Emma commented on "how heavy the gun was" and I told her that was a good thing in her case. We are not allowed to use true rifles in IN - only a rifle that shoots what is traditionally a handgun round (.357 mag , .44 mag , .45 LC & the like) - I don't have one of those in a rifle as I have only 16 days to hunt deer with it and I prefer my 12 gauge or smoke-pole anyway. Those guns get pretty pricey for only using it for 16 days a year. She was a little rattled by the smoke and fire out of the barrel when I shot it last weekend and I think that is what caused her to back away. I wasn't going to press as I feared it would do more harm than good. She did just fine last night and is asking when we get to shoot it again, so that is a good sign. She wanted to use my slug gun and I told her I didn't think she was ready for that! I will limit her range to pretty close to archery ranges as I KNOW she is going to be more excited than she has ever been before if a deer does step out. I've been there, saw my boy go thru it as well as another youngster. Being a part of that moment is one of the most rewarding I can think of as a hunter. Keep your B&C deer - give me that excitement and rush of a youngster and their first deer! All the locations I am taking her will have a steady rest for her to shoot from and all overlook plots so with a little luck she can get a crack at one. I'll let her shoot any deer she wants - even the young buck with all the potential I posted in the trail cam thread recently. It would suck to loose that deer at such a young age, but....it's a deer. I'll take a memory of a lifetime over the "potential" of any buck any day when it comes to taking kids for their first deer!
