s hunting season I got the biggest buck of my career. My first buck was a little 8 pt and this years was a big 10 pt.

            I’m so glad my dad got me into hunting and I plan to always hunt!