Maryland State Chapter QDMA Yearlings

"My daughter got her license last year and had a tough first season. She had a miss, along with several close calls. She went out in some really cold weather and really surprised me with her perseverance. She really enjoyed just going out. A father's dream. We headed out to the double ladder yesterday morning with high hopes. I had several bucks on my camera that I hoped would come by. Our goal was a 50yd shot or less. She was hitting the bulls eye consistently with my T/C Triumph.At daybreak the action started early.
A doe started trotting our way with the sound of grunting following her. The doe was on us quick. We managed to get the Triumph up onto the rail and got her locked in just in time. The doe stopped at 20yds and started to catch our scent. My daughter and I then saw the buck approaching from behind the doe. At first glance, I knew it was a nice deer, but I was trying to make sure the doe didn't bust us. I whispered to her to not move and to focus on where the buck was at. I could feel her buck fever setting in and I was hoping she could pull it together. After the longest 2 minutes of my life, the doe finally started walking again. The buck then followed. I grunted at the buck and he stopped between two tree's with his vitals exposed at 30yds. I told my daughter to take him and she squeezed it off. After the smoke cleared, I saw the buck trotting off at half speed with his tail tucked. I reviewed the shot with my daughter and to my pleasure she said "I killed that deer dad". She said she calmed down right before the shot and was steady on her aim. I have great confidence in her shooting, but I didn't want to get her hopes to high just in case.After an hour wait, we started our track. I couldn't find any blood. I was very nervous at this point. My buddy who was hunting above us with his daughter came down to help me look. I continued to look in the area I last saw him and I get a phone call from my buddy. He tells me that we had apparently bumped the deer and it walks up to his daughter who was standing on the edge of the field and falls over. His daughter walks over to the deer and notices that its still alive. She backed away and then the deer jumps up and runs again. My buddy tells me that his daughter had actually touched the deer before she backed away from it. At this point, I tell him to stop fooling with me. He then tells that there was blood and he was starting to follow it. I then get another call about a minute later saying that he spotted the deer laying down. My daughter and I then get quickly up to where they were at and find that the buck had already expired. We were both in shock at the size of it. It was the opposite of ground shrinkage! I am so proud of my daughter. She kept her cool and made a great shot. I don't think she realizes how big of a deer she killed, but I will keep reminding her. What a day!"
- As told by Dennis Bendon -