The Deer Hunter

When I was in college, I went deer hunting with some of my cousins in Arkansas. I am not a natural hunter; I love to shoot guns, but to shoot something like a deer, I have a tough time sighting it and pulling the trigger. My cousins were determined that I was going to shoot my first deer, so they put me in a prime spot for a deer to run past me while the Beagles chased them. I had my side-by-side 12-gauge double-barreled loaded with buckshot on the front trigger and a slug on the rear trigger. I heard the Beagles starting the chase, so I got ready. Before I knew it, a 10-point albino buck was running straight for me. I tracked him with my shotgun as he came within a few feet of me, but he ran past. He was such a beautiful sight running by that I could not pull the trigger. About 20 seconds later, I heard the roar of a shotgun as the guy next on the trail shot the deer.

Later that day, we were all eating lunch while the guy who bagged the deer was showing it off, Uncle Ivan asked me if I had seen the deer running. I said I did, and he ran right past me. He said, “Why didn’t you shoot it?” I responded, “I didn’t have my camera.” Right then, they all knew I wasn't really a hunter like they were, but we all had a good time that day.