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On November 23rd, 2010, I phoned my granddaughter Brittney to see if she could have November 25th off from school to go hunting with her dad and I. I didn't have to ask her twice, her answer was yes!
On November 25th, I picked Brittney and her dad Marcel Jr. up around 7:00 a.m. so we could be at the hunting ground by 8:00 a.m. legal time, but of course, we had to stop at Tim Hortons first.
Arriving at our destination, we made plans that I would be hunting with my granddaughter while her dad would be going through the bush and flushing the game—we are quite familiar with the travel of game in that area.
Brittney and I sat up on a small hill while her dad was making a circle and doing some walking through the woods. After approximately 15 minutes in this spot, I told my granddaughter to watch the bottom of the hill as I needed to step away for a few minutes.
When I returned to join Brittney, she told me that a deer was standing not far from her spot in the woods. I blamed Tim Hortons for being away from her.
After awhile, we decided to go to another location where her dad would again walk through the woods. We sat a couple hundred yards away from a well-traveled deer trail. I told her it wouldn’t be long before something would come through there and I promised not to pull that Tim Horton thing and go away again.
A short time later, I whispered to Brittney that there was a whitetail doe coming through and to be ready when it appeared out of the woods. She raised the rifle, lined up, and fired! The deer dropped dead with a direct shot right through the neck at 90 yards from her spot.
We approached carefully, warning her to always be careful when approaching game on the ground until there is no more movement.
I congratulated her on her superior shot and there was a smile on her face from ear to ear.
Her dad showed up a few minutes later and there were high-fives all around, there was also a teenager dance spin going. I thought it must be some kind of new disco dance for teenagers.
After the deer was tagged, field-dressed and pictures taken, I told them there was still a lot of time to walk another area to see if there was any deer movement.
We sat up on a hill overlooking a valley with an open area and bushes, beyond that the Red Deer River. After awhile, we saw a few does running around but being too far to shoot, we decided it was time to eat lunch. Then I noticed some movement on the edge of the woods down in the valley. I raised the glasses and noticed a small whitetail buck doe searching, but it went away to the river.
After awhile, the same buck came back and I said to Brittney, “Let’s go further so we can see if he will come up our way.”
About 300 yards from our spot, I said to Brittney, “Wait here and we’ll see if he’s coming.” It didn't take long to see the deer working his way up through the bush to the opening. I told Brittney to be ready and as soon as the deer walked through that opening approximately four feet, to shoot it.
I let go a small grunt and the deer stopped. “Bang!” Brittney’s shot echoed through the valley. The deer went down 20 feet from where he was standing. The shot went right through the lung and heart and again, we walked slowly to the deer to make sure it was safe. Her dad was standing right behind us when this happened and this time he had the smile from ear to ear. Again, the teenager dance, tagging, field-dressing and pictures. The process of hauling the game through the hills to the truck belonged to Brittney and her dad while I led the way. This all happened the same day with the harvesting of two deer two hours apart. To me, her grandpa, this was more valuable than any big trophy, because this was a day to be cherished forever. All the meat will be put to good use.
Brittney is 17-years-old and used a 30-06 Parker Hale bolt action. My daughter is also an avid hunter but no luck this year harvesting a deer. Brittney loves to hunt and fish and always competes with her dad who's “gonna’ get the big one.”
Also, a big thank you to all the farmers that let us access their land. ■
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