Pennsylvania Game News - April 2012 - 25

The morning when, it turned out, I shot my buck, there was water everywhere, and we had to cross a creek to get to our spot. We could tell it was knee deep, and Dad said that if we got wet we would be done hunting for the day, so we tried to find a shallow place to cross. We couldn’t find a shallow spot, though. The only other way to get to our spot was to go back to the road and hike the long way around, which was a quartermile detour and it was already getting light. Our spot overlooked a 4-acre hay field bordered by corn on one side and woods on the other. Dad had put a round hay bale there for a rest. On our way to the spot we heard a deer grunt. When we got there a lone deer ran into the woods. We figured it was a buck, because Dad said a lone deer in the morning is almost always a buck. We got ready and I sat down. After about a half hour Dad said, “Micah, here’s the gun.” I started to get up, but Dad stopped me, saying, “He’s looking right at us, but you should be behind the bale enough that he shouldn’t see you.” I stood up. I thought it was a doe, and Dad wanted me to take the gun because there might be a buck coming, but I was a little surprised when he said it was a buck. I slowly took the gun, clicked off the safety and began the trigger squeeze. I remember thinking that any time now it was going to go off, and then with a boom the deer jumped and ran. I started shaking. I looked at Dad and he told me to put the rifle down. Dad said I had hit him, but we’d give him a half hour or so. The minutes went by slowly. It had looked like a spike through the scope, but we were wrong. Dad got his rangefinder out and said that the buck had been standing 81 yards away, and if I had shot as well as I had on the target, it should be ours. Finally, our wait was over and we started looking for the buck. As soon as
APRIL 2012

Mentored Youth hunting PrograM
The Mentored Youth Hunting Program is designed to allow youngsters under 12 years of age to gain hunting experience and learn at an early age about Pennsylvania’s rich hunting heritage. An adult mentor can transfer one valid antlerless deer license to a Mentored Youth Hunting Program participant. The transfer of the antlerless license may not occur until after the mentored youth has harvested the antlerless deer. At that time, the license is to be transferred to the youngster to complete the harvest information and attach the carcass tag. The adult mentor has to report the deer, but the report does not need to indicate that a mentored youth used the antlerless license.

we took about 10 steps Dad looked through his binoculars. I figured that if he saw the deer he would tell me, but he didn’t say anything. Instead we just kept walking in the direction the deer had gone. After a little bit I yelled, “There he is!” and started running to the deer. “Oh, my goodness, Dad, it’s not a spike, it’s a 4-point,” I said. When Dad got there he congratulated me and we shook hands, and then we stood there looking at my first antlered deer. Then Dad took out my license and we filled out my tag and put it on the ear of the deer. We field-dressed the buck and then Dad called Kurt to come with the tractor so we could load it up and get it home to hang up. While waiting for Kurt we went to where the deer had been standing. Dad said that he had gone only 70 yards after being hit. I had shot the deer through the lungs. I had my first buck. 
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Pennsylvania Game News - April 2012

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