First Time Hunting
My dad and I have always been close but for the longest time he excluded me from his hunting weekends and took my brother instead of me. When I turned 17 he surprised me and told me that he wanted to take both of his kids on a hunting trip in Southeastern Indiana. I was psyched! I couldn’t believe he was going to take me also. I was really pumped and a little scared too… I had never been hunting. The closest thing I had to hunting boots were a pair of old snow shoes that were stuffed in the back of my closest.
He took me to the gun store and let me pick out my own gun. I ended up getting a 30/30 and a cute little camo Carhartt Jacket to go with my Irish Setter boots. We also picked up a couple paintball guns and a brand new tent, just for me!
Once we got out there I realized how glad I was to have a pair of insulated bibs on. It was cold, and it was muddy. We played around for a little bit shooting paintballs at old barns and sometimes even each other. After a while we sat down, cooked up some lunch and then setup camp before we went out on the hunt.
We spent hours searching in the cold for the sound of snapping twigs or rustle in the bushes and finally we saw through the thick trees a six point buck just grazing. He didn’t even see us! My brother went to take the shot and my father abruptly stopped him, he told him to put his gun down and let me take the first shot. Holding steady I thought I had everything lined up, but I missed. Although my dad roared with laughter at the sight of it I am sure I will get another chance soon. It was still great to be along on the trip.
Annie Oakley
