My favorite.......In 2007 I decided that my son, 7 YOA at the time, was proficient enough to shoot at a deer after being my wingman for several years. I chose a good shooting house with a relatively close shot opportunity. As hoped, a little before dark, out pops a big doe. The New England Firearms .243 drops her in her tracks for his first. It was the day after Thanksgiving. That evening when we get home a friend calls and says he has two tickets to the Iron Bowl he can't use if we want them. Sure we do as we are on a roll and our Tigers can always use the help. We went and AU won. Sunday afternoon rolls around and I ask him if he wants to go and hunt for his first buck? Of course he does and I had already made up my mind that in accordance with our group rules, he could shoot whatever buck he wanted to as his first. We sit up in a box based on the wind and he's on my right. I see something moving to my left and it is a decent 2.5 year old 6 point headed to the food plot. He sits on my knee in order to see and shoot out of the left window. The buck gets to the plot and I told him to shoot when ready. Then he gives me the words I'll never forget. He says "What about that other one Dadddy?" as he points back behind where the 6 came from. I'm leaning back and can't see that way so I lean up and look back into the sedge and my heart jumps up in my chest. All I could say was "Yep, shoot the back one". It steps out into the opening and he fires. It bucks so I know he hit it good. It was only about 50 yards or so from us. I watched it run off and marked about where I last saw it. I then heard what I thought might have been it piling up about 150 yards away. I went and found the initial blood. Since it was almost dark and some of our group was also down that afternoon I decided to wait for help. They all came right on at dark and we started the trail. After a bit the blood petered out so one of them said he was going to walk on into the hardwoods where you could see better. In a short time he yells "Oh my God!". We go and recover the 8 point with an 18" inside spread. Great deer for a first buck from a 7 year old. He became an instant celebrity at his school, Morgan Academy, the next day with the pictures. No doubt the best Thanksgiving holiday ever.


Lord, please help us get our nation straightened out.