How a freezing opening day became a lifelong memory

By Ivy S. Nielsen 

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Sitting next to my grandpa on the opening day of my first deer hunt at 13 years old was uneventful. It was quite warm, and nothing was moving. We knew the next day would bring a blizzard after several years of drought. I had the worst sore throat of my life and was living off Chloraseptic spray just to get by, so I wasn’t thrilled about the storm coming in.

The next day, we arrived at first light, and the snow was coming down hard. We sat in his truck making plans for the morning hunt. We were in a saddle between two canyons when Grandpa said, "Look, there's an elk." Then he said, "No, that's a deer." The deer was coming up the hill from our left side and was going to pass in front of us at about 75 to 80 yards through the saddle to drop into the next draw. Grandpa whispered, "Get out slowly and move over to that rock to help prop the gun. Don't close the door and be as quiet as possible." The snow was coming down so hard that I think it muffled the sound of me moving.

I noticed Grandpa’s voice sounded nervous when he said, "Next time he stops, shoot." I had the rifle up, aimed, and ready when the deer stopped. I pulled the trigger and heard a click. I hadn't racked a bullet after walking away from the truck. I slowly chambered a round and had to readjust for the deer's movements. Grandpa whispered, "Now." BANG! Down it went. One shot, one kill. It was a heart shot at 80 yards.

Then the celebration began. It was the biggest deer my grandpa had ever seen. He’s shot a lot of bucks in his 75 years, and I beat them all. Haha! We were so excited that he cut his finger field dressing the buck, and I had to patch him up with our first aid kit in the freezing cold, with snow coming down on us. I’m so glad I had my grandpa there to guide me through one of the best days of my life!

The Future of Fair Chase 

We know that the future of conservation rests squarely on the shoulders of tomorrow’s hunters. That’s why we’re celebrating the stories of our youth hunters in this section called The Future of Fair Chase. Many of these stories are plucked straight from the pages of our 32nd Big Game Awards Book. Other stories have been submitted by young hunters, who are rightfully proud of their achievement. If you are a young hunter or know a young hunter who might like to submit a story, please email it to [email protected].