Thanks to longtime blogger Cody for this report:

Mike: My brother and I started hunting years ago with my dad and a few other family members. I live for it. I still get as excited now when I kill or even see deer as I did when I first started. I go every chance I get.

My sister Amy, 26, didn’t have any interest in hunting until a couple years ago, even though we had tried to get her to go when she was younger. She killed 2 does on drives a couple years ago, and was hooked. My dad got Amy her own rifle for Christmas a year ago, so she was more than ready for the 2012 deer season. 

Opening day she passed on a few really small bucks because she “didn’t want to shoot a baby.” We went the following Monday to the same buddy stand but didn’t see much that morning. That afternoon we decided to put her in a ladder stand in a different area, and I’d use my climbing stand in a nearby tree so I’d still be able to give her some guidance. It’s quite a hike to that stand with a climber on your back and it had gotten windy so I wasn’t real enthused, but figured it was worth a try.

We only saw one deer that afternoon, a pretty 6 point. I grunted some and he looked, but kept moving away from us. I told Amy to stay ready because the buck was probably going downwind to check for scents. Maybe 10 minutes later he was back, about 90 yards out feeding broadside. I told her to shoot if she wanted to whenever she had a clear shot.

I was trying to watch through binoculars, but was shaking so badly it was making me sick. She stayed calm and took the shot, a high shoulder shot. The buck ran 60 yards, farther than he should have.

I think I was more excited about Amy’s deer than any buck I’ve ever killed. It was a great first buck for her, a clean kill, and an exciting hunt. I don’t think anyone could have asked for more.—Cody

Cool story with 2 messages:

Hunt with people you love and respect while you can…cherish those moments. And two, there are a lot of 20- and 30-something guys and gals out there who, for whatever reason, didn’t get to hunt much or at all as kids, but they are interested and want to try it now. Take an older kid, show him or her how it’s done and turn them into a deer hunter for life.