Taylor's First Hunt - Virginia
A happy hunter!
Hunter: Taylor Edwards
Cameraperson: Kim Edwards
October 9 will always be a day to remember. The day started out with overcast skies but warm, and it was a beautiful day to hunt. I got home from work around 4:00 and I thought it would be a good day for our 9 year old daughter, Taylor, to go hunting. The school bus arrived about 4:15. As soon as she came through the door I asked her if she wanted to go hunting. A huge smile came across her face and she immediately replied yes. We decided to go to Taylor’s Evolved Habitats food plot that she had planted herself with help from Mom & Dad. We climbed into our Ameristep treestands around 4:30 p.m., and settled in for what would turn out to be an exciting evening.
The first hour was pretty slow as we watched and listened to the squirrels and birds. Taylor brought her Nintendo DS along—it’s not that easy for a nine year old to have patience like some of us do. About 5:30 p.m., three turkeys fed into the food plot. All of them were jakes, which was exciting for her, and it gave me great ideas for next spring. They fed for about 15 minutes out of the food plot, when a couple minutes later a big doe and fawn came in and fed. The big doe got nervous after a few minutes and they left without giving Taylor the shot she was looking for.
Taylor was disappointed, but I told her it was early and not to give up. Suddenly, I spotted another deer working its way into the food plot. To our surprise, it was a buck! In the back of my mind I was thinking how lucky it would be for her to take a buck on her very first hunt. The buck fed slowly toward the middle of the food plot and he had no ideal we were around. I could tell that Taylor was getting nervous, and she kept looking up at me, waiting for the “go ahead” sign. He fed behind a bush and I told her when he comes out the other side to get ready to take a shot. The buck stepped out while continuing to eat the shot plot, seemingly without a care in the world. Little did he know their was a 9 year old with a Ten Point Crossbow aimed at him, perched in a stand only 17 yards away. I told her to take the shot as soon as he turned broadside. I was staring in the camera when I heard the bow go off and saw the bolt pass completely through the buck. I struggled to stay on him while he was running through the food plot and into the woods. I turned to Taylor to see a smile and laugh I will never forget. After some celebrating and a high-five, we decided to back out and go get her father. Terry looked at the footage and decided it would be best to go look for him the next morning to retrieve the buck. The hit looked a little high but we felt confident because of the angle, she had got at least one lung. It was a long sleepless night for everybody. Before going to bed, Taylor said a little prayer asking Jesus to help her father find her deer.
The next morning I went to work, Taylor went to school, and Terry went to look for her deer. To his surprise, it was an easy recovery; the buck had gone only 40 yards from the food plot and expired. Upon getting the deer out and on the back of his truck, Terry was so pumped he had to go to her school and get her out of class to let her see her buck for the first time. Taylor would have gone with him that morning, but she had three tests, so we definitely didn't want to hold her back from that. She was so excited!!!
Terry took pictures of her and the deer that evening. We both as parents are very proud of our daughter and happy that she enjoys the outdoors. Terry hopes that Taylor will let him hunt her food plot now.