My 7 year old son's first deer

My 7 year old son used a .223 AR to shoot his first deer this morning.
We used a ground blind and a tri-pod rest.
Two deer showed up, he was paitent and waited for a good shot on the bigger one.
He shot his first deer on his first day of hunting - ever.
The doe was just 15 yards away and went only 20 yards after the shot.
Rifle is a Windham SRC with a Bushnell TRS-25 red-dot.
He used my handload, a 60 gr. Nosler Partition chronographed at 2,807 fps from a 16'' barrel.
The bullet made small entry and exit holes, but did significant damage to both lungs.
Awesome.

ChefJeff1 said:

Awesome, I bet he's hooked for life. Hopefully there will be a long box under the Christmas tree this year.

Click to expand...

The rifle he used is "his" rifle; I bought it earlier this year specifically for him to hunt with this fall.

We have had several brief practice sessions over the spring & summer in preparation for that shot.

Thanks for all the replies.

Curt Blunt said:

CMC, it also looks like my Stoner 10 rounders. Call me old fashioned but I would be leery of having a seven year use a semi-auto with a loaded mag, even under adult supervision, given the excitement of a hunt.

Click to expand...

That is a 10 round magazine and it is legal here.

However, I only had it loaded with 7 rounds, for good luck.

My son has had many short practice sessions with that rifle for several months; I typically limited shooting to less than 5 rounds per session in an attempt to prevent him from getting kicked too much or developing bad habits. At the minimum, he had put 50+ practice rounds through the rifle prior to the hunt.
We started out with just one live round, followed by a dummy round (of my making) untill he consistently got his finger off the trigger after the first shot.
Also, the trigger on the rifle is heavy and requires a very deliberate pull.
We practiced at 35 yards since I knew I would set him up for about a 25 yard maximum shot; (as an experienced bowhunter I know how to set-up for a close range shot). Prior to our hunt, he had successfully kept his shots on a 6'' circle at 35 yards, for the last practice sessions.

We went hunting again the next afternoon (after his successful day) and he was presented with a brief 15 yard shot on another doe. The doe stopped broadside and he snicked off the safety, but couldn't quite get himself completely ready in time. After the doe walked off, I asked him why he did not shoot. He said, "She was moving". I congratulated him on passing a shot he was not ready to make. My 7 year old displayed more self-control than many adults.

The first words out of his mouth after shooting his first deer was, "I hope my brother gets one too".
His brother is 8 years old and had gone to a different spot with my wife. It was my older son's first time hunting too. He sat for nearly three hours that morning and saw nothing; he went hunting another 3 hours the following afternoon and saw nothing again.

I hope to start a thread titled, "My 8 year old son's first deer" next month.