I’d never considered myself a good shot. Sure, I fired some practice rounds at a target, but never an actual deer! Nevertheless, I felt a burden of responsibility to be a good shot, for I held the Gun with the Golden Trigger. None like it had ever crossed my path, and with James Bond’s Golden Gun in my mind, I wanted to honor the Trigger.

Of course, these meditations were far from my mind when Dad burst through the door (quietly though, a hunter’s burst) whispering, “Ben, quick, grab your gun, there are some deer in the field across the road!” I threw on some boots, grabbed the gun, and as quietly as possible crunched through the snow out to the brag pole.

I emerged onto the driveway and saw three does munching through the patchy snow to kernels of goodness beneath. They paid little heed to the farmers who always bustled about across the road. The deer were a picture of calm winter contentment.

In the mean time, tense excitement filled the air by the brag pole. Leaning against the pole, I found the biggest doe in the scope. Dad coached, “Just squeeze the trigger.” Crosshairs fixed on the doe. Finger tensed on the Golden Trigger. Breath held... SqueezeBANG!

I stared through the smoke and saw—doe down! But she was thrashing around… a lot. A back shot! I must have jerked the shot high. As dad and I hurried toward her, we saw that, indeed, her back half sat motionless while her eyes were alert. Not wanting her to suffer, we put her out of her misery with another shot. And there she was—my first deer!

If my memory serves me right, Dad next did something that surprised, then delighted me: he knelt down with me and thanked God for the deer He had given us. In the years to follow, this would quickly become one of my favorite parts of deer hunting. Thank you, Lord, for hunting, for family, and for that deer!

We headed back to the house, deer in tow. As we walked, I think I was still recovering from the experience. It had all happened so fast! And thus I learned another hunting lesson: expect the unexpected, even with your first deer!

by Ben