Devin Landers is 12 years old and an absolute blast to be around.  We nicknamed him “Firecracker”.  He is one of the most fun and competitive kids I’ve ever known, and he had a blast participating in a Kicking Bear event in La Crosse, Wisconsin. 

Greg “Sarge” Symons has been a part of the Kicking Bear events for the last 8 years.  At the end of the 3-D archery shoot on Saturday, Sarge informed all the youth that he would be leading a free gun hunter safety course for kids involved with Kicking Bear, and that there would be an organized youth hunt in the fall for those who wanted to participate.  Later that summer, Sarge taught these youth not only firearms safety but tree stand safety and all-around good ethics in the outdoors. 

With the hunting season coming up on us, Devin and I got together.  I wanted to see how his shooting skills were going to be for the type of hunting we were going to do.  I made a cardboard silhouette of a whitetail deer and set the target at 100 yards.  We talked about how to follow the back of the front leg line up to the center of the silhouette and squeeze a shot off with good follow through.  Devin is an incredible shot with his gun!  I couldn’t believe how well-placed his shots were and how calm and confident he was in his shooting abilities. 

Devin and I discussed some of the things that had happened to me on my first hunts and how things change when you’re no longer shooting at paper and it’s the real thing.  I get excited every time I see a whitetail in the woods, especially when I have the opportunity to hunt them.  I told Devin that there are many great seasoned whitetail hunters who will completely fall apart when the trophy of their dreams steps into view.  With his shooting ability, his real challenge was going to be controlling his emotions and waiting for the right shot.

We also discussed the importance of not letting the deer catch any movement or be able to smell us.  Using a scent-killing product is perfect for sitting in ground blinds and especially for youth.  No matter what you did wrong in not being scent free, all you have to do is step out of your vehicle, spray yourself down, and now you’re “invisible” to their noses.  We talked about being stealthy while hunting—if the deer can’t see, hear, or smell you—you will have a better chance of getting close enough for a shot.
 

The following weekend found us sitting together in a brush blind near a food plot in Wisconsin where I had been watching several deer feeding in the evenings.  It was one of those afternoons where it was extremely quiet and any mistake made with movement or noise would end the hunt instantly.  While sitting in the blind, we were being as quiet as we could.  I don’t know what it is about trying to be quiet, especially when you’re having a good time, but several times we broke out laughing and had a really difficult time trying to keep the sound muffled. 

We decided that Devin was going to harvest the first adult deer that stepped into the feeding area within his comfortable shooting range.  It was about 2:30 in the afternoon when he whispered to me, “There’s a buck.”  As I looked at Devin, I could see he wasn’t joking.  His eyes told the whole story!  I turned my head to look in the direction that he was looking and sure enough, there was a buck feeding about 110 yards from us.  "This is incredible," I thought to myself.  "We’re already getting an opportunity." 

Devin slowly lifted his gun and rested it on a large branch in front of us.  The buck was quartering severely away from us and it would have been tough for even an expert to make the shot.  I asked Devin to wait until the deer had turned perfectly broadside.  I couldn’t believe the patience this young person had.  The minutes went by like hours and I was almost sure Devin was going to hear my heart pounding.  Finally the buck gave Devin the opportunity.  I reminded him to follow the leg line and a second later the shot rang out and the buck ran off the field.  Through my Nikon optics, I saw exactly where the bullet hit.  It was perfect!  I couldn’t have placed the shot any better myself.  I looked right at Devin and said, “You pinched!”

We waited for 20 minutes and then walked over to where he had shot the deer.  The tracking was very easy.  The buck had expired in the woods within 75 yards of where he had been standing when Devin took the shot.  We found ourselves grinning from ear to ear, high-fiving and acting like a couple of people who had just won the lottery.

Then Devin had his first hands-on lesson on how to field dress a deer, which is a whole story in itself.  This whole experience brought me back to the first time I had the opportunity to harvest my first whitetail.  The feelings were exactly the same. 

After dragging the deer back to the edge of the tree line, there was still plenty of daylight left and I asked Devin if he wanted to try and get a double “pinch” seeing that he still had a doe tag.  There was that big grin again and with his answer, we were on our way back to the blind.

Now it was even tougher to keep quiet in the blind.  We were whispering back and forth about all the things that had unfolded from the moment he first saw the buck.  I asked him where he thought the next deer was going to appear from and he pointed to a well-used trail at the west end of the food plot which was not my personal choice so the bet was on. 

There we were again a half hour later when a single, large adult doe walked into the food plot about 80 yards from us.  I couldn’t believe it.  I had just lost the bet!  Again, Devin slowly got his gun into position and waited for the right shot opportunity.  Before the sound of the shot had left the valley, the doe hit the ground.  Another well-placed shot!  Before my optics were even off my eyes, I uncontrollably yelled, “Great shot Devin—you pinched again!” 

There we were again, grinning from ear to ear only this time I volunteered to do the field dressing.  We were having so much fun I forgot that we had to physically drag both deer back to the logging road which was quite a jaunt.  But with all the laughing, joking and swatting each other on the back I really don’t remember all the physical work involved.  Even on my best day I can’t remember getting a double “pinch”!

Courtesy of Ray Howell with Kicking Bear Foundation