Ben is 7 years old this season and has been asking to go hunting for a couple of years. So we got around Sunday evening and sat up in one of the fields.
When Ben was watching this nice little buck come in he kept coming a little closer.. then stop. A little closer… Stop! He was facing us most of the way and would angle juuust slightly to give us a shoulder shot but I had him wait. He did good holding out and waiting. He kept whispering to me “I know where to shoot him at this angle mom. Right in the shoulder. Do I shoot??”
“No, he’s not in a hurry wait for him to turn so he’s broadside.”
Alright.. so we wait! He keeps walking closer slowly then turns like he is thinking about hitting the corn! Ben says “Now??”
“Get on him where you need to be, hold it steady and squeeeeeze the trigger baby you’ve got this!”
He sits aiming for a while… I started to get a little nervous that he was going to go and just as I was about to ask him if he couldn’t get it on him right
** BANG! **
Knocks us both back! Ben smacked into my glasses and broke the arm off haha
The buck humped up and took off into the corn!!!
We were a little rattled haha I said “I think you nailed him!” Ben said “I squeezed the trigger right on his heart Mom! Right where you told me!”
It was about 150-160 yards out but I knew he had to of gotten a good shot on him.
I had him hold his hand up to see his little hand shake… it was so steady! I couldn’t believe how straight he held it! Mine was shaking like a leaf in all the excitement!
Right after he shot we waited a minute then went to the house to get grandpa (my phone had died) and as soon as we made it inside we had torrential downpours!
It was pretty intense. We went out after in the dark and the drenched field and got soaked through trying to make it through that thick corn! There weren’t hardly rows with all of the rag weed and prickers in there.
We didn’t find anything because of the rain and how thick it was. No blood or hair. Shoot the rain was so heavy that it knocked down the weeds so you couldn’t even tell where anything was broken.
Ben went to school the next morning a little bummed thinking he might not have gotten it but I took the dogs out to help find him. Doli and Chy (my Aussies) both walked with me and eventually stuck in the corn the girls found him! He took him right through the shoulder and in his lung. (The bullet hole got ate up a bit)
I had to wait until Ben got out of school and that was torture!
He was so excited asking me immediately when he saw me if I found his buck lol
I’m one proud momma!

Youth Hunt 2021
20 guage