A Kid's Perspective An OutdoorsWeekly.com Exclusive
My First Deer
By Tyler Stunkel, Prior Lake, MN
I am not the typical hunter because I am visually impaired. My ophthalmologist tells me how lucky I am to have the vision I have today. I am blind in my right eye. I have 20/50 vision in my left eye. I was born with congenital cataracts, glaucoma, nystagmus, and microthelmia. After about twenty surgical procedures and examinations this was the best vision that the University of Minnesota doctors could provide me. Whenever I go hunting I always have my dad, grandpa, or an uncle sitting with me in the deer stand. My family has made mutual commitment.
As a little boy, I was always around relatives that hunted. I anxiously awaited my second deer season in Northern, WI with my family during the 2008 season.
The weather plays a big role in how good my vision can be on a given day. Basically the whole week was cloudy and windy which made for difficult hunting. It did snow about a ½ inch one night. Foggy conditions the next morning made my vision more difficult.
The eighth day of my hunt my dad and I changed our game plan to hunt in another area. It was sunny, calm winds, temperature in low 20’s and I thought that this day could be the day I get my first deer. We were sitting between two alders next to a two track that my grandpa had created several years earlier. As I sat there comfortably leaning against an oak tree, I began to feel more confident. My fingers were so cold that I decided to slowly turn to my dad to ask for a second pair of gloves, when he said, “Don’t move there is a deer to your left coming out of the alders.” I tried to move as stealthy as I could to prevent the deer from seeing me. As I was raising my 30/30 with scope, I saw the deer feeding in the corn field. Looking through the scope I noticed the deer was a doe. I had a doe tag. I placed the crosshairs behind the deer’s shoulder, squeezed the trigger, and the 30/30 boomed!! My relatives were in the area and they flocked to the gun shot. Before my relatives arrived, my dad and I were already searching for blood, when we noticed some blood waist high on brush going into the alders. I felt very confident that I had made a good shot. It felt like an hour for everyone in our party to arrive but it was really only about 20 minutes. As we followed the blood trail together the woods, we found my doe thirty yards from my grandpa’s two track.
It has always been a family tradition for my grandpa to smear deer blood on both cheeks for your “first” deer. I then said a silent prayer of thanks to God for giving me the opportunity to get my “first” deer. After deer season in March every year we all make our famous Stunkel secret recipe of venison sausage. I can’t wait to taste the sausage from my own very first deer.
Next time you are lucky enough to go hunting, do not think about what is not going well but rather think about the positives and if you don’t get anything don’t get down on yourself because you always will have another shot in the future.
Kids - email us your photo and stories and we will post them here and print them in the next available magazine!
© 2009 OutdoorsWeekly.com