2024 SCI Youth Deer Hunt

One moment I was among a large group of camo-clad hunters I’d never seen before. A few minutes later, it was like I had known these special people all my life. That was the general atmosphere on Sunday, Oct. 27, at the annual Foundation for Outdoor Kids Youth Hunt sponsored by the Georgia Chapter of Safari Club International and Adventure Outdoors. The special youth hunt was held on properties near Rockmart belonging to the Wallace family, owners of Adventure Outdoors. Eight eager youngsters who had never had a chance to hunt whitetails before couldn’t wait to get out in the woods on their first-ever deer hunt.

The fast-paced day started with a meet-and-greet at 11 a.m. at the Wallace family’s Truth-in-Nature headquarters in Polk County near Rockmart. After a brief orientation by Safari Club member Marc Stewart, the group was treated to a hearty lunch of grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. While lunch was settling in, DNR staff members made several excellent presentations about the life history of whitetails in Georgia and where to place a shot.

Each young hunter received a Mossy Oak backpack filled with goodies and then it was on to the shooting range where Marc Stewart stressed the importance of gun safety and offered some sound shooting tips. Each of the young hunters amazed their parents and mentors by making unbelievable shots at 100 yards with bolt-action CVA rifles that had been donated to SCI a few years ago by Georgia-based BPI Outdoors, CVA’s parent company.

Each hunter was accompanied by a parent, grandparent or mentor along with a guide on this doe-only hunt. I had volunteered as a guide, and the hunter assigned to me was 16-year-old Barrett McCoy, who plays third base on the baseball team at Lassiter High School in Marietta and lives only a few miles from me in Cobb County. Barrett’s twin brother, Aiden, who pitches for the Lassiter High baseball team, was hunting with his dad Jonathan. Barrett’s mentor was Brian Deriso, a close neighbor and family friend. The McCoy twins quickly proved they can shoot a rifle as well as they play baseball. They’d each had some previous experience shooting skeet with friends but never high-powered rifles. Barrett fired three shots with a CVA 6.5 Creedmoor bolt-action at 100 yards and centered the bulls-eye three times in an area the size of a quarter. Aiden’s shots grouped about the same. With that kind of skill, both of these young men have a great hunting future ahead of them.

Everyone headed for their stands at around  3 p.m. Most were box blinds overlooking food plots. Barrett, Brian and I squeezed into a ground-level box blind that covered several long and narrow food plots that angled off in different directions. We hadn’t been there five minutes when Barrett got zapped by one of the many wasps we saw flying around. He never complained.

The weather was warm and muggy. Nothing moved until close to dark. We saw one deer move across the food plot at about 150 yards, and then another that was probably a buck at about the same distance. Barrett was never offered a shot on a doe.

Even though their first deer hunt did not provide any venison, I think both McCoy brothers had an unforgettable time and the Georgia deer woods certainly hasn’t seen the last of them.

At the end of the exciting day one doe and a button buck were accounted for by two of the youngest hunters. Once back at the lodge, their smiles lit up the dark night. (Note: everyone on the hunt tried to make sure no button bucks were taken by mistake, but those things do happen).