11/10/2023 - A Friend's First Deer

[Sasha and Abby]

Goooooo Bart !!! Let's get some hogs patterned !!!

[Coastal Woodie]

Congrats Bart

[Whaler_Dave]

Awesome!

RH I hope you got pictures of him bloodied up wearing a bow tie! Post ‘‘em up!

[HERRINGBONE]

Congratulations to Bart! Well done RH!

[w33kender]

Good job, hunter and host. Love it.

[Rubberhead*]

BlackBart is apparently being humble so I’ll give the story from my perspective.

My usual sushi buddy had had some life changes (being pregnant with my grandbaby) so she wasn’t able to go so for a while and I was having some serious sushi withdrawal. I noticed that BlackBart, both, liked sushi and lived not terribly far from my Fort Mill home. I PM’ed him and eventually we met at a place of his choice and had a great sushi lunch. Of course, we talked about hunting and fishing. Somehow, I had missed from his on-line presence that he wasn’t already an established hunter. I was a little surprised to hear that he’d never killed a deer. I told him, come fall, we’d fix that.

We rode to the club together once then met at the club a couple of times. We went over the function of the gun, how to load the magazine and leave the chamber empty, when to load the chamber, when and how to get the cartridge out of the camber and back into the magazine and close the bolt on an empty chamber before climbing down. I had him watching Youtube videos on how and where to shoot whitetail.

At the club, I never walked him to, or carried him to the stand. I gave him general directions and wished him good luck. It was up to him to walk in and find the stand, and figure out where to focus his attention. Regardless of his lack of hunting experience, he’s a decent woodsman and never had any trouble.

After sitting a few times, there was a change in the level of confidence he had about what to expect. Without any coaching BlackBart took up the stand hunter’s tradition of the “what’d you see?” bantering with the other hunters in the evening hours. He talked about what he saw and listened to the others talk about their experiences.

He had permission to shoot anything he wanted but, as y’all may know, was being selective – a sign of a mature hunter. The scducks crowd did a lot to help him solidify his vision for his first deer.

We rode together the day he killed his first deer. He talked about some of your opinions on his first deer. He was somewhat familiar with the club and after looking at the wind and the map asked to sit in a stand he’d sat in before. It’s a good stand. I dropped him at a convenient turn-around and told him how to get the trail that led to the stand then wished him good luck. As with the other times before, I texted him and made sure that he found the stand and got in without any problems then settled into my stand.

After settling into my own stand, I started seeing deer almost immediately. A doe and her fawn walked through with a couple of lollipop bucks not far behind. A buck chased a hot doe in a thicket in front of me but I could only see his backend. I was thinking this is one of those magic evenings where deer move everywhere. I heard a shot. I’m sure I smiled but, of course, starting thinking about all the possible scenarios that could unfold after a shot at whitetail. I had asked BlackBart to just sit tight if he shot, mark where the buck was, how it reacted to the shot, and where it had run. I asked him specifically to pay attention if the deer bumped into certain trees, saplings or brush after the shot so I could get a start on a blood trail.

He had done all those things perfectly but it really wasn’t necessary. The double lung shot was quick and absolute, leaving the white belly of the buck easily visible only about 20 yards into the woodline. I videoed him getting to his deer and getting hands on his first buck. I videoed as he dragged it out to a grassy road where we picked it up and drove to a local processor.

He has thanked almost continuously during this whole endeavor but, in truth, it is really I who needs to thank him. He’s an amazing, profound guy. Watching, right before my eyes, the birth of a hunter is beyond any words.

[Luvin' Labs]

That's awesome RH!! Glad you were able to help him out.

[thunderchicken]

I haven’t met Bart (yet) but just from the phone conversations he and I’ve had, I can assure that he’s a standup guy.

[scatter shot]

That was a good deer, congrats to both of you guys.

[bearclaw]

Awesome job and way to go Bart!!

[Glenn]

Thanks for the story. Cool experience all the way around.

[ecu1984]

Great story, happy for y'all

[Carlisle]

Great story. Great experience for both of you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[cooper66]

Good job RH and Bart!

[2thDoc]

good stuff all!
perfect first deer!!

[nitro5x6's]

Nice work - both of you.

Congrats Bart. I hope you enjoy the path you are walking.

[drwilly]

yes sir. definitely tier 1 experience

[Boduke]

Good stuff there gentlemen.

Congratulations Bart!

[mello_collins]

Congratulations Bart. Nothing like the first.

[Gunning Bird]

Fine work, fellas!