Stories About Us!

Written 12-12-2015

The alarm went off at 4:00 AM. It was cold November morning. The temperature gauge on my phone read 12 degrees. After getting dressed I walked into the family room to find my eleven your old son Caleb, wide awake, dressed in his hunting clothes and eagerly waiting for me. This was it, the day had finally arrived. Caleb had been counting the days to his first hunting trip since he took the hunter safety course a year before. To say that he was excited would be an understatement. After pouring a cup of coffee, we loaded up my Dodge Ram with hunting gear and began the hour long drive from Independence, Kentucky to the land we were going to hunt in Ohio. 

Upon arriving to our destination I could make out our friend Tim in the headlights of my truck as he stood at the end of the dirt road we were traveling on. Tim is a rugged country boy who earned the nickname “Legend” due to his many hunting & trapping exploits. He was kind enough to allow Caleb to hunt one of his “honey holes” on this first day of the youth hunting season.  

After finishing our coffee, Caleb slung the Remington 12 gauge over his shoulder and we began the hike in the cold early morning darkness to the blind that we would be hunting out of. Tim led the way dragging a bag, saturated in deer estrus as he walked. The blind was set in a thicket of trees. We sat on a wood bench behind a piece of camouflage burlap that was tied to two trees on either end. Behind us, we could hear the gentle roar of the Great Miami River as its waters rolled along its banks fifty yards away. In front of us was a meadow that was approximately 100 yards wide. On the far side of the meadow the tree line began again. Tim positioned himself out of site in the thicket behind us with his deer call in hand. Caleb & I sat in the darkness and waited…. 

It is an awesome thing to sit in the woods and watch the sun rise. To watch the Master Painter transform the skyline from black to red, to orange, to blue. Caleb and I both took the time to thank God for His goodness and his handy-work this particular morning. 

As the sun rose I could see Caleb’s breath in the cold morning air. I turned my head to find Tim and while I couldn’t see him I could see the vapor from his breath through the trees. Tim began to call with his deer call. A buck grunt and then an estrus bleat. A long delay between calls. Then another series of calls and a long delay. 5:30 AM turned into 6:30 AM to 7:30 AM to 9:30AM… Not a deer in sight. 

Caleb, physically shivering, whispered in my ear “I’m freezing. I think I’m ready to go.” 

 I was shocked & proud that the Eleven Year Old had made it this long. I stole a glance at my phone. The temperature had risen to 16 degrees at 10:15 AM. At that moment Caleb nudged my arm, pointed to the left with his index finger and whispered “Buck!” His eyes were as big as silver dollars as he lifted the Remington to his shoulder. I slowly reached over and turned the safety to the off position. 

 From behind us Tim began an aggressive series of deer calls. Much more aggressive than anything he had done all morning. I looked to the left and a large bodied Six Point deer walked into view. With each call that Tim made the deer would move a couple more steps toward us, licking his nose, desperately trying to pick up the scent of the deer that was in the thicket. The deer moved ever closer. Finally, the buck stopped ten yards away and looked directly at us!  

About this time, I thought to myself ‘the kid has buck fever and can’t pull the trigger.’ 

Boom!!! The sound of gun fire shattered the quiet still air…. 

“You nailed him!” 

“That a Boy!” 

“Great Shot!” 

I gave Caleb a hug then a high five. I am sure I saw a tear or two of happiness in his eyes. 

We field dressed that deer and loaded it in the back of the pick-up. Then, I drove slowly through town a couple of times with the tail gate down so that all could see the trophy that made a boys dream come true! 

At the end of the day, after the hunt and the celebrating. While making the drive back to Kentucky, Caleb looked at me from the passenger seat and said: 

“Dad, Thanks for taking the time to take me hunting today! It was the best day of my life!” 

With that, my son closed his eyes after a long, grand day and went to sleep. 

As I watched him sleeping in the passenger seat, I said a prayer to my Father in Heaven: 

“Father, thanks for giving me the time with my son today. It was one of the best days of my life!”