My oldest son has wanted to deer hunt with me for several years but he wasn't quite ready. He shots with me regularly and is a good shot, as good as me, when he settles down (the hard part). Before the season, he practiced several times with the muzzle loader (.430 Ranch Dogs cast soft with sabots). I mocked up a rifle rest similar to the one in the tree stand had him shoot off of it after a little jog to get his heart rate up. He seemed to do alright, so opening day we climbed the ladder and started his first deer hunt.
Near dusk, a group of 5 does came out in the far corner of the field, 200 yards off. We watched them eat and dart around for what seemed like forever as they slowly made their way towards us. With only a few minutes of shooting time left, they parked themselves on a clover patch the landowner and I planted several years ago. With two of them broadside at around 70 yards out, I gave my son the go ahead. The muzzleloader boomed and the deer took off for the woods. I couldn't tell which one he had shot at.
We gave it a while then went to the spot where the does were and found blood after only a few minutes of looking. Nothing heavy, just specks. We followed it 30-40 yards or so towards the woods but the trail stopped suddenly and we couldn't find anymore. I scanned the edge of the woods to see if I could spot her. With no luck, I phoned the land owner who has an Aussie Shepard that is a pretty good deer dog. We put the dog on the trail and he went to work. After a good bit of work, he picked the trail back up 150 yards or so away from the spot of the shot.
Continued...