Kids Outdoor Outpost – November 2015

Lasting Memories

As readers of GON, we’ve all seen the pictures of those outstanding, large-antlered bucks. If you’re like me, you catch yourself daydreaming that someday you will be pictured in GON with your big buck. 

As my sons have grown up, I take great delight in flipping through the pictures of their harvests. Those pictures remind me of my first deer, a nice 7-point buck. The picture, however, shows me with a mean look on my face, the buck’s tongue hanging out, blood on its hide and hung on a skinning pole inside a barn. Unfortunately, no one offered any tips on how to properly pose the picture.

Many of us have seen deer harvests on social media. Some of those pictures are pretty poor. This season I have seen a doe strapped to a truck bumper, one with a rifle pointed at the photographer, another with a blood streaming out of the deer’s mouth, one with the tongue hanging out and some with huge wounds where the broadhead or bullet exited. 

As young hunters, you might not know what it takes to make a good photo. But understand this: Five percent  of our country hunts, 5 percent despise hunters, and the remaining 90 percent are influenced by our actions, such a posting disrespectful photos of a harvest. So below are some photo tips.

• Try to take the photo quickly after the kill and near the kill site. The intensity of the moment will clearly show in your face. If you take it later, the deer will most likely be stiff and hard to pose. Most cell phones today have decent cameras, so you don’t need to haul a nice camera to the woods.

• If it’s daylight, make sure the sun is not behind the hunter, so you don’t create a shadow on your face.

• Tuck the deer’s tongue back in its mouth, or cut it off. Wipe the mouth clean of blood, dirt or leaves. 

• If there’s an entrance or exit hole that will be in the picture, wipe it clean. 

• Avoid pictures on a skinning pole, tied to the back of a 4-wheeler, or in a truck bed or garage floor. 

• If it’s a buck, rotate the head so you can see all the tines.

• If possible, fold the front legs under the body.

• If you want to lay your gun over the deer’s body, make sure it’s pointed away from anyone, and the gun action is open. 

• I like to lie down and take the picture looking slightly up.

• Make sure the hunter smiles! 

• Assuming you are a GON subscriber (or a dependant of a GON subscriber), all bucks should be entered in the Truck-Buck contest (even if there’s no chance to win a Week of Truck-Buck). Here’s a little secret for you: GON publishes every youth entry that is entered in the contest.

To become a GON subscriber, sign up at www.gon.com or call (800) 438-4663.