Taking a 20-point buck

SUBMITTED BY KRISTINA MAJOR
Caysen Major, 10, of Burlington Junction, is shown with a 20-point, non-typical deer that he took during last weekend’s youth portion of the firearms deer season.

That morning we started in a field, it was still really dark and we weren’t paying that much attention. We were eating snacks. It was probably 7 or 7:15, and my dad was like I think I see something in the corner over there.

I got my binoculars up and they were foggy, so I said, “are you sure?”

He said “I think it’s the one we’ve been watching all summer,” and I was like “Are you kidding?”

I thought he was talking about a different deer, so I got up my gun to look at the deer through my scope since it was clearer just to see what it was and was like that’s a doe. Dad looked in his binoculars and was like that is a doe, you’re looking at the wrong spot. And then my dad told me to put the scope and look closer to the ditch.

I was like “Oh, OK now I see the deer you’re talking about.”

I think that is a buck because I can see the top part of the antlers that just looked normal. He said, “Do you want to take your chances?” Because we didn’t really know if it was (the one they had been watching all summer), and he asked if I’d hate him forever if it wasn’t him, the buck we’d been watching.

I said no because it’s a big bodied deer and it’s massive. So I aimed right behind the front shoulder and we were about 100 yards away. I aimed closer to the shoulder and I just shot. Then I saw the top of his rack, it looked kind of like a bubble.

Then my dad was like “You got him” and we gave each other knuckles. Then I said OK let’s get down there to see if it was him.

We didn’t have to wait because it was a good shot, the deer kicked its leg. So we went down there and my dad was like “Close your eyes just in case it’s not him.”

We got in the pickup and drove down there and I saw his white belly from where he fell. So I closed my eyes and dad pulled up on his side and whispered “yes” but I didn’t hear him. I asked if I could go look. He sighed and said you can go look, I’m sorry. Then I walked around the truck and asked “What is it, a doe?”

Then I looked over and I saw its rack (the very one) we had seen on camera all summer. And I said “Oh my gosh!” I gave my dad a hug and then I held up the rack and I counted them out loud, 20 points. And I said, “This has to be a record or something.”

We had to have my Uncle Colt come help us load it up because it was so fat. We took it around to show everybody in my family and they all were impressed.