Grampa is fast!

by Darren
(Seattle, Washington)

This is my favorite story my Dad used to tell us when we were out deer hunting in Eastern Washington, I was only able to hunt with my Grandfather a couple of times before he passed away.

Back in the early seventies my Dad and his Father were hunting Mule Deer in our favorite spot in Eastern Washington, a wide open hilly landscape with only tall grass and sagebrush as cover.

It was opening morning and Grandpa was sitting atop this peak as the sun was coming up watching for deer.

All of a sudden he sees a nice 4×4 buck coming up the hill toward him about 80 yards away coming straight for him, he pulls his rifle up and takes aim, due to the sagebrush and the fact that the buck is coming straight for him he decides to take a head shot since that’s all that is presented to him.

He fires and boom the deer goes down, Grandpa walks down the hill and quickly tags the nice buck and gets his knife to start gutting the big boy out, as soon as he attempts to start gutting the buck jumps up and runs off.

Next thing you know my Grandpa hears a shot ring out and down goes the big buck, my Grandpa runs up the hill after the deer and he also sees another hunter quickly walking up the hill towards the buck.

Both of them arrive at the deer and the other hunter tells my Grandpa that it’s his deer and that he shot it, my Grandpa looks at the other hunter and says yeah, but it’s got my tag on it, the other hunter looked down and saw the metal band on the buck’s antlers and said well if you’re that god damn fast you can have him.

To this day my Dad loves telling that story, apparently my Grandpa’s shot only knocked the buck out but it makes for one of our all time favorite hunting memories of him.