Warning: pic heavy and deer poetesque
So my son got his first deer last year, a small doe, with iron sights on an AR 15 with a collapsible stock because it was the only thing we had small enough to fit him. So we upgraded to an AR 15 w a scope this year. He had several opportunities this season but between buck fever, too dark, and a scope that wouldn't stay zeroed we didn't get it done. He actually missed one that looked like he did everything right and when we checked scope that we had just zeroed it was off again. I made the call to call it quits for him until we could get the right gun. I didn't want him to get frustrated and as best we can try, a deer deserves a clean kill.
My wife's cousin had a small rifle that his son killed his first deer with in 7 .08. He hand loaded some lighter 120 grain rounds w less powder and brought it down for Wyatt. Because he had been shooting the 223 he had gotten out of the habit of holding the stock tight so his first shot "scoped" him. Fortunately the scope has a rubber ring so it didn't draw blood and I think it scared him as much as it hurt him. He got very upset and fearful and didn't want to shoot anymore so I had to balance helping him nut up vs not pushing to hard. We finally got another round down range and it didn't kick too bad when he shouldered it properly. A few more shots and he was dialed in.
We got to the stand late bc we spent to much time "talking" w an older gentlemen in the club who has taken an interest in Wyatt's hunting. We ran a small 4 pt off the corn as we went in. At about 530 a 6 pt came out and headed for the corn. He couldn't see it behind a tree so I had him aim at the corn and get ready. The deer stepped in broadside at 50 yds. He said he could see him and was steady. We got right and took safety off and fired. The deer dropped on the corn and flopped for about 10-15 seconds.
We climbed down and even got some pics before slap dark. Not sure who was more excited him, me, or his cousin who brought the gun down. We took him to Cordray's who as usual made a big deal out of it. Lots of other hunters came and congratulated him and asked him to recount the story. It was cool to watch him take a small step towards becoming a young man. He couldn't wait to tell his mom, grandfather, sister, and hunting buddies from school some of which came and saw him at the processor.
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