by Taylor Rather
We packed the camper and were on our way. Riding on the Blue Ridge Parkway, there were deer everywhere and while driving around a bend a small black bear ran across the road. I was getting very excited!! I knew it was going to be a great weekend.
When we arrived at a camping spot that we had looked at last year, someone had taken it. So we found another spot and set up camp. When we finished setting up camp we realized it was 2 a.m. in the morning. We knew we had better get to bed so we could get up and get an early start.
Tired from the night before, we didn’t get that early start. We didn’t wake up til around 10 o’clock. To kill time, we raked leaves and straightened up the campsite. When 2 o’clock came my Dad and I grabbed our gear and my “SPOT MESSENGER”and headed for the woods. (The Spot Messenger is a great device to have especially if an emergency happens). While walking, I was fascinated with the colors of the trees and the beauty of the mountain scenery.
While we were walking thru the woods, we saw numerous deer scrapes and we knew we were in a great spot. I wanted to stay in that area, but Daddy wanted to keep going. I agreed and we went on. We were getting near the ridge where my Dad had harvested his 8 point buck from last year.
As we were walking down the trail, I looked up the ridge and saw a deer. I signaled Dad to stop! and whispered to him that there was a deer on the ridge. I took my black diamond muzzlerloader and looked thru the scope and realized it was a BUCK. Dad whispered to me to “shoot him” but I whispered back “I don’t have a good shot because he’s behind a tree”. I took a few steps towards my Dad and had a perfect shot. Taking aim, I took the shot. We waited for the smoke to clear and I saw he was down. Filled with joy I ran up the ridge and left my Dad behind. There in front of me was an 8 point buck!
We got the deer cart , loaded up my deer and headed back to camp. We put the deer in the truck and went to a Bedford country store to check the deer in. He weighted 200 lbs before field dressed and 165 after.
I had a great weekend hunting and spending time with my Dad and Im looking forward to the next weekend hunting trip with my brother and my Dad in Amherst county.
