Just BB
Senior Member
*Not trying to toot my own horn but I think it's really neet for my Daughter Hannah. The Crabapple Doe story is in the January issue of GON under the Hunters Journal section on page 74. My daughter is so excited to be able to take a copy of the magazine around to show folks.*
October 10, 2009 I took Hannah, my then eleven-year-old Daughter, on her first deer-hunting trip to Clybel Wildlife Management Area. It was a yearly Adult/Child hunt that, in the past had been enjoyed by three of my son's. The boys were older now and above the age limit. It was time to take Hannah. The weekend was shared with my hunting buddy, John Stanley (Jasper) and his two sons, Austin and Andrew. Time was spent scouting, sighting in rifles, good times and laughter around the campfire. Hannah hunted hard for three days without seeing a deer, then on the last day of the hunt with fifteen minutes remaining of the time we had left to share a blind, a beautiful Doe appeared on the opposite ridge. Hannah's practice paid off with a sixty yard shot with a borrowed rifle from John. Hannah had made good and harvested her first deer at the age of eleven.
Fast forward to the middle of the school year. I made a promise to Hannah that if she kept her grades up; I'd find her, her own 243 for the next years hunt. With that kind of inspiration, Hannah finished the year with high grades. I was a little surprised when Hannah announced she'd rather have a compound bow instead of the rifle. Over the next several weeks, I looked for just the right bow for my girl. Being a southpaw, bows that have adjustable draw lengths and draw weights are not commonly found on the shelves at the sporting goods store around home. Sometime in late August, just a few weeks from the upcoming season, I found just the right bow, a Diamond Edge youth bow from Bow Tech( a thanks to phnman). A trip to the store a few days later to buy some arrows and a few hours spent adjusting her new bow and Hannah was ready to start Bow Boot Camp! Time is not always our best ally when it comes to playtime. During the next few weeks, Hannah and dear old Dad were limited on the amount of practice but managed to become proficient at ten yards by the opening of the Georgia bow season. During Hanna's first hunt she had two does and a beautiful little spike buck feed in front of her stand while Dad whispered directions from a perch above her. Unfortunately for Hannah and fortunately for the deer, the trio never traveled that last five yards to step into Hannah's ten-yard limit. Still, Hannah sat patiently with a pocket full of mini pretzels until it was time to leave.
With the next week coming up, Hannah was bound and determined to increase her range and practiced until she had extended it to twenty yards. Another Sunday morning came and went without a shot for Hannah. With the scheduled Clybel Hunt coming up the next weekend, preparations were made and the truck was loaded.
Thursday, October 08, 2010 found me hurrying home from the police department to pick up Hannah and the loaded truck. John and Austin were again accompanying us on the hunt. After a rush hour drive and an after dark camp set up, the four of us sat for a few moments enjoying the flicker of the campfire. At around eleven o'clock we were finally off to bed to get some much needed rest for the next mornings hunt. Friday morning was not as cool as I would have preferred and caused me considerable sweat loss as I set up the pop up blind on the exact spot that had produced the doe from the previous year. A wise man learns from the past so in Hannah's fanny pack, Dad had filled the top portion with pretzels in anticipation of a long mornings wait. Time went by and the pretzel mound grew smaller and Hannah drifted off to sleep. I on the other hand was as sharp as tack, (some pretzels may have ended up in my pack too). Suddenly a big nanny doe and her smaller version appeared to our right at eighty yards. I woke Hannah and she quickly came to life and settled the cross hairs on the does shoulder, squeezing the trigger. For whatever reason, fate had different results in mind and the doe ran off unscathed. As the weekend passed, other deer were seen but no shot opportunities were offered. John and Austin decided to bow hunt our lease in Rockdale County so off the four of us went.
Fate struck again on Saturday evening when a young sleek three pointer stepped out of the wood line to feed in Hannah's food plot only to be spooked by the far off sound of a car radio and loud yelling. Let's just say that the remaining few minutes of light were spent trying to simmer down a heated twelve year old girl in a double ladder stand. Due to the fact that we were not seeing as many deer, at Clybel, as we were hunters, a decision was made by the foursome to return to our lease the next day.
With a deer-less Sunday morning under our belts, Hannah said it was my job to beg Momma for one more chance to hunt Sunday evening. After receiving approval from the boss, I decided we should hunt a food plot tucked in the pines with a single crab apple tree twenty yards from the stand. I had never hunted this stand but it had already produced a deer or two so our hopes were high. By not having been in the stand at sun down, I had no idea that the sun would be burning a hole in my face at 5:00 pm but it was. We spent the first hour, wiping sweat and praying for a cloud. Finally at six o'clock, the sun dipped behind the pines, casting a shadow across the plot and two weary hunters perched in the stand. Sometime around six thirty five and forty five seconds, Hannah heard a deer behind us. As soon as she whispered the news to me, a young doe walked under our stand and into the plot, headed straight for the apple tree. It happened so quickly that the deer caught us sitting down. As we watched patiently, the doe finally turned away giving Hannah time to stand, turn and get ready for a shot. The doe fed back and forth and around the tree before eventually turning broadside at twenty yards. Hannah was ready but the emotions of the wait, the excitement of the moment and the anticipation of the shot had her knees shaking so, that the first shot went wild. To our thrill, the doe had no clue what had made the swishing sound beside her and returned to feeding. A few minutes later, a second arrow was launched with the same results. It was clear to me that my daughter, who was hitting the bulls eye earlier in the day, had her first case of doe fever and I needed to calm her down. The doe again, had no clue what was happening and began to feed once more. With her last arrow on the string and me whispering calming instructions, I saw my daughter focus intently and begin her last draw of the bow. The arrow sailed and hit a little far back and high but sufficient enough to drop the doe to the soil below. Although the shot was a killing shot, we quickly climbed down and Hannah having no more arrows, I hurried the process along.
I'm a man blessed by a large family with four fine sons and a beautiful daughter. The boys are older now and in-between school, work and the military, hunts together have been sparse. To see my youngest, my daughter, grow to enjoy the outdoors with her Dad and to harvest her first deer with a bow, "the Crabapple Doe", exactly one year from her first deer, has not only been a joy but a memory I will cherish for the rest of my days...
October 10, 2009 I took Hannah, my then eleven-year-old Daughter, on her first deer-hunting trip to Clybel Wildlife Management Area. It was a yearly Adult/Child hunt that, in the past had been enjoyed by three of my son's. The boys were older now and above the age limit. It was time to take Hannah. The weekend was shared with my hunting buddy, John Stanley (Jasper) and his two sons, Austin and Andrew. Time was spent scouting, sighting in rifles, good times and laughter around the campfire. Hannah hunted hard for three days without seeing a deer, then on the last day of the hunt with fifteen minutes remaining of the time we had left to share a blind, a beautiful Doe appeared on the opposite ridge. Hannah's practice paid off with a sixty yard shot with a borrowed rifle from John. Hannah had made good and harvested her first deer at the age of eleven.
Fast forward to the middle of the school year. I made a promise to Hannah that if she kept her grades up; I'd find her, her own 243 for the next years hunt. With that kind of inspiration, Hannah finished the year with high grades. I was a little surprised when Hannah announced she'd rather have a compound bow instead of the rifle. Over the next several weeks, I looked for just the right bow for my girl. Being a southpaw, bows that have adjustable draw lengths and draw weights are not commonly found on the shelves at the sporting goods store around home. Sometime in late August, just a few weeks from the upcoming season, I found just the right bow, a Diamond Edge youth bow from Bow Tech( a thanks to phnman). A trip to the store a few days later to buy some arrows and a few hours spent adjusting her new bow and Hannah was ready to start Bow Boot Camp! Time is not always our best ally when it comes to playtime. During the next few weeks, Hannah and dear old Dad were limited on the amount of practice but managed to become proficient at ten yards by the opening of the Georgia bow season. During Hanna's first hunt she had two does and a beautiful little spike buck feed in front of her stand while Dad whispered directions from a perch above her. Unfortunately for Hannah and fortunately for the deer, the trio never traveled that last five yards to step into Hannah's ten-yard limit. Still, Hannah sat patiently with a pocket full of mini pretzels until it was time to leave.
With the next week coming up, Hannah was bound and determined to increase her range and practiced until she had extended it to twenty yards. Another Sunday morning came and went without a shot for Hannah. With the scheduled Clybel Hunt coming up the next weekend, preparations were made and the truck was loaded.
Thursday, October 08, 2010 found me hurrying home from the police department to pick up Hannah and the loaded truck. John and Austin were again accompanying us on the hunt. After a rush hour drive and an after dark camp set up, the four of us sat for a few moments enjoying the flicker of the campfire. At around eleven o'clock we were finally off to bed to get some much needed rest for the next mornings hunt. Friday morning was not as cool as I would have preferred and caused me considerable sweat loss as I set up the pop up blind on the exact spot that had produced the doe from the previous year. A wise man learns from the past so in Hannah's fanny pack, Dad had filled the top portion with pretzels in anticipation of a long mornings wait. Time went by and the pretzel mound grew smaller and Hannah drifted off to sleep. I on the other hand was as sharp as tack, (some pretzels may have ended up in my pack too). Suddenly a big nanny doe and her smaller version appeared to our right at eighty yards. I woke Hannah and she quickly came to life and settled the cross hairs on the does shoulder, squeezing the trigger. For whatever reason, fate had different results in mind and the doe ran off unscathed. As the weekend passed, other deer were seen but no shot opportunities were offered. John and Austin decided to bow hunt our lease in Rockdale County so off the four of us went.
Fate struck again on Saturday evening when a young sleek three pointer stepped out of the wood line to feed in Hannah's food plot only to be spooked by the far off sound of a car radio and loud yelling. Let's just say that the remaining few minutes of light were spent trying to simmer down a heated twelve year old girl in a double ladder stand. Due to the fact that we were not seeing as many deer, at Clybel, as we were hunters, a decision was made by the foursome to return to our lease the next day.
With a deer-less Sunday morning under our belts, Hannah said it was my job to beg Momma for one more chance to hunt Sunday evening. After receiving approval from the boss, I decided we should hunt a food plot tucked in the pines with a single crab apple tree twenty yards from the stand. I had never hunted this stand but it had already produced a deer or two so our hopes were high. By not having been in the stand at sun down, I had no idea that the sun would be burning a hole in my face at 5:00 pm but it was. We spent the first hour, wiping sweat and praying for a cloud. Finally at six o'clock, the sun dipped behind the pines, casting a shadow across the plot and two weary hunters perched in the stand. Sometime around six thirty five and forty five seconds, Hannah heard a deer behind us. As soon as she whispered the news to me, a young doe walked under our stand and into the plot, headed straight for the apple tree. It happened so quickly that the deer caught us sitting down. As we watched patiently, the doe finally turned away giving Hannah time to stand, turn and get ready for a shot. The doe fed back and forth and around the tree before eventually turning broadside at twenty yards. Hannah was ready but the emotions of the wait, the excitement of the moment and the anticipation of the shot had her knees shaking so, that the first shot went wild. To our thrill, the doe had no clue what had made the swishing sound beside her and returned to feeding. A few minutes later, a second arrow was launched with the same results. It was clear to me that my daughter, who was hitting the bulls eye earlier in the day, had her first case of doe fever and I needed to calm her down. The doe again, had no clue what was happening and began to feed once more. With her last arrow on the string and me whispering calming instructions, I saw my daughter focus intently and begin her last draw of the bow. The arrow sailed and hit a little far back and high but sufficient enough to drop the doe to the soil below. Although the shot was a killing shot, we quickly climbed down and Hannah having no more arrows, I hurried the process along.
I'm a man blessed by a large family with four fine sons and a beautiful daughter. The boys are older now and in-between school, work and the military, hunts together have been sparse. To see my youngest, my daughter, grow to enjoy the outdoors with her Dad and to harvest her first deer with a bow, "the Crabapple Doe", exactly one year from her first deer, has not only been a joy but a memory I will cherish for the rest of my days...
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