Year Of The Huntress
By: Brian Kightlinger
The author and his daughter, Abby, doing what they love.
My 13-year-old daughter, Abby, loves to hunt. She has diligently hunted since she was 10 years of age. Abby has had some successful seasons where she has filled her deer tags, yet she has never been successful hunting turkeys. Early in 2019, Abby told me she really wanted to harvest a turkey. This would be her first goal for the 2019 season.
The 2019 Youth Turkey hunt was quickly approaching when I received a call from Dan Kuzma. Dan wanted to invite Abby to his house to hunt turkeys. He was seeing gobblers almost every day, and he asked if she wanted to try her luck on a Pennsylvania Longbeard. Abby was excited, so we planned on heading to Dan's for the Saturday opener.
On the morning of the Youth Turkey Season, my alarm didn't go off. Luckily, my internal clock always seems to wake me up around 5:30 am. As I jumped out of bed, I realized we were going to be running late. I called Dan to let him know what happened, and then I woke up Abby. Abby and I dressed frantically and headed out the door.
The sun was coming up as we were arriving at Dan's house. Dan met us in the driveway and showed us to the blind. He reassured Abby that we were not late and that the birds always took their sweet time getting to his property. Abby and I got things set up, and Dan headed back to his house to watch from an upstairs window.
Dan was right; it took a little bit of time before we could hear any gobblers. Abby wanted me to make a few calls, so I did. In no time, there was a lovesick longbeard headed our way. The gobbler crossed a small creek and presented Abby with a 20-yard shot.
The turkey dropped and flopped on the spot. The Mossberg 20 gauge had done the job. Abby was shocked and amazed. She hurried out of the blind to look at her first turkey. Dan heard the shot and came down to congratulate Abby on her PA gobbler. Abby grinned like the Cheshire cat when Dan and I took pictures. The bird had a 9-inch beard and 1-inch spurs.
Abby Kightlinger grins ear-to-ear with her first-ever turkey harvest.
Abby's 2019 season started off with great success, and she was looking forward to the fall archery season. During the summer I purchased 12 acres near my home. We set up some Spypoint trail cameras and waited to see what was on the property. Daily, I would show Abby pictures of deer that were visiting the property, and a few of the bucks were looking pretty nice.
The Pennsylvania archery season arrived. We all were very busy, but we made sure to pick out a few evenings a week to hunt. Abby and I saw a ton of bucks each time we took to the stand. Every time a buck would show up, Abby would look it over very carefully. She passed up at least 10 bucks, and I was beginning to wonder if she would ever pull the trigger on anything.
Abby in the stand with her crossbow scanning for any deer movement.
November brought the rut and the first snowfall. On November 8th, Abby and I headed out to the stand for an evening sit. Before we got set, a nice eight point came out of the swamp and made an appearance. He didn't stay long before heading back into the swamp. Abby was hoping that he would return but I knew he was long gone.
About forty-five minutes later we could hear two bucks fighting near us. Abby got her can call out and turned it a few times. Soon we watched as a nice six point was walking our way. The buck was looking for the doe who called out to him. He stopped at the mock scrape we placed long enough for Abby to put a Grim Reaper broadhead into his vitals. The buck didn't go more than forty yards before he was down.
Surprised by what just happened, we looked at each other and cheered. Together we packed everything up and went to look for Abby's BEA Executioner bolt. The BEA bolt was easy to find, since it had a red GloryNock on it. Abby grabbed her bolt, and we slowly made our way to her buck. She was so excited to have killed her largest whitetail with her crossbow.
Abby with her six-point whitetail harvest, which she took on her crossbow.
With archery season over and her buck tag punched, Abby was hoping to fill one of her antlerless doe tags during the Pennsylvania rifle season. Abby and I went out a few times after school, but without any success. We did see many deer, but none of them presented us with a shot. With only a few days left in rifle season, Abby was getting anxious.
Friday, December 13th was the second to last day of the rifle season. Abby and I had school all day, and we rushed home to get into the tree stand. It was almost 4:00 in the afternoon when we finally settled into the stand. Abby had her Savage .243 with her, and she patiently waited for any sign of movement. The wind and weather couldn't have been more perfect for an evening sit.
Even thought the sun was still out, the full moon was already bright, and Abby had commented on how pretty she thought it looked. While she was looking at the moon, I saw movement in the distance. I got Abby's attention, and she saw the two deer heading our way. Abby readied her Savage rifle and waited for the deer to stop.
The deer slowly closed the distance and finally stopped 15 yards away. Abby was ready, and the .243 barked. The deer dropped in its tracks and hardly moved. She made a perfect and ethical shot. She ejected the shell carefully, grabbed it, and placed it in her pocket. This was only her second deer with a rifle. She wanted to keep the shell casing and put it on her dresser. She smiled and began to tear up.
Abby with her doe, which she took on her Savage .243. She donated the deer to her local VFW.
As Abby fought back tears, I asked her why she was sad. She explained that she was sad, because the deer had kicked a few times when it was down. This was a great teachable experience, and I took full advantage of the moment. As I explained to Abby that her feelings were natural, she began to feel better. I reassured her that it was fine to feel the way she did. She saw it as a weakness, and I told her it was a natural way that we show the animal respect.
As the sun began to set, the full moon got brighter, and we descended the ladder stand and went to her deer. In the remaining light, she tagged the deer, and I took a few pictures. As we walked back to the truck, dragging the deer, Abby decided she wanted to donate her harvest to the local VFW Game Dinner. I told her that she could donate the deer if she wanted.
Abby's 2019 hunting season was a huge success, and I am extremely happy to have spent every minute with her. I love watching as she learns something new each time we head out to hunt. The conversations we have are great, and I soak in each moment. I know in the blink of an eye she will be all grown up and heading off for greater adventures. The 2019 season is one I won't soon forget!
Brian Kightlinger is an avid hunter, writer, guide and educator. He lives in northwestern Pennsylvania. Find him at: https://www.litfoutdoors.com.
