Five or six years ago I sat in a cramped deer blind with my then girlfriend. She said she wanted to shoot a deer. We saw only one doe and it was gone in a matter of moments. I had told her to wait to see if anything else would show up. Nothing did and I have had that held over my head ever since. This year when Andrea (now my wife) said she would like to go hunting with me I jumped on the opportunity to redeem myself. Since we had access to a doe tag and a family that wanted the meat I figured we could possibly get Andrea her first deer.
One of my good friends has a blind big enough to tango in. I figured we would setup there and bring out my 30-06 and an extra chair. Andrea had never shot my rifle. I myself wear a slight scar on my nose from the first time I shot it. We covered the basics, "Safety is here, keep it tight against your shoulder, aim for the front shoulder..." then headed into the woods. Andrea dressed in my blaze orange jacket and rifle in hand. After about a 15 minute walk we arrive at the blind and climb on in. I started the heater and open the shooting windows while Andrea got settled into her chair (We hunt comfortably in Michigan).
It didn't take long and deer started to come in. First a Doe and a fawn. They ate for close to thirty minutes before another doe came in. This one didn't seem to be welcome by the first doe and was promptly chased away. Then something spooked our dinner companions and they ran with tails in the air.
I feared that would be the end of our hunt. We only had about 45 minutes of daylight left. Then a lone doe came out of the swamp. Exactly what we had been looking for. No fawn with her, she looked around nervously as Andrea and I whispered the plan. "Thats the one" I said to Andrea. "Shoot it". She did and it took off into the swamp. Andrea feared she had missed it. I tried as best I could to reassure her that she probably hit the deer and that we just had to wait. It seemed like forever but when we got out of the blind and started combing the area a large pile of hair and blood was all I needed to know she had hit her mark.

I was very proud of Andrea. She was not raised in a hunting family. She chose to try something that I love and enjoy to see what it was all about. She says next year she wants to shoot a buck.

 

Take someone you know who has never gone hunting or fishing and pass on the traditions you love. It can be extremely rewarding.