Valerie’s First Deer

By Troy Thompson

My daughter Valerie Thompson is 10 years old and took her hunter’s Safety Course last year when she was 9 years old and got a 99%.

Valerie goes with me to all of these events she can. She really loves the outdoors and hunting and fishing. I truly believe this was with some of my influence but was careful not to overdo it and let her absorb it at her own pace.

We joined the local 4-H shooter’s Club and she received excellent additional training in gun safety and how to handle and shoot a shotgun properly.

She started hunting waterfowl and small game and carrying her own gun last year.
She harvested 5 ducks by herself. She is quite an accomplished caller and travels with me around the State doing seminars and working the Delta Waterfowl Booths at shows.

We started out with Valerie going with me on hunting trips at a young age. When she was six years old I took her waterfowl hunting as long as the weather was comfortable and the hunting trip was easy access. I always wanted to make sure she had a good experience and enjoyed herself. (If the kids are not comfortable at a young age they can lose interest in being afield.) We have spent hundreds of hours in the woods together.

Valerie had a lot of “First” this year! Her first mallard drake, first squirrel and first pheasant.

This year’s “Youth Shotgun Season” was her first deer hunt. It could not have turned out any better in a scripted book!

We had set up a pop up ground blind next to a tree I bow hunted in all week during the rut.
I had seen deer every single time I went up that tree! Lots of does and button bucks. A few larger bucks but nothing close enough to take a good shot. I thought this would be an excellent place for Valerie to see and harvest her first deer. We were after any deer she would encounter.

We put up the blind one week prior to Youth Gun Season and brushed it up really well.
I taught her to mark the turns in the logging path by visual markers like the big stone, the downed tree, and the overhanging cedar tree.

On Opening Morning we got up really early and had breakfast. We drove to our hunting spot and proceeded down the series of beautiful logging roads winding through the woods. There are food plots, thick cover bedding areas and fields and woods. As we walked in the dark together, I was excited for her more than I had ever been for a hunt of my own!
Valerie had remembered the visual markers as we worked our way to our hunting destination with our hat lights on “Red” leading us to the blind.

We arrived about 30 minutes before shooting time and got settled in. I had built a wooden gun rest and painted it camo for her to use in front of the ground blind. We practiced her bringing up an empty gun a few times and taking aim out in the biologic field we were hunting over.

All of our preparation and years of teaching and learning were about to become a reality!
We said a prayer for our safety and thanked God for the wonderful world of nature he created for us to enjoy.

Just like in a movie, at 7:15 a.m. I hear Valerie whisper, “Dad” and I looked up and there, in all of God’s Glory walked out a fantastic 10 point buck nibbling at the food plot as he made his way across in front of us at a mere 32 yards! Valerie brought up her gun, took aim, put off the safety and let him have it! The buck hunched up and turned and ran back the direction he came from. Valerie chambered another shell and clicked on the safety.

I looked at her and knew she hit him good. I asked her how the shot felt and she said “Really good, Right on, I thought.” I told her I thought she hit him good. She said. “Yea I got a buck!” I told her, “Dad’s been doing this for 34 years and we don’t know for sure just yet.” You did everything right, but sometimes they get away. (Most of the times for Dad.) She said “Lets go see if I hit Him!” I explained to her we needed to wait and let him go lay down and not push him. We waited 20 minutes and walked out to the spot he was standing. There before us was both entry and exit hair and blood! She put a good lick on him! Again, Valerie was excited and wanted to go right away and look for him. I explained again we want to make sure and not lose him so we need to go back to the blind and wait some more. She understood and the next half hour was something I will never forget with us watching the sun rise, animals moving around and high fives to each other about every two minutes.
When we trailed the buck, there was a great blood trail after about 15 yards from the spot she hit him and easy to follow. We trailed him about 100 yards. I cannot explain the lump in my throat and the chills up my spine when we spotted him slumped over a fallen tree 40 yards ahead of us! This was a hunt of a lifetime! I will never forget the time we shared. We went up to the buck, thanked God and just sat there admiring him. The sun was out it was just beautiful!

I hope this story gets printed so other fathers can be encouraged to get their children involved in the great heritage we have in hunting and the outdoors. Properly introduce their kids to what this great State has to offer and take advantage of some pretty fantastic father / daughter or father / son time…

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the land owner for allowing us to hunt and create these cherished memories! We should all be grateful to those that give us permission to hunt and not take that privilege for granted.

My name is Troy Thompson. I am an O.D.N.R Officer / Investigator and I also have my own business “Bird Down Retrievers” and do Hunting Retriever Seminars for “Hart Productions” and “Bass Pro Shops” and other outdoor retail stores and hunting and fishing shows. I own a Champion titled Yellow Lab named “Tanker” and we go to Hunt Test all over the Midwest. tankerlab@yahoo.com