The One That Got Away Essay, Research Paper

The One That Got Away

……… It is a ?96 opening morning quota hunt. The sun has been up for about ten

minutes now. I still can?t see much though. The sun is starting to come over the

surrounding hillsides. A foggy morning. I am beginning to be able to see the trees and

other vegetation around me. I hear a stick snap to my left…..followed by a rustling of

leaves. It?s definitely got four legs….probably a squirrel. Not getting any brighter. The

clouds and fog are blocking the sun out. The sticks are still snapping and getting

louder to my left. My heart begins to pound…..it?s definitely a deer. I can see the

outline now, it?s coming closer. I?m not sure if it?s a buck or a doe… it doesn?t matter,

they all taste the same. The deer is closer now… much closer. About thirty yards to

the left. I begin to raise my .30-.30 Marlin rifle. I haven?t shot a deer with it yet… it?s

new. A birthday present. As the gun nears my shoulder, and the deer nears me I flip

the safety off and pull the hammer back. The crosshairs are on the kill-zone, and my

finger tight on the trigger… one more move will fire the gun. As I am squeezing the

trigger for the shot I hear a grunt. Not from this deer, but from the top of the hill. It?s

too foggy to see very far, so I let the hammer down and wait. Another grunt. Closer.

My leg begins to shake; my heart pounds. The deer comes out of the fog and heads

toward the one already here. Again the gun comes to my shoulder and galls in the

kill-zone of the deer. Hammer back… the gun fires! The deer falls to the ground. It?s

still alive, but not by much. I jack another shell into the chamber, but decide against

firing into the deer a second time. I am waiting for my dad to come up the hill watching

the last breaths of the buck. A first buck for me, I can?t wait to see him up close.

Suddenly, my whole life spins and takes a sharp turn… the deer is up!!! I have a shell

in the chamber, but it is too foggy and cannot follow through with the shot! My dad

reaches the top, we look for blood finally finding a small pool where the buck first laid.

We follow drops for several hours, final ending in a dead end. The deer is gone.

Maybe next year.