Answer to a prayer...

[shoot-n-lead]

I am going to post this...despite the fact that it will sound ridiculous to some.

It has been VERY dry in my area of Ga for a while now. It rained about an 1" on Wed night...had not rain in about 50 days. I was so proud to have the rain for many reasons...but I also knew that it would improve the hunting, at least for a day or two. Well, my son asked before going to bed on Wed night, if I was planning to go hunting the next morning...which was yesterday, Thursday. I told him that I was going...so, he thought about it a few minutes and said that he would go, too. He has finished with his fall semester, so he is out of class until college resumes in Jan.

Now, this kid has been hunting regularly for the last 5yrs...we have a very liberal deer bag limit and he has taken a good many does and a couple of spike bucks...but has NEVER had the chance at a "decent" (as he describes it) racked buck. This has really started to affect his enthusiasm for going...and I have seen it this season, even though he has already killed a big doe. He seemed to have started taking this as a reflection on his ability as a respectable hunter.

So, went hunting yesterday morning...morning broke absolutely beautiful...sunny and cool...with very little wind. I sent him to the stand that I thought would provide him with the best chance to see the "decent" deer that he has been longing to see. Within just a few minutes of my getting on the stand, I started seeing deer and I would text him at each sighting...hoping to encourage him. My sightings of deer continued till I got off the stand, neck was aching, at about 9:20am. After each text, he would respond with the fact that he had not seen anything. With each reply, I was dismayed as this rain had really put the deer on there feet...they were moving better than I have seen in a long time. Upon getting back to the truck...I sat down in the truck and looked at the clock...it read 9:41...and I had not heard him shoot and I knew that at 10:00 sharp, he would be on the way to the truck. I thought about it a minute...then uttered a prayer that essentially said that that there was still time before he left the stand and I asked GOD to send him a "decent" buck. I had done everything within my power to help him realize this goal...and I had not been able to make it happen. I always pray for our safety and general success on every hunt...but today's prayer was really a specific and I guess...desperate...prayer, for him to bless my son.

At 10:OOam...he put a nice 8pt down at 173yds...I was blessed to see a happy, FINE young man standing by a beautiful buck as I drove the UTV into the area. He told me that he was getting ready to head to the truck when a doe appeared...followed by a "decent" buck. I never told him that I said a prayer for this result.

I give GOD all of the credit for that blessed and happy young man.

Thank you, LORD.

[Boaz]

Good deal ! I'm proud for him (and I know you are ) . Glad he got a nice one .

[USMC87]

I bet he was happy huh?

[shoot-n-lead]

I bet he was happy huh?

Yessir...he was delighted.

[rl69]

What no pictures

congratz!!! it sure is uplifting to have a instant answer to a prayer.

[Preacher Jim]

My Bible says God provides our needs and he needed that buck for self esteem

[shoot-n-lead]

My Bible says God provides our needs and he needed that buck for self esteem

Preacher Jim...I think that you are right as on our way home, he elaborated as to how discouraged he was getting. I knew this, but I did not tell him that it had become obvious to me.

[shoot-n-lead]

What no pictures

congratz!!! it sure is uplifting to have a instant answer to a prayer.

I have some...just got to figure out how to get them off my new phone...it is different than the old one, which was no problem.

[Blackwater]

Great job, shooti-n! Tell him we're all proud of him.

And FWIW, many young folks have a hard time keeping still on a stand, and yes, this really does matter. Folks used to believe that "deer don't look up," but I doubted it then, and I'm sure it's not right now. Even in a tree stand, we're FAR from "invisible," and deer don't survive by not noticing what we usually think of as "the little things" like motion, etc. When I first started hunting, the hardest thing I had to learn was to sit stock, dead still. However, when I learned to do that, I couldn't help but notice that I started seeing FAR more deer than when I allowed myself to make "little motions."

Deer usually see us before we see them, and IF we're seemingly just part of the scenery, they aren't alarmed and come sauntering in like nothing and nobody was around. But being still is paramount. It's REALLY difficult for me now, when the old bones and muscles cry out for relief, and sometimes, I have to move a little. But even then, I try to make it the absolute minimal movement that is absolutely necessary for enough relief to let me sit stock dead still a little longer.

At his age, it won't be easy, but it'll pay big dividends. It just takes resolve and determination for a while, until he sees the results. Then, of course, it gets a LOT easier, since he'll have the motivation and understanding at that point, to do what's necessary.

Just a little tip that's helped me, and I thought I'd pass it on to him. Hope it changes his "luck" permanently!

[shoot-n-lead]

Blackwater, what you say is very true. And, early on, I think that was a problem. He has made a lot strides in that department.

I think that another problem he may have, is a problem that I had when I started hunting years ago...and that is being able to pickup deer deer when they are not right out in the open...and that is a developed skill. He will have to learn how to notice things that just don't "look" right and investigate them. He has spent a lot of time hunting places that really don't have a lot of deer...but still huntable populations...and these same areas can be kind of thick. And, I am struggling to get him to use binoculars...I guess he thinks they are an old man tool...or something. Also, heck...there are lots of times that I struggle to see nice deer, anywhere I hunt. Yesterday, he was hunting over some 1yr old planted pines with a lot visibility. Although, he has hunted this stand a lot in past.

He is a top notch marksmen...so, if he can get his detection skills up to his shooting skills...they best walk a WIDE berth around him.

[Bzcraig]

That is THE best hunting story of the year! Now that he has been encouraged with his deer, encourage him in the faith and tell him your prayer for him was answered.

[shoot-n-lead]

That is THE best hunting story of the year! Now that he has been encouraged with his deer, encourage him in the faith and tell him your prayer for him was answered.

I plan to do that...he made his profession of faith at 12yrs old and I hope that this would be a real world example of answered prayer.

[shoot-n-lead]

What no pictures

congratz!!! it sure is uplifting to have a instant answer to a prayer.

Not the best pictures...but, ones that I could get off the phone.

[Bzcraig]

I plan to do that...he made his profession of faith at 12yrs old and I hope that this would be a real world example of answered prayer.

Awesome! And I see he is just a little fella..........

[shoot-n-lead]

Awesome! And I see he is just a little fella..........

Yeah...he is a little thing...kind of dwarf's the deer cause he is 6'5" and weighs more than twice as much as that 150lb deer.

He is a big guy, rough and tumble...but one of the best kids that you will ever see. Mature beyond his years...he turned down a scholarship to play college football as offensive lineman because he wanted to be an engineer and didn't know if he could satisfy commitments to the football team and keep up with his course work. He was an honor graduate from high school and I personally think that he could have...he was just not willing to chance it. You don't see a lot of kids turn down an opportunity like that...but, that is an example of the type person he is...and why I am so pleased that he was blessed with the buck.

And, by the way...he is adopted...we brought him home the day after he was born. HE IS ONE THAT ABORTION DID NOT GET.

GOD blessed both of us.

[Boaz]

Nice buck ! We need more men like your son . He was blessed getting you for a dad . You have done well . Thank you

[Pine Baron]

shoot-n-lead, Thank you for the wonderful story. You are truly blessed. This makes my heart happy.

[Blackwater]

Shoot-n, that's a nice buck in ANYBODY's book! I've seen many lesser deer mounted, but then, I've always thought mounts were for the individual deer and as a reminder of the experience, moreso than the simple size of the racks. I've even seen a few does mounted!

And that's one fine young man. Your description of him, and the circumstances that brought you two together, is really touching.

And learning to see in the woods really IS an acquired talent. Motion is best spotted when the eyes are just half a tick out of focus, but seeing an eye or an antler or any part of a deer within the "busy" network of shapes in the woods is definitely something that one has to develop. And BTW, it doesn't get any stronger with age and declining eyesight, so tell 'im to get busy paying attention. There's a LOT to do in a stand besides just sitting there waithing. Ya' gotta' search to find, and leaning how to do that, with the eyes or any other method, doesn't come overnight. A friend of mine has eyes like an eagle, and many of his stores contain the phrase, "I saw that spot of white around its eye," or something similar. And that's how REAL hunters learn to be really good at what they do. As with engineering, or anything else in life, it's all about taking care of the "little things" that we all too often think "can't matter that much" that wind up determining our successes and failures. And all you can really do is put him on the right track, but it's up to him to learn the various ways of "seeing things" in the woods. Mostly, all that's necessary is a lot of thinking and consideration, and noting what works and what doesn't. I suspect it won't be long before he'll be noting every tweety bird within long gunshot range! And once he's learned that, he can continue applying the lesson to many other aspects of life, and that ain't no small thing!

Thanks for a great story. I can almost taste your joy all the way down to Jawja!

[GhostHawk]

Sir, you must be doing something right. Congrats!

Sounds like a good buck and a good boy.

[richhodg66]

That's a nice deer, God is good.