Youngsters shoot first career deer

Most days, the words that appear in this space are my own. We writers tend to agonize over the smallest grammatical nuance, and (when deadline isn’t approaching) tend to stop, start, and restart as many times as necessary in order to tell the tale we set out to tell.

In the end, the words are ours. We share them with you. And we hope that you’ll appreciate them … be entertained or informed by them … or, at the very least, that you’ll decide to read all of them.

But sometimes, the best words aren’t our own. They’re yours. They are your stories of success … and failure. They are the tales – which, generously, you have chosen to share – about things that are important to you.

Friends. Family. Times spent together outdoors. Experiences you’ll remember forever.

Saturday was Youth Deer Day. I asked for your stories. You responded. Now, as gracefully as possible, I’ll simply step aside and let a couple of readers tell their tales.

From Jeff Lapointe of Orrington:

“This is the second year in a row that my youngest son Joshua and I have gone out [on Youth Deer Day],” Lapointe wrote. “Last year on youth day, he missed a doe. We had failed to sight-in the .300 Savage that he was hunting with and it cost him his first deer. We decided that day to be better prepared for this year’s youth day.”

The Lapointes bought a scope, sighted it in well in advance of deer season, and were ready to go Saturday morning.

“We left the house well before legal shooting time so that we could get set up on our stand in an oak grove where the deer had been foraging,” he wrote. “When I was ready to sit, Josh suggested that we move down the ridge just a little more so he could look over an old chopping. We had just come into the cutting when we jumped three deer. One went to our left, the other two went to our right, but they didn’t go too far.

“Josh and I decided to sit for awhile and use my bleat call. After about 40 minutes, we began to hear some noise off to our right where the deer that we had jumped had gone. About five minutes later, we got a glimpse of a deer that was cautiously coming back out into the cutting.

“Josh got himself ready to shoot, but there was a small fir tree preventing him from getting a clear shot. He waited patiently for the deer to make one more step. The deer finally did, but when he stepped out into the clear, he was looking right at us [from] about 25 yards. Josh put the crosshairs right on the middle of the small buck’s chest and fired.”

The buck died quickly, and Jeff Lapointe shared a special moment with his son.

“I congratulated Josh on both his patience and marksmanship, as we savored the moment before going to see his prize. He had downed a nice 6-point buck that weighed in at 130 pounds. I had told Josh that if he shot a deer, he was going to have to do the dirty work as well as the shooting. He did a great job field-dressing his prize.

“Words can’t express the feeling of pride that I had participating in my son’s hunt [Saturday] morning. He is well on his way to becoming an avid, responsible hunter.”

Thanks for the e-mail, Jeff. Now, let’s turn this column over to Linnette Gilbert of Kenduskeag, whose daughter, Natasha, also had a productive Youth Deer Day.

“On Saturday, my 13-year-old daughter, Natasha Gilbert, donned her hunting gear at 5:30 a.m. and waited for her dad, [David Gilbert Jr.] to get out of bed,” Linnette Gilbert wrote.

The Gilberts headed into the woods early, came out briefly to warm up at a relative’s house, then began hunting again.

At about 12:30, Linnette Gilbert heard a shot. “That was Tasha’s gun,” she said.

While her mother heard the shot, Tasha’s concentration was so focused, she had other memories of the hunt.

“I didn’t hear my gun go off,” she told her mother. “It was like there was nothing else in the world except me and the deer. All I could hear was the beating of my heart. Then it was done. The deer was lying there waiting for me to drag it out of the woods.”

Linnette Gilbert said the hunt will prove memorable for her daughter … and for her.

“I was never more proud of my daughter,” she wrote. “She gets good grades, she is an all-around kid, she likes girl stuff and she likes guy stuff. If everyone only knew how hard she worked getting ready for the hunt. We spent many weekends at a local pit getting her rifle sighted in.

“The deer was a small doe, weighing about 80 pounds, dressed. But still, it will be an experience that will last my daughter a lifetime. Since it was her first time ever hunting, being 13 and a girl, this will be a story for her grandchildren.”

Thanks for the stories, folks. Today’s tales are just a representative sample of the responses I received. I’ve got a few more saved up for later, space permitting, and would love to hear more.

Congratulations to all the Youth Deer Day hunters … whether you got your deer or not.

John Holyoke can be reached at jholyoke@bangordailynews.net or by calling 990-8214 or 1-800-310-8600.