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My Hunting Essay by Rock Nelson

When I was younger I was always interested in rifles and hunting. I  was interested in it from the day I shot my first rifle, it was a .223 Remington up at our cabin with my great grandfather. My great grandfather has always been proud of my shooting because as the years progressed I started to get better than him my grand father and my mother.

My first hunt ever was with my mother at one of her friends ranch.  We got out in the field and she shot a doe. Ever since then my dream has been that I would become a pro hunter or guide and be able to travel around the world or the country hunting new game that I have never shot before.

I shot my very first deer when I was twelve years old with my grand father and my mom, it was a nice typical 3x2, after that my interest with rifles started not becoming a challenge to me. I wanted a bigger challenge, bigger than just shooting something from hundreds of yards away I wanted to get closer than that.  So that is how I got into bow hunting, it just seemed like more fun and a bigger challenge. 

I bought a Martin bow that was a forty pound bow  so I could not really go out for an elk or any thing.  I bought it  from a sporting good store in our town I got better and better over the year shooting at their range non stop almost every day just to get better. That hunting season I shot my first deer with my bow it was a Mulley doe at about 28 yards. The doe that I shot yesterday was my seventh animal.

I have had more fun bow hunting than I have ever in my life. This year has to be my most favorite year for hunting ever, even though the general season has not even started yet. This year I wanted to try some thing new and try hunting out of a tree stand it was my first year ever to do it. I have hunted out of ground blinds and all sort of stuff also have had not too bad of luck on spot and stalking animals.  When I was13 I shot a 5x6 mule deer the spot and stalk way. That was the biggest buck I have shot yet, Pope and Young score was 138 3/8.  When I was 14 I shot a 4x5 mule deer. 

This year I started out the season really lucky I went out the opening day of archery season and started to head out to my stand and there were deer already sitting in the hay field so I thought I should just back out of there and not scare them out. I returned to my stand the next afternoon.  I got set up in my stand, got my bow ready and everything.  About a half an hour later I started to have deer moving into the hay field.  I passed up about ten does because I did not want to just shoot some thing the first hour I was there and spook them out of the field, so I waited about another hour and watched some deer cross the river coming towards the field that I was hunting in.

Then I couldn’t here them any more so I started to watch some other deer.  The deer were really spooky all day long. I was watching these deer start to go out of range then I hear something move from the bushes to the side of me. I started to watch it pretty good,  I took my eyes off it for about a minute to watch another place and when I looked back to were I heard the noise and there was a beautiful 4x4 whitetail buck all in velvet chasing a doe.   I used my range finder and he was at about 32 yards,  I placed my pin right on the kill zone and released my arrow. I hit him perfect, he did not run more than twenty yards and dropped over dead.  The reason I am telling you about almost all of my hunts I have been on is because to me every time I get a chance to go out it is way too much fun just being out in the wilderness.     

But my favorite hunt of all time had to be the hunt I went on yesterday with a kid that I have known since he was a baby. His family took care of me last while my mom was in the hospital with cancer. He had been asking me if we could go hunting some time soon, so yesterday I thought it would be a good day to take him out. We first went up to a spot that one of my friends shot a doe. We got up there and it was a crappy day out  because it was about to snow and it was really windy.  But to me it was just fun because I got spend some time with him. He kept telling me I hope you shoot some thing, so I decided to go to one of my friends ranches out in the valley where the chances were better.  On the way out to the ranch we were looking up in this field off the road watching elk, it made his day to see some elk. We got to the ranch and got out of the truck watching some deer.  I asked if he wanted to go after them, of course he wanted to.  We got all of our stuff on and I sprayed him down with some scent killer, he did the same to me. The deer were just on the other side of the ranches junk yard so I had him walk with me.  These deer had no idea that we were there.  I told him to walk close to me so it would not scare them off as easy as if they saw two of use. I spotted the deer and we started to stalk them just a little closer. I went around a large bush with him, and showed him which one I was going to shoot. 

I used the range finder and she was at 51 yards.  I took the shot and hit her perfect right in the kill zone.  She ran about 80 yards and dropped dead.  The look on Ty's face was worth shooting the deer in so many ways. We walked over to where I shot him trying to find my arrow. When we got to the animal he was stoked to be out there hunting.  He helped me gut it out and before we started to drag her we had to do something that I have done with all of my animals.  We took two fingers dipped in blood and wiped it on his face and he wiped it on my face to say thank you to the deer that gave her life for us.   He helped me drag the deer to my truck.  After that I took some pics of him and the deer. He was really proud of that and so was I.  

That had to be favorite hunt of all time just to be out there with him and enjoying the hunt with him.

Editors Note: From time to time we are going to be adding stories from aspiring writers and Pro Staff.  We hope you will enjoy the enthusiasm and excitement these hunters share for their passions!!!