Hunter's 3-Point - North Carolina
Hunter and his buck.
Father and son.
Hunter: Hunter Enloe
Cameraman: Scott Enloe
The 2008 hunting season has had its ups and downs, but we were going to try to make the best of things. We started out the year on a great early September youth hunt in Kansas with my son Hunter, where he took a nice 10-pointer on the second day of the hunt. After returning to North Carolina we were looking forward to some great bowhunting in our home state. Because of personal reasons my usual month long November hunt in the Midwest would not happen this year, much to my disappointment, and the hunting in North Carolina would be hard to do as well.
Usually during the month of September and October, I spend a lot of time bowhunting with Hunter and my hunting buddy Scott Carpenter. This year would prove to be a hard year to get to hunt at all. I was only able to take Hunter bowhunting a few times.
When rifle season arrived I got permission for us to hunt on some private land near our house, but with Hunter having school everyday it would make it difficult to get the time to take him. Our only chance to go would be in the evenings after school. I picked Hunter up from school nearly everyday and we headed as quickly as we could to the field for a short hunt. We saw a lot of deer the first couple of days, but no bucks. We were hunting an extremely high pressured hunting area, and to see or even get a chance at a buck was rare. Hunter would be satisfied with just a small buck, but he had hopes that the big one would step out anytime! On the third evening, we saw a nice tall-racked 6-pointer chasing a doe but he never stopped to give Hunter a good shot. Finally just before dark on the same evening and after I had already shut the camera off, the same big 6-pointer stepped out in the field. Hunter wanted to take him but he also wanted to get a buck on film, so he decided to pass and hope the next evening would prove to be more productive.
The next evening we hurried home from school again and began the process of getting ready in a hurry. Hunter put on his Scentlok under gear to try and keep down any scent that would spook the deer. We always keep our clothes in a Hunter’s Specialties scent proof bag to help out as well. After getting dressed we jumped in the truck for the quick 5 minute drive to the hunting property. We arrived and practically ran to the field to hurry and get set up for the short 1-1/2 hour hunt before dark. Hunter had a great spot to sit and watch a big field. When we arrived, I got the camera set up and Hunter set up the Thompson Center Encore. He was using the same 7mm magnum barrel that he had used in Kansas earlier in the season to bag his 10-pointer. After sitting for about an hour, Hunter noticed some does working their way into the field. I ranged them with my Nikon rangefinders to be 155 yards and getting closer. Hunter was already getting nervous, when we looked to see a small 3-pointer coming out behind the does. He was a small buck but he was a buck! Hunter is only 11 years old and to get a chance at a buck makes him just as happy as if it were a monster Boone & Crockett deer. The camera light was going quick and he hurried to get the Nikon Monarch scope centered on the deer. Even though he was a small buck, he already had girls on his mind, he began to sniff out one of the does and start walking toward her to check her out. When he made it to 110 yards he stopped and Hunter let the TC roar! The buck did a total back-flip and was down for the count.
As usual, Hunter was so excited and had a smile from ear-to-ear. This goes to show that the trophy is totally in the eyes of the hunter. Of course he wanted a big monster buck, who doesn’t; but this 3-pointer put the same smile on his face as a big one does. We had sat there every evening talking about having fresh back-straps for supper, and this evening we would do just that! When you get a chance, take your kids hunting because our kids are the future of hunting.