Josh Shoots his first deer

Josh Shoots his first deer

By: Matt Schlueter


I took my son Josh Mentor Deer Hunting this last weekend. I picked a new spot as our previous locations were not working out in our attempts to get a doe to co-operate with Josh’s plan to shoot one.

Once we got set up in our spot we settled back in our lawn chairs in our Ameri-Step G-3 Ground Blind. For mentor hunting this ground blind has given us an advantage for getting closer to deer this season.

We were on our stand for about an hour and a half when the doe came walking down the trail. Once we spotted her she was standing broad side looking at the deer blind trying to figure out what it was. Josh was getting his rifle up and lined up for the shot when she spooked and ran off. While talking to Josh he explained to me he could not find the deer. He described how he could not find it in the scope after bringing the gun up to aim. After listening to Josh describe how he could not find the doe in the scope. I explained to Josh first he needed to look directly at the doe focus to on her and then naturally bring the gun up and it should be in the general area of the doe and only need small adjustments to line up on the target. We continued quietly talking about our new plan, and resumed waiting.

I was so amazed 15 minutes later, I looked out the window and the same doe is walking through the tree grove to the same spot she just left. The doe stops and is staring at the blind trying to figure out what it is, by stomping her foot a couple times to get us to move. When this did not work she started walking towards the deer blind. While this is taking place Josh was getting lined up for the shot. I will tell you as a parent and a hunter the level of excitement in our deer blind probably exceeded that of your favorite deer hunting T.V. show.

Josh had his gun resting on the shooting sticks when he shot the doe. She was fifteen yards away and he hit her in the base of the neck dropping her where she stood. After the shot we went to make sure she was down. She was trying to get back up and Josh had to fire one more shot to put her out of her misery. Without missing a beat, Josh shot her exactly where he was supposed to and put the doe down. At this point I showed Josh how to approach a deer if he was not sure if it was down.

While field dressing the doe, I explained to Josh what steps we were taking and why it was important to do this to prevent the meat from spoiling. After we had loaded Josh’s doe into the pickup along with our gear, we saw a buck standing in the same spot Josh had just shot his doe sniffing the ground and looking around. I’m guessing he was late for his date with the doe Josh just harvested.

On our way home we stopped at the Renner Corner Locker, and put Josh’s doe into the cooler. Josh noticed all the deer, and was impressed by some of big bucks. When we were back in the pickup Josh became concerned on how the people at the locker would know which deer was his. I told him the tag had our names on it and when they got to his deer the butcher would look at the name on the tag and then get our order form so they can process the deer for us.

Just today Josh, Tyler and I were discussing our options for future mentor hunting opportunities next year. In South Dakota, if your child is 10 to 11 years old, they have the option to get mentor licenses for antelope, deer, and turkey.

Originally Published in the Outdoorsmen Magazine December, 2012

About Matt Schlueter:
Matt Schlueter is a retired Deputy Sheriff from South Dakota with 19 years of combined experience in corrections and law enforcement, and held the position of Firearms Instructor and DARE officer with the Sheriffs Office he worked at till his retirement. He is also a NRA Certified Pistol Instructor, and owner/chief instructor of Schlueter Firearms Instruction. Matt’s goal is to provide the best information possible for those who want to further their knowledge and skills in shooting handguns. Matt’s goals also include providing the best training courses possible for students who attended courses he is offering. For those wishing to contact him please visit his website at www.learntwoshoot.com, or www.zwarriortraining.com or you can join him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SchlueterFirearmsInstruction.