Keep on keepin on . . . . . . . .

The ups and downs of my son Jamison's last two years of deer hunting has came down to this,a nice fat doe 40 yards away broadside.

The 2009 youth deer season was not good to him.The first day he had scout activities and that evening he got sick and could not hunt the next day.Altho his older brother Josh and I saw several deer that next day we went home empty handed,due to rookie mistakes that everyone must learn. Even with me coaching him along he missed an opportunity at a deer 10 FEET away from him.It happens.....

November came around and brought with it colder than average temps.Our first morning on stand we saw some does that never gave him a good shot.The morning ended with my son Josh killing his first antlered buck an 8 point.Jamison and I hunted hard for the next two days with no dead deer to show for our efforts.

Second season brought him one chance to kill a deer,a nice one,but him thinking he was an LAPD sniper left us caught with our pants down.

We were sitting between some round bales of hay in the middle of a cow pasture and he was not so sure of the spot that I had chosen for us. I had never hunted right here,nor seen any deer here,but I had a gut feeling this was the spot. In between the hay bales James could not see anything so he was laying on top of a bale trying to convince me that he can shoot from this position. While I'm trying to tell him he can not shoot from there I look over to see a 130 class 8 point buck standing 50 yards away LOOKING AT US ! ! ! !

James is afraid the deer will see him,I'm telling him SHOOT,and a bad case of buck fever result in a clean miss.That evening we have several deer come into the small field we were watching,but his again resulted in no dead deer.

The 2010 youth season ended with us putting a stalk on a field full of deer that contained 4 antlered bucks,two of them being huge,but a flock of wood ducks in a creek gave away our intentions and we were still 50 yards from a shot.

Fast forward to the last day or the 2010 first gun season. Josh and Cody had both killed a deer,Jamison is really feeling the pressure. He and I were sitting on a ridge overlooking a pasture that was covered in deer tracks.

We sat until 10:00,watching squirrels chasing each other up and down a tree,and gathering hickory nuts for the winter,and a flock of long beards searching for something to eat,but had not seen a deer.We decide to sneak to the other side of the property to finish out the mornings hunt.We had been on our feet for less than two minutes and a doe jumps the fence 40 yards in front of us and she has a buck hot on her tail. I whisper to him "Wait till he moves out of the brush and shoot". The doe takes a few steps and he shoots,at the doe and misses ! Thats when he saw the buck,and I could see that he was holding back tears. We double time it to the edge of the field and see the buck,a tall wide 8 point, standing on a pond dam 90 yards away. Jamison says that he knows the shot is to far for him to take,so he tries to get me to shoot.While the thought went thru my mind tow things keep me from pulling the trigger,one a small bush,two Jamisons feelings. Finally the doe took off across the field and the buck was right on her tail.A few seconds after they entered the woods three shots rang out.

Two weeks later during the second Illinois gun season it was the same old story.We were on a different property,loaded with deer but Jamison can not connect with one. We are seeing an average of 15 deer a day,most all of them are kill able to an experienced hunter,but I want him to learn to take only shots he knows he can make.

Several close calls and a few missed shots over the last two days James is at the end of his rope.He wants to kill a deer bad and is very discouraged.I have worked my butt off trying to get him a deer. We are sitting from daylight till dark,only taking a break at the truck long enough to eat lunch then right back into the woods. We we have a new set up now, a ground blind wedged between two large cedar trees and covered in cedar limbs in an area that has a LOT of deer traffic.He whiffed on a 30 yard shot that evening and he is feeling low.He tells me he is really thinking that deer hunting is not for him.

On the hour drive home I tell him that due to our new spot,and all the sign in the area that there is no way that he wont connect the next day,remember what Joe Dirt said "Ya got to keep on keepin on ".

The next morning brings 20 mph wind,and 20 degree temps. We are sitting a hundred feet into an over grown pasture.There is a draw that is 40 yards wide and several hundred yards long.Over the last 3 days wee have seen deer on either end of this draw and we are now sitting right in the middle of it in our very well hidden ground blind. The area is low enough that it is protecting us,and the deer,from the wind. We are armed with a back pack full of snacks and lunch,so we would not have to leave,and a Mr. Buddy heater borrowed from my friend Bob.

Soon after day light James spotted 3 deer making their way up the draw.In just a minute they will be right in front of us.They slowly make their way to us and end up right in front of our position 40 yards away,and the best part is they have no clue we are in the world. The worst part of this is they are in the brush offering NO SHOT ! After a little convincing on my part Jamison lets the deer pass by.

An hour or so later we are sitting in our blind whispering back and fourth to each other I look up and see a nice fat doe standing broadside 40 yards away.There is nothing in the way,so he raises his gun. I coach him thru it,tell him to stay calm,dont rush the shot when you feel good squeeze the trigger. At the shot the deer goes down in its tracks.The celebration had already began.Hugs and high fives,screaming and yelling. We go over to the deer and find the shot just a bit high and a follow up shot later,Jamison had his first deer.

It had been two long years for him,and me.There were lows and then there were lows. I have sat by my oldest son,Josh, when he pulled the trigger on several deer.I have killed some very respectable deer myself,but I was more proud that day of Jamisons deer than I had been of any of them. We worked and worked for this deer. If you want to feel a since of accomplishment take a kid hunting,and dont give up.