When my little brother and I were kids, dad was hunting with our uncles. Along the years hunting with them, he never really saw anything. When we both reached legal hunting age, he inscribed us to the usual hunter's classes and brought us small game hunting with our cousin. He didn't hunt, he just walked along with us. Then, when we were 17 and 15, we scored a very promising hunting spot but we didn't have a car. Dad brought us there EVERY week-end of bow and black powder season for about 3 years. He didn't hunt. He just dropped us on friday's, go back home, and brign us back the folowing sunday. We had a blast ! ! ! Then dad got sick and had his colon removed, and an artifical hip. Thankfully, my Bro and I were adults by then and had cars and everything. Dad couldn't come with us but he still called us every weekend of hunting season to know what had happened during the week end. If we killed a deer, dad was ALWAYS the first one to know !
Couple years later My brother and I now have kids. My fiancee is a dairy farmer and owns many, MANY acres of fields and wood. My brother and I have been hunting here (I live on the farm) along with a childhood friend of ours, for the past 8 years. 3 years ago, my brother, our friend (who is like a brother to us) decided that dad would know what it feels like to harvest a mature witetail. So the ''project'' took form. We spent a lot of time durint the 2013 summer to build a blind that would suit our dad. We installed it at a location where we could brign him to and back with a 4-wheeler.
for 2 years, dad came with us but only saw fawns or big deer just minutes after legal time.... He still had a blast, we all did. Since I live on the farm, ''the crew'' sleeps over, we eat together, just like any hunting camp but just more luxurious. Dad sais it's the best of both worlds: being able to hunt with his sons during the day, then being able to playing with his grand kids in the evening.......... But, untill 2015, he didn't get a shot on a deer.
Last season, I had just started a new job so I couldn't take a lot of time off. My friend Dan stayed home with dad and took him hunting almost every day. On the second wednesday it all happened. I got a call from Dan at work. Dad had just took a shot on a ''big deer''. He explains that dad had a doe, in range but he decided not to shoot because she always lookes back.... he knew what that meant.... The buck came out 20 minutes later and he took the shot. I came home, and my brother, who was also working that day, also reunited with us for the search. It didn't took long. Dad took a perfect shot, 90 yards to the heart and got his first mature buck at age 69!
This day will be engraqved in our minds forever !