Hunter: Greyson Brady
Points: 8 (4L, 4R)
County: Cherokee
Season: 2020-2021
Hunt Story
My son and I decided to go hunting Sunday afternoon. This guy had previously gone with me Friday afternoon, Saturday morning, and Saturday afternoon and even though we saw deer every time they just wouldn't present the right shot that I felt comfortable letting him take. On Sunday afternoon we settled into the stand around 4:30 PM. We were sitting in a ground blind and I have it set up so my son can shoot directly in front of him with a rest. At 5:00 PM I noticed some movement to my left side. It was a buck heading directly to the small clearing which was out in front of us. I told my son to get ready in which he did. After the buck started into the clearing it stopped and stared directly at the blind. It was not in my son's shooting window or view. It stood there for about 10 minutes and then turned around and ran off. My son was so upset because he didn't even get to see the deer. I told him it would probably come back if he just sat really still and didn't move. At around 6:00 I noticed the buck again and it was heading into the clearing. I had closed all the windows on the blind except for the one he was shooting out of. This time the buck didn't seem spooked and came out right in front of us at 15 yards away. Greyson took for what I thought was eternity to pull the trigger but it was probably only 2-3 minutes. Once he pulled the trigger I heard a loud thump and the deer ran into a thicket. We waited around thirty minutes to go see if we could find the arrow so it was probably 6:30 PM at this point. We found the arrow and it had very little blood on it and I didn't see much blood on the ground. The sun was starting to set and instead of risking pushing the deer, in case his shot wasn't good, I decided to back out for the night and give him time to expire. The next morning my son went to school and I was in the woods at daylight to search for the buck. I found him piled up a very short distance from where he was shot. I was so excited my son had gotten his first deer ever and for it to be an 8-point with a crossbow was even better. I wanted him to get to experience the thrill of finding the deer and helping me get him out of the woods, just like I did with my Dad, so I went and checked him out of school. We went back to where the buck was and retrieved his first deer together! The look on his face the moment he saw his deer will be forever cherished.
