WARNING: If you aren't a fan of dead animals and blood, you should totally come back later.
Last Saturday morning, I received a text around 7:15. Mason had shot at a deer, an 8-point, but had missed. At 9:25, I received a phone call telling me that Mason shot a deer and I needed to load up and head to the woods. What?! He shot again?! No. He did, in fact, kill that deer. The 8-point?! No. It's 4 points. I thought you said 8. Well, it wasn't.
It doesn't matter. We'll take it. This kid was really excited when I got there. He was also trying to play it cool.
Mason started going hunting with Seth about four years ago. He doesn't like getting up at 4:00AM, and he doesn't like not seeing anything, much less not shooting at anything. Honestly, he mostly lays down in the stand and plays his kindle. And he really hasn't been a whole lot the past couple of years. This year Seth had him in the back yard target practicing. It was the first year he would shoot the gun without complaining about the noise or how heavy it was. Seth took the day off last Friday and convinced Mason to go hunting with him. They saw 12 deer that morning. Seth said there was an 8-point that Mason missed out on because he couldn't get him up off the floor in time. And then at lunch, Mason mentioned that "Daddy was sleeping in the stand." In that moment, everyone froze. Because even Hannah Kate and Ellie knew what that meant. Seth . . . asleep in the stand?!? So who knows if Mason missed out on that 8-point because he was on the floor playing his kindle or because his dad was snoozing.
Mason was pretty excited about those 12 deer they saw on Friday morning so he decided he would go back Saturday morning. Seth was pretty confident that he would shoot something. Or, at least, shoot AT something. So his very first time with the gun in his hands in the stand, the very first shot he ever made from the stand, Mason made a perfect shot! They estimated the deer was about 150 yards away.
As we watching the whole process of skinning and gutting the deer, I couldn't help but think how much Seth was in his element. It was also quite an awakening for Hannah Kate. She's been saying the past couple of years that she wanted to go hunting, and Seth was getting ready to take her. However. She has now totally changed her mind about the whole deer hunting thing.
There's a tradition . . . I'm not sure if this is a Bayham thing or a Louisiana thing or what . . . but I tried to warn Mason. Seth called him over to hold the horns so the deer wouldn't swing around while they were cleaning it. I tried to warn him. But he didn't listen.
And so Seth got him. Mason was so proud of this bloody handprint on his face that he didn't even want to wash it off when we got home!
And just for fun . . .
Seth can't remember how old he was when he shot his first deer. He said 12 years old, but maybe he was 10 years old. And he thinks he remembers his first kill was a doe. But he isn't sure. Here he is with his first buck. PawPaw was quick to remind us that this deer ended up on the wall since it was the first buck. That's all fine and good. Mason's first buck is ending up in sausage casings.
And here's Seth's first deer bloody face. Yuck.
I really don't think this next picture is related to the above one. But I thought it was pretty hilarious none-the-less. He's thrilled.
One of the things I learned is that killing your first buck is kind of like having a baby. Stats are important.
Date of Kill: Saturday, January 9, 2016
Time of Kill: 6:57AM
Weight: 119.4 lbs
Points: 4