By Bob Plummer
After 30 some odd years of hunting and harvesting more deer than I can remember, one would think that buck fever had disappeared, The excitement of catching a glimpse of a big buck is still there but the initial excitement is usually followed by a calm that is required to make a good shot.

That changed the second week of January. Buck fever was back and it was not due to catching a trophy buck in my scope. My ten-year old son, Garrett, has just this year become more interested in hunting. The first week of the season we were fortunate enough to go hunting on some private land in Boligee. During our afternoon hunt we had some does on our field but they were out of a comfortable range for Garrett to shoot. As we sat there, a spike came into the field about 25 yards away. Needless to say Garrett wanted to take a shot since he had yet to take his first deer.

The landowner had already told Garrett that he could take the deer even if it was a spike. It was at this time that I explained to Garrett the concept of patience and passing on young deer in order to harvest something that would be worth bragging about or harvesting a dow if he wanted meat. I can assure you this was not an easy sell to a ten-year old. Unfortunately, none of the does came close enough and no other bucks materialized.

As we talked on the way home, I could tell he as disappointed at passing on a deer, but the seemed to accept the bigger picture. The second weekend in January, we were fortunate to hunt the same private land again. Garrett was very excited because the weather was much better and he knew that we would probably see more deer. Our first hunt on Saturday morning began well. We had only been in our stand about thirty minutes when a doe came into view. She stopped broadside at about 75 yards. Since it was very early in the hunt, I convinced Garret to pass on this deer as well.

After the doe wandered off, I began to wonder if I had made the right decision in not letting him take the deer. Fortunately about 20 minutes later we saw a buck about 125 yards away heading our way. As the deer came closer, I began to shake. Garrett was shaking as well but not near as much as dad. I do not ever recall being that nervous when I was about to take a deer. The deer stepped into the woods before we could get a good shot and I was afraid that we had missed our chance. As we sat and discussed my uncontrollable shaking, Garrett could see that I was probably more anxious about the shot than him.

The deer eventually circled us and we caught a glimpse of him walking through the woods about 25 yards away. When he stopped behind a tree, Garrett got into position. I told him to be ready because the deer might not stop walking when it came out from behind the tree and we did not have a very wide shooting lane. When the deer walked from behind the tree, I told Garrett to take the shot when he was ready. Evidently he was ready because I did not even finish the sentence before he fired. I could tell the way the deer jumped that he had made a good shot. As the deer disappeared into the woods, I had to assure Garrett that he had made a good shot.

After waiting for what seemed like half the morning, but was actually only about 30 minutes, we climbed down from our stand and found the spot where the deer had been hit. Garrett followed the trail and found the deer about 100 yards from our stand. I do not know who was more excited, father or son. As Garrett knelt by the deer for a picture, I knew that this was a moment that I would treasure forever. As the years go by and Garrett grows into a man and accomplished hunter, I know that the memory that we made that day will form a bond between us that can never be broken. Thanks so much to Harold Bissell for providing us this opportunity.

He was so kind to allow us to hunt on such a beautiful piece of property. I have to say a special thanks to Will at Mark's Outdoor Sports for setting Garrett up with a quality gun and scope. He took a lot of time answering questions and making sure that we had the right equipment for Garrett to be successful.

I also want to thank Garrett for sharing this time with me. It meant more to me than I could ever express to him. I hope he cherishes this time as much as I.