Shooting

2021 South Georgia Steel Challenge Championship

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Well, it’s been a while since I’ve written on here! So much has happened since AL State and WSSC, so I’ll just stick with my topic of today: Georgia State. This was my first time at the Little River Sportsman’s Association range and it was wonderful! The bays were nice, close, and a safety area was provided at every stage. Being a match about two weeks before WSSC, many competitors used this competition as a way to know where they’re at and what they need to work on. I’m no different. I gained a lot of valuable insight on my times, especially since we don’t normally shoot all eight stages.

Example, I shot all the stages with Production on Friday for the first time since WSSC last year. At this match, I learned that I’ve taken 20 seconds off from my best overall total time (which was from WSSC). Instead of going into the next World Speed Shoot expecting to shoot a 151, I expect to shoot a 131 or lower. In a different scenario, I experienced something I already know shouldn’t occur, but I did it anyway. I pushed too hard with PCCI. I actually did with both PCC divisions, but I managed to halfway save my PCCO. Pushing too hard caused me to gain several seconds on my overall time. While I am disappointed, I won’t dwell on it other than to think about what I can do and work on so it doesn’t happen again. It’s easy to beat yourself up when you mess up, but realizing that it’s more important to analyze what exactly went wrong is essential for growth. If one never messes up, then they never get better.

I had something different happen with my Rimfire rifles. Right from the beginning, I was worried about numbers. I was thinking about what I needed to shoot, the consequences of certain times, and where my times looked like they were going to end. This was a terrible mistake as it usually is. After the third or fourth stage, I decided to stop keeping track and to not even look at my personal best times. I instantly started performing better.

We were squadded with Chris Barrett and Jeff Jones several times, and, of course, we had a great time hanging out with them! Also, Hunters HD Gold’s amazing van! I saw it in person for the first time at this match and I was mind-blown. Brian Conley is even giving out Kona Gold energy drinks at the matches he attends!

The story is told that I kicked our cart tire and it popped… too many people stand against me so according to majority, I did pop it. I’m telling y’all, I was just standing by our cart and it popped. Straight up popped. Talk about a heart attack! Good thing we were able to buy new tires!

I had a great time talking to the staff and other competitors. Everyone was in good spirits and the match was thoroughly enjoyable. I hope to see everyone at WSSC!

I finished:

RFRO-
Overall: 7th out of 282
RFRO Overall: 3rd out of 76
Junior: 1st out of 7
Lady: 1st out of 14


RFRI-
Overall: 9th out of 282
RFRI Overall: 3rd out of 23
Junior: 1st out of 5
Lady: 1st out of 7


RFPO-
Overall: 34th out of 282
RFPO Overall: 5th out of 52
Junior: 2nd out of 8
Lady: 2nd out of 11


RFPI-
Overall: 53rd out of 282
RFPI Overall: 2nd out of 23
Junior: 2nd out of 4
Lady: 2nd out of 4

PCCO-
Overall: 19th out of 282
PCCO Overall: 6th out of 48
Junior: 2nd out of 4
Lady: 2nd out of 7


PCCI-
Overall: 35th out of 282
PCCI Overall: 3rd out of 7
Junior: 2nd out of 2
Lady: 2nd out of 3


Production-
Overall: 225 out of 282
PROD Overall: 1st out of 3

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Uncategorized

2020 AL State and WSSC

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In September, both the Alabama Steel Challenge Championship and the World Speed Shooting Championship happened. Since they were two weeks apart, I wasn’t able to focus on writing a blog. Now I have time!

The Alabama Steel Challenge Championship occurred on the second weekend of September. We hadn’t planned on attending this match, but plans changed and it happened. I am so glad we went! I saw so many friends and met a few new ones. Also, my sister and I drove a tank!

I’m not sure if it was easier or harder than I thought it would be. Driving it was simple enough, but the strain of steering was a little difficult. The experience was amazing!

As I said, we saw so many of our favorite people! We had great squads and a great time hanging out with everyone. The match ran smoothly and at a quick pace.

I placed:

Rimfire Rifle Open-
4th place Overall
2nd place Junior
2nd place Lady

Rimfire Rifle Iron-
2nd place Overall
1st place Junior
1st place Lady

Rimfire Pistol Open-
5th place Overall
3rd place Junior
1st place Lady

Rimfire Pistol Iron-
2nd place Overall
2nd place Junior
1st place Lady

PCC Open-
5th place Overall
2nd place Junior
2nd place Lady

PCC Iron-
1st place Overall
1st place Junior
1st place Lady

Production-
4th place Overall

Moving on to the World Speed Shooting Championship, I had another great experience. Because of the coronavirus, the event felt different compared to last year. This does not mean it was worse than last year, but it was just different. One thing that didn’t change from last year was the fact that it was a learning experience. Not every match goes as planned, but it’s important to make the best of it.

This year, I shot seven divisions. Both rimfire rifles, both rimfire pistols, both PCCs, and Production. This felt like quite the load compared to shooting WSSC last year with four divisions! Surprising, I wasn’t too tired while I was at the match. The trip back is a totally different story. As soon as I sat on the couch in our RV, I was mentally snoozing! I am fairly certain the excitement of seeing everyone kept me awake during the match.

I am going to stray from this topic for a second and hit on something else: writing. At WSSC, I saw my article in the USPSA magazine for the first time!!! This feels like such an accomplishment. On my way to the range, I decided to randomly write a poem as a break from schoolwork. That was my first time writing a poem in probably over a year, so I wasn’t too confident in how it was going to turn out. I am so happy I started writing because the poem feels like a masterpiece to me! Of course, almost every time I read it (so about every day!), I changed something in the poem. Growth, y’all. Growth! The poem motivated me to keep writing poetry, so that’s what I have been doing in my free time.

Back to WSSC, it was a rollercoaster! On the first day with Production, I started out wondering how I was going to shoot. I ended up shooting good enough for me to be happy with my time. Out of the eight stages, I shot three personal bests, and I knocked off 13 seconds from Area 5! This definitely boosted my confidence in my pistols the next day. With my rimfire pistols, I shot a 79.12 (RFPO) and an 82.84 (RFPI). With RFPO, I shot 3 personal bests. With RFPI, I shot 2 personal bests. I also managed to place #20 on the Top 20 list for RFPI!

My rimfire rifle day didn’t work out how I had planned. I shot a 65.32 with RFRO and a 69.15 with RFRI! Nevertheless, it was not a loss to me because I still had fun, I didn’t get a DQ, and Emily did amazing! Emily finished with a 62.74 with RFRO and a 65.12 with RFRI. I am super proud of Emily for what she accomplished at WSSC!

This was my first worlds with my PCC! I just started shooting PCC in February, so I wasn’t sure where I would finish. WSSC was my third time shooting all 8 stages with the PCC divisions. I finished with a 68.93 with PCCO and a 75.27 with PCCI. Honestly, my PCCI time was far from where I wanted it, but like I said earlier, this whole match was a learning experience! I am still happy with my overall performance!

The match ran so smooth! I was expecting some craziness considering the circumstances, but I could hardly tell we were currently in a pandemic. I appreciate all the people who put on the match! The ROs, staff, and sponsors put on a great show. Thank you to everyone who contributed!

Here are my placings:

Rimfire Rifle Open-
10th place Overall
6th place Junior
2nd place Lady

Rimfire Rifle Iron-
8th place Overall
5th place Junior
2nd place Lady

Rimfire Pistol Open-
25th place Overall
10th place Junior
3rd place Lady

Rimfire Pistol Iron-
8th place Overall
6th place Junior
Lady World Championship
Lady World Record Holder

PCC Open-
8th place Overall
4th place Junior
2nd place Lady

PCC Iron-
4th place Overall
3rd place Junior
2nd place Lady

Production-
15th place Overall
1st place Junior
2nd place Lady

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Thank you to all my sponsors! I appreciate all your support!

Shooting

Area 5 Steel Challenge Championship

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Thanks to John Holbrook for the awesome picture! His site is ThruMyLens.org.

Earlier this year, we went to the Georgia state match as our “ice breaker” match of the year. The pandemic either canceled or postponed matches, so now we have our second ice breaker match! Area 5 was not only extremely fun, but I shot a few personal bests too! Before the match, I was already in good spirits because I found out some good news: I had an honorable mention for a high school writing contest I participated in. This is exciting to me because I took the chance of submitting my favorite short story to see what it could do.

For my first time in Indiana, I had a great time! Not going to lie, on the way to Indiana, I felt like I was in an extended version of North Texas going by all the fields. We made it to the match area early Friday morning. Friday afternoon, I shot PCCO and PCCI. That was my second time shooting our JP at a major match, so I was trying to see how many seconds I could take off of my total time. In the end, I took 5.54 seconds off PCCO and 8.11 seconds off PCCI! Couldn’t have gone better! Another thing that made me happy during this match was I shot stages I haven’t seen since March.

Saturday morning, I shot RFPO and RFPI. I tried not to push too much, but I only managed that in a few stages. Still, I ended up taking 0.16 seconds off my best time in RFPO and 5.56 seconds off my best time in RFPI! Although I wish I would have shot better on a few stages, I am happy with how I ended.

Saturday afternoon, I shot Production! Phew! Same as my PCC, this was my second time shooting Production at a major match. I shot a 193.65 in Production at the Georgia state match. At this match, I shot a 164.66; I lost 28.99 seconds! I am proud of myself for how I could regain composure during most of the times I started getting too fast for myself. Overall, I figured a lot out during this match! One of these lessons is that at the next match, I need to do what I wanted to do at this match: one for one while being sure to squeeze the trigger. Getting excited definitely hurt me while shooting my Glock, but it happens!

Now to Sunday! I shot my two favorite divisions: RFRO and RFRI. Before I get into that, I will say that I am starting to love shooting Production more than or equal to my Rimfire Rifles. I may still have some trouble with Production, but I love it nonetheless. With my rifles, I shot around my best times on most of the stages, but I now know which stages fell behind during the time of no matches. Also, I shot better with Open Rifle than I did Iron Rifle! That hasn’t happened since Alabama State last year and the difference was .3 seconds. I still had a great time shooting my rifles, so it wasn’t a loss!

Next, I will talk about my prematch/match thoughts. Before this match, I was worried. It had been a while since I shot several of the stages or I shot them once since Georgia. I tried not to let it bother me too much. When I made it to the shooting box, my stomach was twisted and I felt nauseous. After taking a deep breath, I usually felt better. For some stages, I had more confidence than others. For other stages, I didn’t push enough in an attempt to not push too hard, so I didn’t do as good as I wanted. The one thing this match break didn’t falter in me was my excitement to see friends! It seems that I forgot how much I loved matches during the break, but I had a full reminder right before and during the match. I still feel the excitement of the match!

At this match, I shot 30 personal bests out of the 7 divisions I shot. For the Steel Challenge Top 20 lists, this match allowed me to be in 8th for GM PCCI, 2nd for Master PCCO, 13th for Master RFPO, and 8th for GM RFRI!

Finishing times and places:

RFRO overall time and finish: 13th with 70.23
RFRO Division: 7th out of 79
RFRO Lady Category: 2nd out of 15
RFRO Junior Category: 3rd out of 10

RFRI overall time and finish: 14th with 71.34
RFRI Division: 3rd out of 38
RFRI Lady Category: 1st out of 8
RFRI Junior Category: 1st out of 7

RFPO overall time and finish: 52nd and 83.05
RFPO Division: 9th out of 64
RFPO Lady Category: 3rd out of 13
RFPO Junior Category: 4th out of 10

RFPI overall time and finish: 70th and 86.06
RFPI Division: 2nd out of 32
RFPI Lady Category: 1st out of 4
RFPI Junior Category: 1st out of 4

PCCO overall time and finish: 31st and 76.08
PCCO Division: 8th out of 57
PCCO Lady Category: 2nd out of 11
PCCO Junior Category: 3rd out of 9

PCCI overall time and finish: 30th and 75.96
PCCI Division: 2nd out of 15
PCCI Lady Category: 1st out of 4
PCCI Junior Category: 1st out of 3

PROD overall time and finish: 327th and 164.66

This match was very well ran. Alongside the hospitality of the range, the ROs were enjoyable! They knew what they were doing and they did their job well. Steve Wright was the Match Director who put on this great match!

We also went to a restaurant for the first time since Georgia! Since everything has been going on, I have wanted to see what restaurants looked like with my own eyes. It was very interesting to see all the spaced tape, blocked tables, and employees with masks.

I had a great time seeing friends for the first time in months too! Honestly, I was kind of worried that I would be nervous to talk to everyone after not seeing them for so long, but I actually did pretty good. There were some moments where I was surprisingly talkative! I can’t wait to see everyone soon!

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Shooting

2020 Georgia State Steel Match

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My first major match of the year is complete! I’m sure the weather reflected some people’s feelings about this match: uncertainty. This was the match that allowed people to know where their times changed since their last match. Like I said in my last post, some people changed setups and tried different tactics on the stages. During the first match of the season, shooters can determine how helpful their changes were. Plus, we are able to see friends for the first time in months! Some shooters may not have the opportunity to shoot all eight stages during the off-season; the first match of the season shows the shooter where/if they gained time. All in all, the first match of a new season is important and fun for everyone!

At this match, several exciting things happened: I received my Team Steel Target Paint jersey, met up with friends, made new friends, set personal bests, shot all eight stages in three centerfire divisions for the first time, and became the first lady to shoot all eight  stages with an iron-sighted rifle in under 70 seconds. This match was a blast!

On Thursday, I shot my first major match with PCCO, PCCI, and Production. My JP Enterprise PCC was shot a lot throughout the weekend and there were no problems! With Georgia being my first match with the Glock, I wasn’t too sure how it was going to turn out. In the end, I didn’t win anything, nor did I expect to, but I did gain confidence in my ability to shoot Production. Learning the ropes of centerfire pistol has been a learning experience for me. I’ve had literal blood, sweat, and tears at practice but it was well worth it!

On Friday, the weather was much better than on Thursday. I shot both rimfire rifles in the morning and both rimfire pistols in the afternoon. My squads were extremely enjoyable. Last year is a bit of a blur to me now (so much has happened), but I do remember the great food at this match! Before I even thought about packing for the trip, my dad was making remarks about the awesome peach cobbler. We were sure to grab a bowl before it was all gone!

My goal was to shoot in the sixties with my rimfire rifles. I made that goal with my iron-sighted rimfire rifle. My final time was 69.68 seconds! Now that I shot in the sixties once, I gained confidence in my ability to do it again and with both rifles. I am starting to realize that this match was a confidence boost for me. Not because I won a plaque or anything, but because I shot a fairly decent first match of the season. With my Glock and PCC, I shot my first full match. With my iron-sighted rimfire rifle, I shot in the sixties for the first time. Also, I shot my first full match with our new Volquartsen Scorpions. When I was preparing to start this season, I forgot to consider match anxiety. Now that I shot my first match for 2020, match anxiety can be conquered!

On Saturday, my sister, our dad, and I all RO’d on different squads. This meant that I had to rely on my own judgement for calls as an RO. Although nerve wracking at first, I got the hang of it and started to become more confident in my ability. Thanks to two awesome squads, I had several opportunities to learn more about prompt decision making.

I conclude my blog with this: thank you to everyone involved in the match. Many work hard in organizing the matches we all love and they need acknowledgement. However, the competitors are also important for Steel Challenge. Without competitors, there would be no reason for matches to happen.

Thank you for reading my blog!

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Shooting

Starting Fresh

cunninghambridget 5 Comments

During the off-season, some competitive shooters try new equipment, new bullets, new setups, and some even use the whole off-season as a break. This last off-season, we tried several new things; we received our first PCC, started reloading, tried a different stock, and worked on our centerfire handguns. With trying new things, comes change. Some people may not like change, and that’s fine, but change is what makes us grow. It is essential to try new things and get out of our comfort zone. I know I did that several times during this last off-season! It is hard starting fresh with something new, but sometimes starting fresh is what we need.

At my first local match with Production, I was first and last place; first with Rimfire Rifle Irons and last with Production. This is what I mean by change can be hard. Sometimes I forget how difficult it was for me to get where I am with my Rimfires, but I was reminded at that match. Starting fresh with the Glocks has already helped me grow so much! Plus, trying new things can be beneficial for things you already do. Here’s an example: my Glock taught me to grip the gun. This has helped me with my Rimfire Pistols. In an effort to quit anticipating the recoil of the Glock, my trigger pulling has gotten better with the Rimfires too.

Here’s another idea with this topic: don’t focus on big goals when you first start something new. Focus on the small goals you meet. This is possible to do while maintaining high standards of yourself! If you go to practice and try to quicken transitions, be happy if you meet that goal even if you don’t do so great at something else. It is good to notice when you mess up so you can fix it, but don’t dwell on the mistakes. This can cause you to become discouraged and lose confidence in your abilities.

With this in mind, some people are going to be more naturally talented than you at some things. If you start a new hobby or division with someone, your friend may excel at a quicker rate than you. This is why it’s important to not focus on other people’s time, but on yours alone. I tell myself this with my Rimfires also. It isn’t about how much faster someone is than you, but its about how much you progressed since the last time you shot.

Hunting

Tagging Out at the VF Ranch!

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As you can probably tell from the title, I tagged out! I am now done with Whitetail for the season! We were back at the VF Ranch in Sonora this past weekend. Some special moments happened at this hunt, and most took me by surprise.

The first special moment I want to discuss was when I had a face mask on with Emily and another girl hunter. Oh, and the huntmaster! That was a blast! It was about 22:30 and we were all very giddy. Giddy + face masks = laughing. Laughing + face masks = scary faces! We looked kind of creepy with only our teeth showing! That was one heck of a night to remember.

The next moment was when we were all helping a girl search for her doe. I was in a group with two other girls (one of them was the girl we did face masks with). All three of us found antler sheds and that was my very first shed! Usually, I love finding things. When I found the antler, I think I was more excited about finding something other than deer poop and cow patties! When we walked under a tree, I saw bones on the ground and some in the tree. I’m not too superstitious or anything but I was spooked. When we turned around and started walking out from beneath the tree, I saw antlers sticking up from beside a log. At this point, I’m practically shaking! I walked over to the log and saw it was a skull. I jumped up and thought, “heck naw!” When I decided to be brave, I used my antler shed to drag the skull towards me. Bam! I have my very own Axis skull! The skull and shed was not the only special thing about this tracking event. Not only did we learn about tracking but it was the perfect time for the hunters to become friends. I had a great time tracking with my crew!

The next special moment was when I tagged out. After every deer I harvest, I feel more like a successful hunter. Now we have 13 deer in our freezers!

I cannot forget to mention when I found a mesquite branch that made a perfect triple marshmallow stick! Marshmallows for everyone!

Now let’s talk about when I was in the blind. On Saturday morning, both my sister and our dad was with me. I had several bucks come out at the feeder, but we were hunting for does. I had several yearlings come out and finally a few does. I took the shot on a doe and she dropped where she stood. To add, she did not have a yearling with her. After she had died, a yearling came up and drank some of her milk! Later on, another small doe came and drank from her. I waited to see if I could get my last doe but I only had yearlings after that.

During the evening time, we were out at the blind at 15:30 After a buck and several does came out, I had to make the decision of which doe to get. Almost all of them were about the same size so I chose the one that looked older. I shot her and she ran about 10 yards. When the feeder went off at 16:30, we stayed and watched the buck. After a little while, we decided to check on the doe and head back to the truck. When we were walking to the truck, a herd of humongous Aoudad started running off! They were big enough and close enough that I wished I wasn’t on the ground! Although they weren’t right up on me, it was still scary seeing how big their horns are. By the way, Aoudad run like gorillas. Figured that out!

This hunt was a total blast! I wore my Hunters HD Gold Velocity glasses, and I used my Vortex Optics Viper scope. Like always, they were a great pair! 

Shooting

Florida State Steel Challenge Championship

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We drove all the way from East Texas to Okeechobee, Florida for the State Championship! I used to think our Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee trips were far, but after this trip, nothing compares.

There is one thing about this match that I love: they had a practice tier 1 match on Friday. This allows competitors to shoot the whole match a day before the state match begins. Since we aren’t able to regularly practice all the stages, I was happy to warm-up before I shot two stages, in particular, for the first time in a while. The warm-up day is not only a good idea for preparation, but it leaves competitors feeling confident. At the warm-up match, I shot a 78.73 with my RFRO and a 74.85 with my RFRI.

My dad, sister, and I were ROs for the whole match. I shot in a separate squad from them, so the experience was different. During the first stage or two, I was nervous but then I settled. I had a great RO partner both days so that helped also.

I also witnessed my very first squib. Of course, I had no idea that it was a squib but I knew something was up. One of our shooters was about to shoot the stop plate in his first string when his gun made a popping sound. That is literally the best way to describe it. Pop. He shot again and both bullets came out! When he was getting ready to shoot his second string, I noticed the two hits on the stop plate. When he finished the stage, the other shooters said it was a squib. He checked to make sure his pistol was fine, and he finished the match. From stories I have heard, squibs seem dangerous and I am glad nothing bad happened.

I finished the match with a 76.72 in RFRO and a 74.90 in RFRI. I shot several personal bests at this match, and they will be included below:

RFRO-

  • Pendulum- 8.88
  • 5 To Go- 8.93

RFRI-

  • Pendulum- 9.51
  • Outer Limits- 11.92
  • Smoke & Hope- 7.21

I am glad we were finally able to travel to Florida. I had a great time talking to our Florida friends and seeing what the Sunshine State is all about! Considering how sunburnt I am after matches, one would think I could remember to bring sunscreen… Nope!

See y’all next time!

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Hunting

TYHP Hunt: VF Ranch in Sonora, Texas

cunninghambridget 1 Comment

Well y’all, I finally did it! I shot a deer without blasting the shoulders off! You see, I tend to feel more comfortable taking heart shots, but I decided to make my dad happy by doing lung shots. As of now, I have harvested seven deer. Most of those were shoulder shots, and I have a good reason for loving shoulder shots. The first reason is because deer usually drop with heart shots. The second reason is because I know the shoulder is farther from the gut. It’s just a mental thing, really.

On Saturday morning, my dad and I went out to our blind. Before the sun was up, I saw something white just hopping around our view. I assumed it was a Blackbuck because I know Whitetail deer don’t have that much white on them. I guess Blackbuck does like jumping before sunrise…? Anyway, when the sun came up, we had several Whitetail bucks come out. I’m talking mature eight pointers to small spikes. We were loaded! Sadly, our job at this hunt was to shoot does. After watching the bucks act like bucks, I heard trampling. It sounded like a herd of tiny elephants were coming from behind us. Sure enough, several Aoudad came out. Because the bucks were chasing off does, I was glad that they gave the bucks a hard time. Imagine this scene: about 30 Aoudad under the feeder acting like hogs, an Axis spike being bullied by the Aoudad, and several big Whitetail bucks being scared of the Aoudad. It felt like I was watching National Geographic! After watching several does that never came into sight, I finally saw three Blackbuck does that were heading to a perfect spot. There was a big one, slightly smaller one, and one was the smallest. As I was aiming at the big doe, my dad told me to wait because he wasn’t sure they were grown. We’re used to Whitetail does and those Blackbuck does were tiny. He googled their size to make sure they were grown. By the time we were sure they were grown, the biggest and smallest Blackbuck doe had gone into the tree line and out of sight. I decided to go for the only one in view. We were elevated so I tried to take that into consideration while aiming at her. I took the shot and she dropped. I was happy to see the Aoudad stayed at the feeder! I also scared off the bucks. The shot was at 0830 and she was about 100 yards away. After calming down, I was back to business and ready for another. At 0925, I shot a Whitetail doe. She was around 120 yards out. This is the doe I shot perfectly!

At this hunt, I decided to try not blasting off the shoulders. I had two chances to prove I could do it and on the second deer, I did it. While I was shooting the first deer, I kind of forgot about my plan… At least I remembered for the second one! When I was aiming for the shot, I tried to aim about one inch from the shoulder. When I shot her, I swear she jumped up several feet and arched her back like a cat! I was scared that it was a bad shot, but my dad assured me it was a good one. He saw the exit and a lot of blood. When we went to find her, we had one heck of a blood trail. She spurted so much blood from the exit wound- blood was everywhere. I also saw pink foam which I knew meant a lung shot. This relieved me a little. We found her laying by a tree and I was worried. I legit asked my dad if she was for sure dead! I get spooked when my deer run off because my first four deer dropped on the spot. After learning that she was dead, I was thoroughly relieved.

Just like the other TYHP hunts I have gone on, this hunt was a blast. We were on the VF Ranch in Sutton County, Sonora, TX. I appreciate the owners for allowing us to hunt on their ranch!

I wore my Hunters HD Gold while hunting and I absolutely love them. Throughout our hunting time, I was looking at the deer with and without the glasses. Every single time I put them back on, I was amazed! The leaves were greener and the deer fur stood out more with the glasses on. Alongside Hunters HD Gold, I was hunting with my Vortex Viper. The Viper is clear and makes hunting easier. Both of the products paired together make a perfect team!

Now it’s time to debone the meat and grind it up; burgers, sausage, and jerky, here I come!!

Uncategorized

My Second Hunting Trip

cunninghambridget 1 Comment

A few weeks ago, I was in Junction, Texas at a Texas Youth Hunting Program hunt.  When we arrived on Friday, I was excited to meet the other hunters and guides. Also, we saw a herd of deer right after we drove into the location. Compared to last year, it was obvious the deer were healthier. This was very exciting!

During the two hunts I have been on, Fridays were for getting to know the hunters, guides, and for practicing. During practice time, the hunters shoot at a target and determine if they are ready to hunt. Usually, it is after this point when the hunters open up. At this hunt, Emily and I got along with the other girls instantly. We all cooked the first meal together and we were able to talk a lot during this time.

On Saturday morning, I was in a blind with my dad. Before daylight, we heard deer in the tree line. The feeder was about 100 yards in front of us, so we definitely couldn’t see them. As the sun was slowly making it’s way up, I definitely saw a rabbit. Now for the other “deer” I saw, they were just shadows… Anyhow, once the sun made it’s full grand entrance, the deer came out. We were surrounded by deer; soon, we had deer in front of us, behind us, and to both of our sides. I’ve never taken such slow deep breathes in my life! There were several spikes and other small bucks. I guess me killing Casanova (the 10 pointer from last year) must have allowed the other bucks to grow out and start their own dominances. We also saw a few Axis deer off to the side! They were not where I was comfortable shooting them, so I waited for them to come further out. They never did. I did find two eight pointers and I decided to go for the one with the largest body. It was also obvious that he was the dominant one of this herd. The feeder went off at 0800 and he just stood beneath it eating. He was constantly harassing the does that were trying to eat. This buck was an especially smart one. I assume he knew we were there as he always kept either his head or butt to us. When I had my perfect broadside view, I took the shot. He fell right under the feeder.

The other does came out fairly quick. They were very skeptical of us. They kept stomping at us waiting for a reaction. I gave them one… just not the reaction the doe wanted. But before I get ahead of myself, I am going to tell y’all what I accomplished at this hunt. This may not seem major, but I shot her while she was angled towards me. I had only ever shot deer while they were broadside. While I was aiming, I was wondering where I should hit. In my head, I tried to picture a doe with one line going through the heart at broadside then I added more angled lines for representation. This is hard to explain, but I think y’all understand that I tried to use angled lines made from the same entry point. I took the shot where I thought would be best. The shot entered just in front of the shoulder and it exited in the ribs. I about started panicking when she ran 20 yards. All my shots before this one were heart shots, so they instantly dropped. I was scared that I gut shot her, but I did have a little faith restored when she dropped. I took my binoculars and watched to see if she was still breathing. I felt a little better when I saw she died quickly.

Soon after, time was over and we checked on the deer. Everyone knows I beelined for the buck! I was not ready to see the doe yet. When we arrived to the feeder, I saw I had yet another heart shot. His body was just as big as Casanova’s from last year! I was having some major flashbacks. Next, we walked over to the doe. For some reason, I was scared she was still alive. That’s how terrified I was about her not dropping. As I saw earlier, she was dead.

That afternoon, I was in the blind where I shot Casanova last year. Also, I had the same guide that was with me. I was hoping maybe I could have the same luck I did last year. Sadly, I didn’t get that luck. I did see a herd of Axis, though! This was the second time I saw Axis during this trip. They never came into my view. However, two pairs of does came into my sight. I decided not to shoot them because they had yearlings with them. Also, I wasn’t too set on shooting another deer because I didn’t want to tag out. Then comes out a doe that looked different from the others. You could just look at her and be like, “Hm, something is different.” I had no idea what she was at the time, but I did notice that the whole one side of her tail was black. Also, she was more grey than whitetail. Another strange thing I noticed was she was alone. She was eating in front of us for over an hour. No other deer came with her. Two more things I noticed: her ears were more pointed and her belly was not white like a whitetail. I did some research and found that she looked like a blacktail deer! This is surprising and hard to believe because they are not in this area.

The next morning, I was hunting with my dad again. This is the last morning of the hunt. I decided early on that I was not shooting a deer unless it was an Axis. A few whitetail spikes and does came out. Just like what other people said about this blind, something was scaring them away. The deer kept looking off to the side where we can’t see. They soon ran off. We heard Axis barks and I was instantly excited. I waited for them until it was time for us to stop hunting. Earlier, we heard shots and I was sure at least one of them was Emily. We drove to pick up Emily and her guide hoping to see a deer or two. I was even hoping maybe she shot one of the Axis! Turns out the shots didn’t come from her.

Just like the last hunt, this hunt was very enjoyable. I had a great time talking to everyone and I appreciate all the hunting stories! I learned more about hunting and what the TYHP is for. The Texas Youth Hunting Program gives youths the opportunity to hunt and learn several things about hunting including wildlife conservation, harvesting, and tracking. So far, I have had a blast at every hunt!

All the hunters!
All the hunters!
Our deer on the first morning.
Our deer on the first morning.
My 8 point!
My 8 point!