I really didn't need to improve on the morning hunt

I just returned from 14 days in Eastern Montana helping out with Outdoors Network Int. Annual Youth Hunt that Hunaventure.com helps to sponsor. As always God showed up and blessed the effort. There will be more pictures and a story about that later on the web-site. But the story I want to tell now is about my daughter Rachel (16 1/2 yrs.) who flew out for the last 4 days of the hunt. Whether she shot her buck deer or not didn't matter to me, what mattered was being able to spend time with Rachel & build good memories, a buck deer would be the cherry on top of the whip cream. Rachel had been out before in 2008 when she shot a buck antelope and a doe deer. Then again in 2009 when she shot 2 doe deer, but she has not handled a gun since or had a buck deer tag before.

As her Dad I had dreamed about this moment for many years, even before I ever had children. But I did not want to put any extra pressure or my expectations on her, I wanted her to have a good time & I needed to surrender the results to the Lord. When we scheduled the trip she didn't even want to hunt, she just wanted to help out and watch. I bought her a tag anyway. I picked her up in Billings, MT on Tuesday afternoon and headed back to camp, she was tried and slept a lot of the way. When we turned on the dirt road 7 miles from camp she looked at me and said " O.K. Dad I'm ready to hunt." We were up with the rest of the group at 5:45 am the next morning eating breakfast and making lunches. We hunted hard, spotting & walking many miles up and down hills. Without going into all the details, challenges & discouragements that hunting can bring (like life) by Friday night Rachel was ready to sleep in on Sat. the last day of her hunt. I told her if that was what she wanted to do that was o.k., but I was going to do all I could do and see how God was going to move, whatever the outcome. After a little rest and dinner Rachel decided to go in the morning, after all everyone else was heading out too. Sat. morning after breakfast and prayer we headed out together for our last hunt of the year. I told Rachel I didn't know what God had in mind, but that He was completely capable of blessing both of us with our deer this morning if that was in His will. We arrived in our spot just before daylight with anticipation of what the morning would bring. As the morning light began to push back the darkness we began glasses the hillsides around us for life.

I looked down and to my left and spotted a nice buck deer about 200 yards away walking on a trail that came right in front of us. I told Rachel to get ready here came her buck. The deer continued coming toward us (we were concealed by some rocks) and I told Rachel when she was ready to take the shot. He stopped right out in front of us to take a bite and Rachel placed a perfect shot behind the front shoulder at 120 yards putting him down. It didn't matter how big he was, he was her first buck. I was so happy to have been blessed with being able to help my daughter take her first buck I can't express all the feeling here and now, let alone her excitement. It turned out to be a nice 4 point buck. We sat there a little while as it was still very early to see what else might come out. Well a coyote came over to the deer and circled him for awhile, then went in for a meal. So I decided that I needed to protect Rachel's first buck and shot the coyote. Anyway, after pictures, field dressing and packing Rachel's deer out I asked her what she wanted to do, go back to camp or take another hunt? She responded I want to do what you want to do Dad, but I think we should do another hunt.

I really didn't need to improve on the morning hunt, but with Rachel's encouragement we decided to make one more little hunt before returning to camp with her trophy. I had seen 4 deer about a mile away go over the hill into another draw. I had a doe tag and a buck tag, so I could shoot any deer I saw. We headed over to the back side of the draw. By now it was late morning again and the deer would be probably bedded, I knew I needed to jump them up. The wind was blowing hard & it began to sprinkle on us as we started hunting down into the draw. We jumped a small buck that slipped away. As we continued down, another buck jumped up and was running away. I got on him right away, but did not have a good shot. I waited, he was just about to go over the hill then he turned left right before he would go out of sight, I shot and he immediately dropped in his tracks. We walked over to another nice 4 point buck. Unbelievable!!! Rachel shot her deer at 7:25 am and I shot mine at 10:30 am. Only the Lord can bring such blessing. God fulfilled a dream and desire that I have had for years, in a way only He could do. Praise the Lord! I will never forget that experience or morning with my daughter on that day for the remainder of my life. God Bless You All
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