Little three-year-old girl, wrapped up head to toe camo, stood in the field, ready for their first hunt. That little girl was me, that was where my passion began. That's not where my story ended though.
I remember the crisp fall air, leaves moving in the wind, and the stillness of my surroundings. I was only seven years old, that's over twelve years ago, and I still remember it clearly. It was the morning I shot my first buck.
The trembling overcame my body as soon as he came into sight. I remember not being able to hold up my binoculars still enough in order to see him. Looking through the binocular glass all I could see was blobs of colors. I was a trembling mess. My dad, sitting right beside me in our homemade shooting house, put his hand on my knee to calm me down. He said what he always said, "Kim. It's a shooter, get your gun up." Little seven year old me had been through this before. I had gone out since I was three-years-old, but this was all new. I kept thinking maybe I'm not ready, I can't do this. But I remember pushing those thoughts aside, they can be thought after.
It all happened so fast. The gun was raised, head lowered, trigger pulled, loud bang, pure excited. I watched as the buck, once standing straight ahead of me, ran directly east of our shooting house. He was running so fast I thought he would never stop. I remember hearing a crash, my dad giving me a high five, and then taking the gun and little (still trembling) me out of the shooting house.
Not going to lie here, it did take two shots for my first deer. Steading my gun against a tree, I shot one more time. I was SO excited the trembling reached an all time high. My body was in all shakes. I yelled, "I am going to get mom!" Little seven-year-old me sprinted down the lane to the house. I think that is the fastest I have ever ran.
Twelve years later, and this story is still so prevalent in my memories. That is how it should be, this is what the hunting passion is all about. I remember the story to each and every buck, each and every hunting trip, and each and every miss. Every hunter has a story, and I am blessed to share mine.
I look forward to sharing my experiences and thoughts through this blog based website. Make sure to subscribe for more :)
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