Once in a great while, we have one of those moments that no one would ever believe if they weren't there to view it themselves. Such was the case when Matthew harvested his first deer.
Matthew has always been an outdoorsman. The woods and fields behind our house became his playground and you could always count on Matthew to be out there catching various critters or trying to build upon his insect collection (which he still has). I think Matthew's dream as a three or four year old was to be able to pee on every tree in the woods behind the house. Unlike most people; Matthew would actually run outside when he had to use the bathroom rather than just go upstairs to the bathroom in the house.
Matthew also couldn't wait until he turned twelve so he could go hunting; particularly deer hunting. From the time he was six or seven, Matthew would spend at least one day during deer season in the woods with me. It was pretty much guaranteed that we wouldn't see any deer that day. Despite Matthew's best efforts, it just really isn't possible for a boy that young to sit quietly long enough for us to have a chance at seeing deer. I'm sure every deer in Waukesha County was aware of exactly where we were sitting. Of course, my goal on that day wasn't to harvest a deer; merely to enjoy the day in the woods with Matthew. We had many great talks on those hunting trips and Matthew was ever-vigilant as he waited for a deer.
We didn't have the mentored hunting program in Wisconsin in those days, so Matthew had to wait until he turned twelve before he could really hunt. The year before he turned twelve was the hardest. Matthew's birthday is about a month after the Wisconsin Deer Season; so he had to sit in the woods without hunting just a few weeks before he would have been legal. He was so disappointed but also very excited about the coming year.
Unfortunately, the private land we hunted was sold before Matthew's first deer season so we were forced to hunt in the Kettle Moraine State Forest near our house. The problem with the state forest was that there were plenty of hunters and not very many deer. We hunted without success for several years in the state forest.
The season just before Matthew's sixteenth birthday was probably the most frustrating for him. The state had instituted an Earn-A-Buck rule in the area we hunted. This rule required every hunter to harvest a doe before being allowed to harvest a buck. The system, while extremely unpopular with hunters, was supposed to help bring an out-of-control herd population back into control. The only real purpose it served that year was to break Matthew's heart as he had to let not one, but two nice bucks pass without a shot since we had not harvested a doe.
Matthew was undeterred, though; ready to buy (okay for Dad to buy) his hunting license again the following year and try it again. However, it wasn't until Matthew's last hunting season before he would leave for college that he actually harvested his first deer - and what a story it was. A friend who owns a small farm in Southwestern Wisconsin invited Matthew and me to hunt with him on his private land.
Now most deer hunters will probably claim there is no way this ever happened; and most non-deer hunters will wonder what the big deal was. Matthew's first deer violated every principle of "normal" deer behavior.
We were sitting on the ground together; leaning against a big oak tree. It was about 10:00 in the morning and we were seeing some deer activity about 150 yards off to our left. The woods were too thick to give us a safe shot, but we kept watching them browse and move about. Unbeknownst to Matthew, one large doe was making her way toward us on the hillside. Another massive oak blocked Matthew's view of her approach, but I could see her clearly.
I warned him of her approach so he could be ready when she came into view. She finally popped out from around the tree only twenty yards away. She stood broadside, allowing Matthew to take the easiest shot he will ever take in his hunting career. He brought his rifle to his shoulder, centered his crosshairs on the deer, pulled the trigger and... nothing. A click let us know that the firing pin had hit the primer, but, for whatever reason, the primer didn't go off. It was a dud!!!!
By this time, the doe was staring directly at us. There was a small sapling situated between Matthew and me. I passed my rifle around the sapling to Matthew so he could shoot again. The doe just stared at us the entire time as he set his rifle down and took mine. Any "normal" deer would have bolted long before this. Instead, she just stood there staring at us as Matthew shouldered my rifle, centered the crosshairs and pulled the trigger again. This time, the boom of a rifle shot filled the woods.
Now Matthew and I had talked a lot in those early years about the importance of respecting the deer and our responsibility to ensure that we never take a shot that we are not completely confident will result in a quick, humane kill. While we love the hunt and we certainly love the resulting venison in the freezer; neither of us ever want to cause an animal to suffer.
I will spare you the details, but suffice it to say that those early lessons were well learned. Matthew's shot pierced both lungs and the heart; quickly and humanely ending the deer's life. His years of watching and waiting were finally over. He had harvested his first deer.
I was happier that morning than I have ever been after harvesting a deer myself. I will never forget the look on his face as he looked at the doe.
Matthew got another deer the next morning; and then the hunt was over. He left for college the next fall and I have sat in the woods alone for the last four years. I've shot more deer, but it's not the same without Matthew beside me. That will end this year, though. Matthew will graduate and, once again, sit in the woods; patiently waiting and watching and, most importantly, just talking with "the old man."
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