John Green's First Hunt With His Son

I took my then 7-year old son deer hunting for the first time on 10/4/10. We were in a buddy stand in a hunt club in Warren County. (Importantly, we both were wearing anti-fall harnesses and had an emergency plan.)

After two hours of seeing nothing, Daniel laid on the grunt tube near 7 p.m. (about 15 minutes before dark). A few minutes later, we heard the deer in the attached photo walking towards us. I finally saw the deer about 12-15 yards away. Daniel covered his ears, and I fired my muzzleloader. The deer went about 15 yards, dropping about 5 yards from the firebreak/dirt road.

We took the buck to Pearce's Processing for processing. We ate the meat throughout the rest of 2010 and well into 2011. I put the antlers on a plaque, and Daniel even had them scored at the 2011 Dixie Deer Classic. Daniel has the antlers and the certificate in his room.

This was Daniel's first hunt, and he was thrilled! It was a day I hope I never forget.