My First Buck: A Hunting Day I'll Never Forget

My name is Tinley and I'm 10-years-old.

I've been hunting with my dad since I was about 4 years old. I've always loved going hunting, but my favorite part is just getting to spend time with him. I remember getting up really early when I was little and going to sit in the hunting blind with my dad. I was always so excited to go. Every time I went hunting, I would tell my mom that I was going to come back with a deer.

Well, in 2025, I finally did!

It was a very cold morning, and my dad and I got up early to go hunting. I was excited, just like I always am when I get to go with him. We got to our hunting spot, set everything up and climbed into our blind. After we got settled, I ended up falling asleep.

After a little while, my dad suddenly woke me up. "Look, Tinley! There's a buck!"

There was a deer out in the field behind our blind. I was so excited, but I knew I had to be really quiet so I wouldn't scare it away. Then my dad heard something in the woods. There was a doe, and when I turned to look at her and looked back, the other deer was gone! It was like it had just disappeared.

But then my dad told me to look again. There was a buck following the doe! I watched him and waited until he came out far enough for me to take a shot. The problem was, he kept moving! Every time I tried to aim, I had to move my gun and line everything up again.

I was so worried he was going to get away. I kept thinking, There goes another deer! But I didn't give up. Finally, I got my gun lined up, took my shot and BAM!

And, I got scoped! If you don't know what that means, it's when the scope on your gun comes back and hits you in the face. And let me tell you, it HURTS!

My dad immediately asked if I was OK and started checking on me. I was crying, and I even ended up with a bruise. But after a little bit, my dad asked if I wanted to go see if I'd gotten my deer. Of course I did! I didn't even know if I'd hit him, so we went into the woods to look. I was looking one way, and my dad was looking farther down when he suddenly said, "Come here!"

And there he was! My deer was barely hanging off the edge of a cliff! I was so glad he hadn't fallen all the way down into the ditch. My dad told me, "You got one!" I couldn't believe it. I had finally gotten my very first deer, and it was a buck! My dad was so proud of me that day, and I was pretty proud of myself, too.

One of the first people I called was my mom. I had been telling her for years that I was going to come home from hunting with a deer, and now I finally got to tell her I did it. "I got a buck!" I told her. "Really?" she said. I was so excited to tell her and everyone else about my deer.

That is a hunting day I will never forget.

I still love hunting, and I want to keep doing it as I get older. Someday, I would really like to go elk hunting! But no matter what I'm hunting, my favorite part will always be getting to spend time with my dad.

If there's another girl my age who wants to try hunting, I would tell her that it's so much fun! I'd even let her come hunting with me one time so she could try it, too. Hunting is different for everyone, and you never know how much you might like it until you go.

And if I could go back and do one part of that day over again, I would pick the part where I shot my buck. Not because I would change getting my first deer, but because now I know not to get my face so close to the scope!

So here's my advice: Never, and I mean NEVER, get too close to the scope. Trust me. I learned that the hard way!