Andrea Shoots Her First Buck
November 15th in Michigan takes on a holiday feel. This past holiday weekend we headed back with a single goal in mind. Get Andrea her first Buck. Last year Andrea passed on a buck because it came in within 15 or 20 minutes of getting in her blind. Obviously a bigger buck would come by right.... She never saw another buck that year. After learning her lesson, she had vowed to drop any buck that crossed her path this year.
We borrowed a nice .243 Weatherby for her to use this year. After shooting at the range a couple times, it was apparent that she was comfortable with her new gun. She was punching the ten ring at 100 yards and we rarely shoot much past 50 in the cedar swamps of the UP. I wouldn't want to be a buck in one of her shooting lanes.
We both sat several times the first few days of the season. Nothing but does and fawns for Andrea not a single deer for me. The weather was just too warm and too nice for the deer. They didn't need to move and when they did, it was at night. Then last weekend they seemed to start moving just a little more and we sent Andrea to a different blind that I had heard a buck grunting at a day or two earlier. I sat in a blind about 80 acres away with my cell phone on vibrate. When I heard the shot I knew it was her but sent a quick text to find out for sure. Buck down! was the reply. I left my blind and we met up back at camp and got the gear to start tracking and dragging.
He didn't go far but the blood trail was pretty light so it took us a few minutes to find him. Andrea was pretty excited when we did and was making phone calls while I started the messy work of field dressing the nice six point deer. Back at camp we washed fresh cooked heart and belly loins down with a few celebratory shots. I caught a little grief about how Andrea had shot two deer in the past couple years and I had not shot a one. I was still very happy for her and the meat goes in the same freezer. Next year I will probably hunt a little harder though and Andrea may get a little less special attention. (Although she may very well not need it)
Sport
We borrowed a nice .243 Weatherby for her to use this year. After shooting at the range a couple times, it was apparent that she was comfortable with her new gun. She was punching the ten ring at 100 yards and we rarely shoot much past 50 in the cedar swamps of the UP. I wouldn't want to be a buck in one of her shooting lanes.
We both sat several times the first few days of the season. Nothing but does and fawns for Andrea not a single deer for me. The weather was just too warm and too nice for the deer. They didn't need to move and when they did, it was at night. Then last weekend they seemed to start moving just a little more and we sent Andrea to a different blind that I had heard a buck grunting at a day or two earlier. I sat in a blind about 80 acres away with my cell phone on vibrate. When I heard the shot I knew it was her but sent a quick text to find out for sure. Buck down! was the reply. I left my blind and we met up back at camp and got the gear to start tracking and dragging.
He didn't go far but the blood trail was pretty light so it took us a few minutes to find him. Andrea was pretty excited when we did and was making phone calls while I started the messy work of field dressing the nice six point deer. Back at camp we washed fresh cooked heart and belly loins down with a few celebratory shots. I caught a little grief about how Andrea had shot two deer in the past couple years and I had not shot a one. I was still very happy for her and the meat goes in the same freezer. Next year I will probably hunt a little harder though and Andrea may get a little less special attention. (Although she may very well not need it)
Sport
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