[birdman]

My first deer harvested, as i'm sure most are, was an unforgetable experience. I was 13 and my dad drew out a leftover doe tag for Kansas special doe season in January. The week of our hunt, one heck of an ice storm blew across the plains. We were hunting in eastern Ks, and barely made it there (of course we slid off the road several times while pulling a camper).

The most vivid memory of this hunt prior to shooting my doe was how damn cold it was sitting in a tree stand with my dad. A thick layer of ice coated everything in site. Time ticked by it seems in years rather than minutes. As a little fellow, I couldn't sit still, and this only compounded the problem of said ice. The deer weren't moving much that morning until the sun came up. And when it did, the temperatures rose with it. As the sun got higher and air warmer, all the ice buildup started falling off the trees. My head was on a swivel all morning as the ice falling around me couldn't be distinguished from animals moving or falling ice. I was soaking wet from all the ice melt and freezing cold. Just as we were about to leave due to my complaining, there we spotted the biggest deer I'd ever seen (an average size doe mind you).

She was fairly close, probably 100 yards away standing at a small watering hole. I took aim for about 5 minutes or until the shakes subsided enough to keep view of her through my scope and BOOM!!!! A magnificent shot, placed right through both hind quarters. She limped off 75 yards or so and laid down. The excitement was unbearable, and the 20 minute wait to climb out of the stand to go find her was unimaginably longer.

The whole experience was one i'll cherish for a lifetime and can't wait to pass along to my children. In my opinion, this is what hunting is all about. Getting future generations involved and the continual growth of our beloved sport.