By Nate Skinner for Lone Star Outdoor News
Two first-time youth hunters made the best of tough hunting conditions during a Texas Youth Hunting Program deer and hog hunt on the Clawson Family Ranch near Flat. Both hunters capitalized on shot opportunities by harvesting two animals each during a single outing in the blind.
“I’ve heard my dad tell stories about different hunting adventures, and I wanted to have some of my own to tell,” said first-time hunter Connor Kelsey, of Longview.
The 11-year-old began his adventure, his dad by his side, with some early frustrations. During his first morning sit in a blind, he shot at and missed a doe.
“The sun was shining in my face and I had a hard time getting the crosshairs steadied on my target,” Kelsey admitted. “I jerked on the trigger pull and ended up hitting a rock on the ground in the area where the deer was standing.”
After the mishap, Kelsey’s guide and father both helped to make light of the situation by telling him he needed to get revenge on the rock that caught his bullet. Kelsey took his misfortune to heart, and spent some time at the range, shoot- ing his .270 rifle before occupying a stand later that evening.
During the evening hunt, four hogs showed up in the field Kelsey was overlooking.
“The pigs were constantly moving in and out of the brush, without giving me a good shot,” Kelsey said. “One of the hogs finally broke away from the other three and started approaching the feeder. The others wandered off.”
The pig finally gave him a broadside shot at about 170 yards, and he took it.
“This was my first ever hog to shoot at and he immediately dropped,” Kelsey said. “I was pumped.”
Minutes later, a group of does showed up and Kelsey made an excellent shot on a mature one in the group.
“The doe fell instantly, too,” he said.
Scott Spears, a 14-year-old from Houston, also attended the hunt with his older brother, Eron Torres.
“He likes hunting and I think it’s cool that we both have that in common with each other, even though he is much older than me,” Spears said.
During an evening hunt, Spears harvested two does with his .270, after not encountering any deer earlier that morning.
“Early in the evening, three does appeared at the edge of the brush, over 200 yards away,” Spears explained. “I watched them for over an hour as they slowly made their way toward the blind. When they got to about 100 yards, I took a shot on the one that looked to be the heaviest.”
Spears had to track the doe into the brush to find her. After locating her and confirming that she had expired, he reentered the blind to see what else might show up.
“Just a few minutes later, a single doe began approaching the feeder I was over-looking alongside some bucks,” Spears said. “She gave me a decent shot opportunity at about 50 yards away.”
They tracked the doe 100 yards before re- covering her.
“Having my bother there with me in the blind gave me more confidence about what I was doing,” Spears said.
Both youngsters said one of their favorite things about the event was meeting other kids their age from different areas of the state that were also interested in hunting.
Kesley said he will never forget how he was able to improve his shooting skills be- tween sits, and harvest two animals, back to back, while Spears said he fell in love with the feeling that he got while sitting in the blind and waiting on a deer to give him a shot opportunity.
“The excitement you experience as a deer hunter in the blind is one like no other,” he said. “I can’t get enough of it.”
