
The 2020 season was KC’s first season hunting in our home state of Illinois. Without access to any of our own land to hunt we found ourselves relying on a friend’s generosity to get him a spot to setup up his blind. We started hunting several times a week, sitting long hours but as October closed, we had yet to see a deer on the small parcel of land we were hunting. I could see his frustration building as the rut approached, feeling a little helpless I was exhausting all options to try and find other properties to hunt with no avail. At 5 years old my biggest fear for him was losing interest in hunting due to the negative response of not seeing any deer. With perseverance we stayed at it and one afternoon in early November we finally saw our first deer, a small 8-point buck. KC’s eyes lit up and he was so excited to see his first deer of the season.

We sat there in the blind whispering about the deer when suddenly he froze and said, “Dad don’t move”, his eyes were locked on something behind me. I asked him what he saw, eyes still locked he said, “There’s a huge buck standing right there”. I turned around slowly to see a 150” 10-point buck standing less than 25 yards from our blind. I tried to get KC into position for a shot, but the big buck moved through the tall CRP never presenting a shot for him. We ended up seeing one smaller buck later that evening, however that would be our last deer sighting for the next 10 days. As gun season approached, I knew the hunting would be even harder after that, so I racked my brain for options. I called an Outfitter friend of mine and told him about my situation with KC and without hesitation he said “Bring him down, I have got a couple blinds that are still active with rut activity.” That weekend we headed out on our first hunting trip to southern Illinois. We drove 4 hours and made it into camp got settled into the lodge and shot his crossbow, which was still dialed in perfect. That evening we sat a blind next to a cut corn field and did not sit long before seeing our first deer.
Over the next several hours we saw 14 deer including a mature doe that came 10 yards from the blind. I asked KC if he wanted to take the doe and he said, “Dad I don’t want to shoot a mommy deer, I want to shoot a buck”. With the amount of deer activity and knowing we were on a great property I thought with a little luck that just might happen. That night back at the lodge I asked him several more times if he wished he had shot the doe, each time he confirmed he was waiting for a buck. The next morning, we were back in a blind in the dark waiting with anticipation. The temps had dropped overnight, and I knew the bucks would be on their feet trying to find the last does that were in estrus.
At daybreak there were deer on the move and one of the bucks we had seen the night before was heading our direction down the hill. As I got him prepared for a potential shot, I could tell he was laser focused, while I the other hand was shaking. The buck stepped out but was unfortunately too far away and moved off in the opposite direction. About an hour later I heard what I thought sounded like a buck grunting in the cornfield behind us, KC heard it to and stood up watching out the back blind window. Then I heard the familiar sound of a buck chasing a doe this time much closer and I told him to get ready. Once again, he was calm and focused on the direction the sounds were coming from. Then a doe came running out of the corn and passed within 15 yards of our blind heading up the hill to the east, I took KC’s crossbow off safety and told him there was a good chance the buck would be coming right behind her. A minute later we saw him come out of the corn trotting in our direction following the scent of the doe. KC followed the buck with his scope and when the buck stopped to check a scrape nearby, he took the shot, hitting the buck perfect. The buck ran a short distance and toppled over. KC started jumping up and down in the blind, pumping his fist with tears of joy in his eyes, no question my proudest moment thus far as his dad. We shared several high fives and hugs. He immediately wanted to call his mom and tell her but we didn’t have any cell reception, so I recorded a few videos to send to her. Although we saw the deer go down, I still wanted him to get used to going to the impact and following the blood trail to the buck. It was a great moment walking up on KC’s first deer and seeing his excitement brought back the same memories as when I walked up on my first deer 25 years earlier. We took a ton of photos and videos and he couldn’t wait to get home to show the rest of the family.
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