So my son has hunted the previous two youth seasons with the crossbow and he really wasn't into it. He went with me a few times as well during archery and firearms season. This year he decided he finally wanted to use his gun. I bought him a .50 caliber Rossi Miniloader about 3 years ago and that was the gun of choice. He shot it last weekend and was dead on and we were ready to go. We've had a trail cam out at the property we bought in January for about a month now. It was at the very back of our property along a creek bed. We had plenty of pictures of a couple does, fawns and a button buck. Nothing with real antlers, but since he's never killed anything any deer would do. We got to the blind this morning about 6:30. I had to still get the orange on all the sides and I had that done in about 5 minutes. We had the blind overlooking the creek bottom that had the pics from the trail cam. It is about a 15 yard drop from the blind to the creek bottom, but that's where we expected the deer to be. Nothing was moving in the creek bottom for while, but my son decided to just look to the back of us out his side window and when he turned back to me his eyes were the size of half dollars. He told me there was a deer right behind the blind that neither of us had heard come down the hillside. He was all excited. I told him to just keep an eye on it and figure out where it was moving so we could set up. Finally it started moving towards my side of the blind and we were getting all prepared to take a shot out my side window. He was kneeling in my corner of the blind right in front of me with the muzzleloader facing to the back of the blind out my side window. He proceeds to say, "oh there's two, no there's three of them!" I said do you have one in the scope and he said yes and was ready to shoot but I had to tell him to wait because the edge of the barrel was aiming into the blind. Then he really started to get excited and moving all over trying to get into position to get a shot. At one point he said a deer was looking right at him and that's when I heard them head back the way they came from. I had to literally tell him to calm down, breathe, and everything will work out. He moved back to his side of the blind, out his side window, and I got the shooting stick set up over there for him. I can't see what's going on at this point because the back of the blind is closed and I can't see backwards out of his side window. He said one is just standing there and he had one in the scope. I finally had to get out of my chair and stand beside him to see what was going on. He cocked the hammer back, clicked the safety off, and I told him if he had a clear shot to take it. The deer was standing nearly broadside, holding still, just looking back towards the blind. He took a few seconds and pulled the trigger. Once the smoked cleared the deer had dropped straight to the ground. We were absolutely ecstatic and going crazy. Then the deer decided he wasn't dead yet and reared up and jumped straight down the hill about 30 yards straight down. He tried to get a second shot in him, but missed on that one with all the excitement. By the time the third shot was reloaded the deer was not moving and we presumed he was dead. Meanwhile one of the other deer had turned around and was walking back towards us and Eli was thinking he could get a second one for the morning. I made him wait so I could look at the deer and it was then I saw the deer had one antler and he had to let that one walk. We then walked down the hill to his deer only to find to our amazement it was a piebald. We knew it was a buck, but had no idea it had white patches all over it. I guarantee this is a day I will never forget and it will take me a good while to get off this high. I can't be more proud of my son for holding it all together and making the first shot count. On a sidenote, it was pretty wild because my son had asked earlier in the morning about if a white deer comes by, and then the one he shoots is piebald and we had no idea this deer was around. Enough of the long story, but I could talk about this for days. Deer is finally all packaged up, in the freezer, and the hide and head are also in there with us waiting to decide what to do with it. I'm thinking euro mount and getting the hide tanned. Here's a few of the pics.

Wow, what an awesome story!
I was feeling yall's excitement almost as if I was there with ya!
I am very tickled for you Dave... and even more so for Eli.... a BIG CONGRATS to him on a unique deer!!!

That's what it's all about! Congrats!!

^^^^ +1

congrats!

Cool deer!!

Congrats, what a great story.

Yessir can't beat that! Congrats!

Congrats on your piebald buck! Not many of them around! h.h.

Congrats and what a great story enjoy that every time your in a stand this year and beyond

Great deer!! congrats

Thanks fellas. I am still on quite the high myself. One of the coolest things I've ever been a part of. I will admit I was nearly brought to tears when it all sank in. Something I will never ever forget. Tradition!

Great stuff! Congrats!

Congratulations!!!

Congrats to the young deer hunter (and to Dad) on such a unique trophy!

Congrats on a fine and unique deer! Way to go!

Very Cool. Americana at its best. Great Job!

Congrats