Young Huntress Breaking into the Scene

My first hunting trip was with my dad when I was 8 years old. I was surprised that I was getting to go, since it was usually my older brother who always got the invite. However, this time, I was the one who got invited.

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I could hardly sleep at all as the night was passing and turning into the morning of October 1st. We woke up while it was still dark outside and put on our camo. We slipped quietly out the front door. It wasn’t cold out, but there was a slight chill in the air. We stopped off and grabbed some hot chocolate and made our way to the woods. We climbed up in our stand and began the waiting game.

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While we waited, we watched some rabbits and squirrels and listened to the birds. I am not sure I had ever heard the sounds of nature before that. Every leaf rustling, every twig rattling and every little noise, I thought was a deer. I was anxious to kill something. My dad thought it was funny and kept telling me to be patient.

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The sun had started coming up. There was barely enough light to see the tree outlines and make out the birds. Some does had started wondering in our area. We watched them play as the sun continued to rise. A while later, a spike walked out. I thought that was the one I would shoot, but dad cautioned me to wait a little longer. So I watched a few more deer come and go. Nothing over a 4 point. I waited some more, wondering if we would ever see something worthy of a kill.

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Turns out, daddy knew best. After what seemed like 10 hours (it was really just about 45 minutes), a nice size 8 point walked out. He was walking slow, surveying his surroundings. Dad laid the rifle in my hand. He told me to get steady and aim. I had the deer in my sights and dad gave me the go ahead.

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When I squeezed that trigger and saw that I had hit the deer, I was half in shock. Something had awakened in me. Something came alive! It was a rush that I had never experienced before. It was absolutely incredible.

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The bond that my dad and I shared that day was unforgettable. We made memories, killed a deer, and had food for dinner that night. That is a day that I will never forget.