Syracuse.com - Red Creek teen, 15, gets his first deer during special youth hunt weekend

[HuntingNY-News]

It was a doe.

Submitted deer

Brian Bushnell, of Red Creek, got his first deer this past weekend during the special state-wide, youth firearms hunt weekend.

His mom, Kelli Bushnell, wrote: Our son Brian, age 15, has been eagerly awaiting this youth hunt since this summer.

"With his hunting license and tags in hand we all waited to see if it would be cancelled. Once we knew it was on, plans were made in earnest.

" Brian and his dad made the tough decision to stay home Saturday morning when they rose before dawn to find it pouring outside.

"But by Saturday afternoon it had cleared and they headed to the wooded hillside where his dad has hunted for twenty years. About 2 hrs later Brian nudged his dad to say he had spotted a deer coming towards them and was getting ready...within minutes he had dropped a nice doe at 30 yards with one shot from his 12-gauge shotgun.

"He said the doe heard him release the safety and froze, but so did he and he waited for her to put her head down again. His dad says he was praying she didn't take off when she heard that metallic click, as he has seen them do many times.

"For whatever reason, she relaxed and the hunting gods smiled on Brian as he took his first deer cleanly. He is still grinning with pride two days later. We're just glad he was successful so early, and now we can get to some perch fishing the rest of the weekend."

"Thanks for the chance to share."

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog