Took my 12 yr old daughter out to a food plot with my 35 marlin. I had sat on this plot one evening and saw 11 deer with a bow. Of course they were all 60 yards or better. So I'm thinking what a great spot to take a kid.
I snap pics with my phone and show her when I get home all the deer eating. She is stoked needless to say and has never hunted with me as of yet. Off we go muzzle loader opener. Within 20 minutes I'm getting this "I thought you said this was a good spot. Where are the deer?" I'm explaining we have to whisper and knowing it's gonna be a long hunt. She is impatient to say the least. 30 mins go by and she's ready to go.
We leave as I'm aggravated and she's ready. I give it until Tuesday and ask her again if she wants to give it another go. She's excited so off we go again. I wait until maybe 5:30 so we don't have to sit too long that evening knowing that chances were it'd be close to dark when they came out anyway. 30 minutes in we are right back to where we were. Ready to go. I tell her maybe hunting isn't her thing. I make a deal with her to sit until dark and if she didn't want to come back that I wouldn't force it on her. Agreed.
As luck would have it. About 6:45 a huge doe steps out at about 90 yds. I'm hesitant to let her soot that far but she has proven to shoot well plinking so I tell her this is her chance. Put the crosshairs where I told you to and ease a shot off. Seemed to take forever and then bam! The doe runs. I'm worried and she's on cloud 9. "Where'd she go"? I said hopefully not far.
We get down and no blood. I ease into the thicket she ran into and start seeing a dissappointing sign that she'd hit her too far back. Of course she is worried and I tell her we won't push her but we'd go get my brother in law and come back. We did. He nor I was optimistic.
So it's dark now and I mean dark. Thick too with briars. The 3 of us are hunched over following no blood just stomach matter. The flashlight I have since I'm in the front is showing maybe a 2ft circle on the ground as close as we were bent down. We go maybe 20 yds and all of a sudden the woods erupt Like a bigfoot is coming. I catch movement unaware of what was fixing to eat us. I hear bro n law's m&p 45 slide rack with a quickness and I'm drawing my 38 like John Wayne at this commotion not knowing what it is when all of a sudden two armadillos the size of a small lion come into this 2ft circle of light I have at my feet and scurry between us. My heart drops as did theirs.
Finally we stop and we grab our composure. And after another 10 ft and a new pair of drawers I find her deer expired. A big mature doe and boy I can't even get an evening now without her wanting to go.
Awesome feeling and I'm proud. I hope this was as entertaining to you as it was to me. Thanks for the long read.
I snap pics with my phone and show her when I get home all the deer eating. She is stoked needless to say and has never hunted with me as of yet. Off we go muzzle loader opener. Within 20 minutes I'm getting this "I thought you said this was a good spot. Where are the deer?" I'm explaining we have to whisper and knowing it's gonna be a long hunt. She is impatient to say the least. 30 mins go by and she's ready to go.
We leave as I'm aggravated and she's ready. I give it until Tuesday and ask her again if she wants to give it another go. She's excited so off we go again. I wait until maybe 5:30 so we don't have to sit too long that evening knowing that chances were it'd be close to dark when they came out anyway. 30 minutes in we are right back to where we were. Ready to go. I tell her maybe hunting isn't her thing. I make a deal with her to sit until dark and if she didn't want to come back that I wouldn't force it on her. Agreed.
As luck would have it. About 6:45 a huge doe steps out at about 90 yds. I'm hesitant to let her soot that far but she has proven to shoot well plinking so I tell her this is her chance. Put the crosshairs where I told you to and ease a shot off. Seemed to take forever and then bam! The doe runs. I'm worried and she's on cloud 9. "Where'd she go"? I said hopefully not far.
We get down and no blood. I ease into the thicket she ran into and start seeing a dissappointing sign that she'd hit her too far back. Of course she is worried and I tell her we won't push her but we'd go get my brother in law and come back. We did. He nor I was optimistic.
So it's dark now and I mean dark. Thick too with briars. The 3 of us are hunched over following no blood just stomach matter. The flashlight I have since I'm in the front is showing maybe a 2ft circle on the ground as close as we were bent down. We go maybe 20 yds and all of a sudden the woods erupt Like a bigfoot is coming. I catch movement unaware of what was fixing to eat us. I hear bro n law's m&p 45 slide rack with a quickness and I'm drawing my 38 like John Wayne at this commotion not knowing what it is when all of a sudden two armadillos the size of a small lion come into this 2ft circle of light I have at my feet and scurry between us. My heart drops as did theirs.
Finally we stop and we grab our composure. And after another 10 ft and a new pair of drawers I find her deer expired. A big mature doe and boy I can't even get an evening now without her wanting to go.
Awesome feeling and I'm proud. I hope this was as entertaining to you as it was to me. Thanks for the long read.
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Great story and congrats!
