Ever since the Liberty hunt came into being, I’ve made a point of taking a kid out hunting during it, and I have some fine memories in doing so. It was 8 years ago when 13-year-old Dale Skinner of Akron took a Hunter’s Safety class I was helping with. He was seeking to get a hunting certificate, but having recently lost his father, he had no one to take him hunting, and yep, folks, I gave him an invite.
Whenever the occasion occurs, my wife Ginny and I call our home “deer camp”, and during the Liberty Hunt, the kids get to stay at our home. As is my custom, I took Dale with me to the local hardware store the afternoon before our hunt where I purchased his hunting licenses. On the way there, he was all excited and told me about a movie, “Red Dawn”, he had just watched, and there was this crazy ritual where the kid who had just shot his first deer, had to drink its blood. Oh my!
When it comes to “deer camp”, there will be your typical jokesters, and I’m no slouch in this regard. I immediately let Dale know that wasn’t a crazy ritual at all, because it was what he was going do. He looked at me and laughed and said he knew I was only kidding.
A happy and proud 13-year-old Dale Skinner of Akron with his large 2017 Liberty Hunt Thumb doe that he shot using the author’s brand new .44 Magnum Henry Carbine
The weekend before, Dale had spent an afternoon with me on my shooting range where he got acquainted with my brand new .44 Magnum lever-action Henry Carbine. Having been already taught to shoot by his late father, Dale was hitting the mark right at the get-go and loved how the carbine shot so well.
After we got back home from the hardware store, we were on the upper deck where he was using my Daisy Red Ryder BB gun to shoot dead leaves on the ground down below that I pointed out. We were at about the same height as the ladder-stand we would be in the following morning, and I wanted to acquaint him with the expected shooting angles. That is when Ginny appeared at the kitchen window and I asked if there were any straws in the cupboard, and she said yes and wanted to know why. I let her know, Dale would need one so he wouldn’t get any blood on his lips after shooting his first deer.
Well, folks, that got Dale’s attention, and he had a wide-eyed “deer in the headlights” expression on his face from then on. It was when he began pacing around the house and sometimes talking to himself, Ginny, bless her, told him that I was only kidding, which made him laugh and say he knew the whole time I wasn’t serious. Yep, he looked a bit relieved from then on!
The following morning found us in the ladder-stand on a tree located just above a deep ravine. Not long after daybreak, I could hear a buck begin raking and rubbing his antlers not far away and out of sight in the bottom of the ravine. I hand-signaled Dale to be ready and began sending out doe-bleats with my favorite deer call, to which I could tell the buck had quit raking his antlers and was probably listening. However, Dale suddenly tensed up and then slowly braced the carbine on the railing, and that is when I could see his focus was on a large doe which had just emerged out of the tall grass in front of us. The doe was in the process of wondering where the “other doe” was located and was facing directly towards us at about 70-yards.
I always tell a kid I take hunting that they can shoot any deer they want, buck or doe, big or little, and what makes them happy, makes me happy. I could see Dale was ready to shoot the big doe which was fully in sight instead of waiting for the buck behind us which may or may not make an appearance. I slowly eased into my binoculars to assess the situation and could tell by her body language that the doe was about to turn broadside, for which I thought would be the best shooting angle for Dale using open iron sights and told him to cock the carbine.
The author’s brand new .44 Magnum Henry Carbine soon to be used by Dale Skinner during the 2017 Liberty Hunt.
I started to say “she” and Dale thought I was starting to say “shoot”, and he immediately fired. Well, folks, that sure startled me, causing me to swallow my chewing tobacco and nearly drop the binoculars! When I looked anxiously around, the doe was nowhere to be seen, but Dale assured me she had dropped on the spot because he had aimed dead-center for the white throat patch, just like in one of the various deer pictures we had reviewed about proper shooting angles.
After climbing down, I had Dale reload the empty carbine and lead the way to where he last saw the doe because I was still a bit confused as to what was where. We located the doe lying just inside the tall grass, and yep, she had been hit dead-center in the throat patch and had dropped on the spot. Just the same, I went through the process of having Dale approach the downed deer from behind its back with the legs facing away while watching its eyes to assure it was dead and to be at the ready in the event it wasn’t. I also had him give the deer a good “boot” to make sure.
I then began showing Dale how to properly field-dress a deer, which I can usually do in short order, but things began catching up with me. It was at least a toasty 85 degrees, and I wanted to get the deer to a local meat processor’s cooler asap. After having only coffee and chewing tobacco for breakfast, and the heat didn’t help any, I must admit I began to feel a tad queasy leaning over matters. Dale noticed I had paused to straighten up and take a deep breath, or two, maybe three, and asked what was wrong. When I told him, he erupted into loud and uncontrollable laughter and let me know it was the perfect payback for getting him all worked up about drinking blood!
Yep, folks, I had to agree and joined right in laughing with Dale. Nothing beats a good sense of humor in deer camp.
If you have the opportunity, take a kid hunting because there are plenty out there looking for an adult mentor.
than 40 years and has had his weekly radio show, “Tom Lounsbury
Outdoors” for more than 20 years. Tom grew up on a farm in
Michigan’s Thumb, and it is where his first outdoor adventures began
as a kid accompanying visiting pheasant hunters into the field during
the “pheasant hunting heyday” of the 1950’s and 1960’s. It is a passion
he still has to this day and being the 4 th generation to own the family
farm, he has put most of it into conservation programs with a focus on
wild pheasants, which in turn helps all wildlife.
Being an outdoor communicator, Tom appreciates all the outdoor
adventures he experiences in different places, and especially the
people he meets in which to share them.
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