Let me explain why.
Rewind. My son turned 10 this year, first year to buy his own tag. He has sat with me the last 3 years and we have done very well, so well he thinks deer hunting (shooting a buck) is easy....
2015 Christmas I bought him a youth 20 gauge shotgun, we put a rifled barrel on it and he was going to practice over the summer shooting. Very good shot for a 10 year old.
Fast forward. 2016 October youth hunt in WI. Dan set us up on a big buck spot so Jameson could get a crack at his first deer. He was pumped up. No deer, but a great time was had. On the way home he said he needed a scope so he could shoot farther. Guess what next week I bought a scope and we were at the range practicing. He was ready for his next chance.
We hunt MN and WI. MN gun opener was Nov. 5. We sat an observation stand Friday evening. He saw a 7 pointer and a few does. he was getting excited for the morning hunt.
Opening day. We sit the thermal tunnel on a long ridge, i know where the bedding is and how they cruise. This spot has been very productive in the past. 8am: I rattle lightly, 2 minutes later i see a little buck coming in. I quickly turned the camera on and gave the gun to my son. Being 10, he needs to use a shooting stick to support the gun. He determined earlier where his shooting zone of comfort was. He was not able to cover a large area. The buck started up the hill toward us. He stopped, i knew he did not smell us due to the 10 lbs of milkweed my son had been dropping all morning. i gave him a small doe bleat. He started back toward us, stopped again. Now started to walk a different direction.....i gave him one last bleat, he turned and walked into the shooting lane. Jameson was all set, he was on the sticks and had the deer in the scope. Next thing i head was a quiet "click". I asked if he could see the shoulder. I asked Jameson if he wanted to take the shot and felt comftroble. One second later....Kaboom!
Buck mule kicks, runs down the bluff out of sight. We hear some small crashes and all is quiet.
i was pretty sure he hit him. i told him we would wait 1 hour (i was not sure, although i saw a mule kick). I didn't want him to loose his first deer.
i got down found a spot about the size of a quarter. then nothing. i circled around, nothing. i took the trail i thought he went down, found a few more specks, then a gusher. There laid his buck. A perfect shot thru the lungs and grazed the heart. I quickly got back to him and he asked what i found. I said i found a little blood, and needed his help. He put his head down and started to cry. He said he wanted it so bad and aimed so hard. I told him to come help me look. More eyes are better. I let him find the first blood and we turned it into a tracking lesson, he quickly picked up the trail and it lead to his buck!!! He was soooooo happy. I was sooooo proud. 10 years old, first season, one shot, 5 point buck down!!! He said "dad, this is easy" lol
As we were doing interviews, a giant walked up on us and ran away.
When we were dragging, a 7 pointer came in and we let him goo as well.
We got the deer registered and taken care of. It was now 1pm, I said should we try to get me a deer? He said yes. he even told me he could shoot it for me. lol
we sat in the same stand as the morning. I knew the bucks would be cruising that spot with the thermal tunnel still there. 4:30: Hey Jameson, there's a big buck. It has 4 points on one side, its legal, can you shoot that far. No, dad you have to do it. He disappeared for 5 minutes. I bleated at him, he was curious and looking around. He started up toward us. I took the shot. Dad, you missed. I must have hit some of the little branches. The buck froze due to the echo of the shot in the valley. He did not know where it came from. He took a few more steps and i hammered him hard. He took off down the ridge. A minute later Jameson saw him flick his tail, then we saw a white belly flop. I thought he was wounded and down in the deep ditch, so i got out of the tree, ran down the hill, found a blood trail that was unbelievable. There he laid dead. A 10 point buck. Went back got Jameson and we gave high fives.
We will never forget this day. I was happy with just getting him his first deer, i didn't care if i even got a shot. wow.
Memories for a lifetime, and that's why 5 pointers are better than 10 pointers.
