A seasoned pharmaceutical sales rep daydreamed of a new hobby — hunting. Kyle Tugwell asked his wife for a specific rifle and scope for Christmas last year, and Santa came through.
“I wanted a new hobby and to pursue hunting, he said.
Tugwell didn’t grow up with the activity and never had a chance to go, nor did he have any idea how to get involved.
But when he overheard a conversation at a pharmaceutical sales meeting, Tugwell took note. The conversation was about another rep’s first deer hunt with the Lone Star Outdoor News Foundation.
The 61-year-old approached David Sweet and Jerrod Smith to talk about Smith’s hunt (covered in the Jan. 8, 2022 issue of Lone Star Outdoor News) and said he had an interest in hunting.
“How do we do that,” he asked.
Sweet, a foundation board member, replied, “We can make it happen.”
Tugwell’s wife purchased the rifle, a Christensen 6.5PRC with a Leupold scope. He’s still waiting for his Silencer Central suppressor. He went to a shooting school in his Amarillo hometown to learn to shoot.
On the first morning of the hunt, they saw a lot of young deer and the new hunter watched and learned about deer behavior.
Over the few days of hunting, Tugwell spent more than 15 hours in a deer blind. He plans to get involved with the Panhandle Chapter of Dallas Safari Club. While looking at his phone, he asked, “Which DSC membership should I buy?”
As Tugwell was perusing the DSC Auction Catalog in the blind, his guide David Sams apologized to the new hunter.
“You’re about to spend a lot of money,” he said.
The next three hunts were similar. Young deer came in, but the older, bigger bucks stayed away.
Finally, the fifth hunt was different. Tugwell and Sams got in the blind early, around 2:30 p.m., but even though the moon had just set, it was a quiet start.
“We didn’t see anything until 4:30,” Tugwell said. “Then a doe, a buck fawn and a broken-up buck showed up. We were surprised there weren’t a lot of deer coming in. But when one did come in, there weren’t any distractions.”
While watching a button buck, Sams told him there was another buck coming in. Tugwell asked Sams about the buck as it walked off.
“He’s a mature buck,” Sams said. “Go ahead and put the rifle out the window and we’ll see if he comes back.”
The buck returned quickly and presented nearly a broadside shot. Wearing earmuffs and not hearing the go-ahead from Sams, he glanced toward his guide.
“He gave me a thumb’s up,” Tugwell said. “While I was getting ready to shoot, the deer started to bolt but only went 10 feet and stopped again. Then, I was ready and didn’t hesitate.”
The buck was angled with his front legs separated.
“His left leg was out in front, so I followed instructions and aimed for the opposite front leg,” Tugwell said.
The shot was a solid hit and the buck jumped four feet at impact and ran.
“I wanted to see him drop right there,” Tugwell said. “We walked out there and didn’t find any blood. When we crested a little hill, we couldn’t see him.”
Sams stopped at a cedar tree and knew the buck was close.
“I could smell him,” he said. “He was on the other side of the tree.”
The 6-year-old 8-pointer was a heavy deer, weighing 170 pounds field-dressed.
“When I saw him, I was proud,” Tugwell said. “I was getting a little nervous — I’ve been wanting to do this. It took a little while for it to soak in.”
Sams had walked off to get the truck and give the new hunter some time with his first animal.
“When I came back with the truck, he was standing with his hands in the air, pumping his fist,” Sams said.
Tugwell said he was eventually interested in international hunting but wanted more experience first.
“I look forward to whatever hunts I can have,” he said. “This foundation hunt has been a blessing.”
