So far, I have about 1 hour invested in deer hunting, and only 1 shot fired.

Part of the goal for the @papa-pepper tribe is to provide more of our own food. This includes raising farm animals, gardening, fishing, foraging, and hunting. If hunting animals for food offends you, now may be a good time to find another post to read, because although I like eating meat, I do not like to eat meat from animals that are still alive, if that makes sense.

Today was opening day for Deer Season here in Arkansas. If you saw my Testosterone Tribute to @tuckfheman a few months back, you know that I have never gone hunting for deer before. I got a gun to use for deer hunting a while ago, and even bought my license and picked up some ammunition. However, I had never even practiced shooting the .30-06.

Leaving every day for work at sunrise and coming home after dark does not give one too much time for practice. So there I was this morning, sitting at the edge of the woods with my neighbor and a gun that I had never fired. He had recently seen a big 10-point buck on the game cameras and that was the only deer that he was concerned about. He made sure that I knew I was not allowed to shoot his deer, but that I could shoot anything else that came by, if I wanted to.

Before too long, we were hearing all sorts of sounds. Some of the sounds I recognized as squirrels, but some of the sounds were definitely deer. After a bit, a large doe came walking out to our left. She stopped and noticed us, watching to see what we would do. My neighbor told me that I could take the shot if I wanted to, but we decided to see if a buck would follow. Eventually the doe just got tired of us and turned back the way that she had come.

Again, we just sat and waited. Often, I wanted to sniffle or cough, but I restrained myself. Twice, my leg fell asleep, but I just stayed still and waited. At some point, there was a deer behind us in the woods, but that was no help.

Then, a six-point buck came walking along the same path that the doe had. I saw it coming, and let my neighbor know. He told me to take the shot once I had it.

The shot presented itself, and I took it.

This was the first time that I had ever fired a gun at a deer. Immediately, the deer took off back the way that it had come. I figured I had missed it, but my neighbor thought that I might have wounded it, so he stepped out to see if he could get a shot in.

Soon, we were walking through the woods where it had ran. I saw it running up towards a fence-line on the top of the ridge, so I went up the hill to try to see it. There I stood, not knowing if I had hit it, or where it was. Squirrels were running everywhere and making a lot of noise, but I could hear or see no deer.

After a bit, my neighbor called me back down the hill to where he was. There, laying on the ground at his feet was the buck. It must have turned after it hit the fence. I check it, and it was dead. Though the shot was a little high and to the left, it had still been fatal.

I dragged the deer out of the woods, and we put it on the back of the ATV my neighbor had. When we stopped by the house to show mama-pepper and the little ones, everyone was pleasantly surprised. Dad had been successful and we had a good amount of meat for the family!

Though it may not exactly be pleasant to stare a dead animal in the face, I am glad that my children can be connected to their food supply. A fast food hamburger does not carry the same level of appreciation that actually seeing that an animal's life had been taken so that we could eat. I mention more about that in another post about the importance of being connected to our food supply.

It was also a good opportunity to teach my little ones more about gun safety. Whether I hunt or not, eventually my children will most likely come across a gun somewhere. To understand that that just one gun having the trigger pulled one time and only firing one bullet can kill an animal much larger than them is good food for thought for them. A gun is basically a tool, and not a toy, so it is important that they understand that.

ONE BULLET

When I consider the investment in this endeavor, unless someone borrows a gun, there will always be the up-front cost of the rifle, and then the yearly cost of the license. In Arkansas, the Resident Hunting License is only $25.00 USD, though, and it comes with 6 deer tags, 2 turkey tags, plus small game, like rabbits and squirrels. Once the gun has been borrowed or purchased, that's less than $5.00 USD per deer if you hunt your limit.

Basically, if I had the choice of how to spend $5.00 on food, I would take a full deer over 2# of ground beef every time.

Ammunition may not always be the cheapest, but to only use bullet and to get a deer with it was a huge blessing. No wonder some people refer to ammunition as "precious metals." In my entire history of deer hunting, I have only fired one bullet.

FIRST MEAL

Since I went hunting for breakfast, we were able to eat venison for lunch. What a blessing! I've got the deer hanging up right now to finish cooling, but I cooked the heart, liver, and some of the neck meat for lunch. It was amazing for us to consider that only hours earlier, those organs were keeping that deer alive out in the woods. Now, at shortly after noon, they were being used as nourishment for our bodies.

When we pick up meat at the supermarket or grocery store, often we have no idea how long it has been dead, in what manner it was killed, or what conditions it was raised in. The best we get in those situations is a sticker notifying us that the meat had better be eaten within a few days, or it'll go bad.

How refreshing it is to have access to fresh, wild game that lives off the land and drinks from the fresh streams in the area. If I do hunt a few deer each year, we may not have to buy beef anymore. Plus, we can always fish or hunt rabbit, squirrel, and turkey, not to mention the animals that we will raise for meat.

VENISON JERKY

I can still remember eating the venison jerky that my mom would make when my brother would bow-hunt deer. What a blessing it is that now we can make our own. The biggest thing that I can remember about that jerky, other than how delicious it was, is that it never lasted long. I already made up a small batch from some of the neck meat, and my boy and I am enjoying as I type.

CONCLUSION

After spending an entire hour deer hunting so far, and after firing one shot, it has given me a great appreciation for the food supply, and for the blessing of being able to provide for my own family in ways that do not require me to leave them to go make money so that we can go to the store and buy food. If you have read this recent post about the food supply, that probably sounds familiar.

Not only was this a very special day for @papa-pepper and his family, I also get to share this once in a lifetime adventure with you, so I am very glad about that. I hope you enjoyed the story!