It was the first Monday of Whitetail Deer season in Pennsylvania. Every year my dad and I go hunting with his family. I have been hunting with them since I was 8. And every year I couldn't shoot anything. It was painful to watch my dad, my uncle and everyone else shoot deer. I had just gotten my license the previous summer. This was my year, I was determined to shoot a deer. On Monday my dad and I got up at 4:30 am to go into the tree stand. The morning was unsuccessful, nothing produced. The only thing that came out was a few of doe. My dad wanted me to shoot one to get one deer under my belt. But I said no because I wanted a set of horns to mount on the wall. We had to leave that night to make the 3 hour drive back to Maryland so I wouldn't miss school on Tuesday. My last chance to shoot a buck this year was on Saturday.


On Saturday my father and I had started the morning at 6 am sitting in 17 degree weather. When a doe came through the woods my dad told me to take off my gloves and get ready to shoot in case a buck came in behind it. I had to stay like that for at least 10 minutes. I was in so much pain because my hands were so cold.. But I toughed it out and didn't say a word. It was so cold that the silent tears streaming down my face froze before they hit the ground. After we sat there for more than three hours we decided to head out. I was so disappointed because I thought my chances for a buck were over. But my dad said, "Good things come to those who wait." So we headed down to the shop to meet the rest of the family, who were also hunting with us. We had to think of a game plan for the rest of the day. We settled on doing deer drives. I was to sit. We did three drives, but nothing produced. It was the last drive of the day, and the last day of the season. My chances of getting a buck were slim to none.


We set up on the best drive there was. I was the only one in the family who hadn't shot a deer on that drive. I had my gun ready when I heard the rustling of the branches about 40 yards away from me. My dad was behind me to coach me since I had never shot anything before. The first doe came out into the clearing, and not far behind it still in the brush and briars came this deer that was all rack. It was not far behind the doe it was right up on her butt. I had the crosshairs of my .243 youth gun (that my dad had bought for me in the spring at Cabelas) on the deer the entire time. But I was shaking so much, that it was hard to keep the gun still. There were butterflies filling my stomach. It went behind a tree and stayed there for like 2 seconds. Then the doe came around the tree followed by the buck. The second I had the crosshairs on the deer's neck I shot. The deer took one step, which was his last and fell to the ground immediately. After I shot I was shaking for at least 5 minutes. My dad was so happy; he patted me on the back, hugged me and even kissed the top of my head! When we walked up to the deer I couldn't believe how big it was. My dad and I said a little prayer to God to thank him for the deer because I probably would never get a deer that big again!!! I'm very grateful for that deer. I definately learned that hunting is all about patience and family! That was such an incredible feeling when the deer dropped that I can't wait until next season to get back out hunting!