8-year-old boy snags 1st doe

The first deer hunting season of 8-year-old Galliano native Blaze Gisclair’s life will be one that both he and his relatives will remember forever.

Sure, it took a few hunts to get the jitter-bugs out of the little guy’s stomach. That’s common for any rookie up in the stand for the first time.

But it all ended in triumph when Blaze took the gun, calmed himself and made the perfect shot to drop the doe he’d long pursued.

The young boy harvested a beautiful doe during a winter trip in Scooba, Mississippi this past January at the family’s hunting lease.

The doe was his first-ever – a cause for celebration for the young marksman who said he wants to harvest many more in his hunting career.

For Blaze’s uncle Matthew Mayberry, the trip is one that he said he’ll remember forever because it was a moment in which he realized that both he and his nephew were bonding while doing something they both loved.

“It was awesome,” Blaze said with a laugh when asked about his successful day. “I had been wanting to kill one, so when I finally did it, it felt good. It was a lot of fun.”

“It was the best hunt I’ve ever had,” the uncle added to the young hunter’s words. “Seeing how excited and happy he was, it made that hunt one that I’ll never forget – that’s for sure.”

For Blaze, the harvest was the exclamation point on his first true deer hunting season.

The young hunter said that this past winter was the first time that he’d taken trips with his family to the deer lease – even though he’d harvested rabbits, birds and other animals in his early childhood.

Blaze’s hunting schedule was a bit limited this past winter because a lot of his weekends were spent playing Biddy Basketball. But every break from the hoops hardwood offered him the opportunity to take trips to Scooba with family.

Mayberry said that in Blaze’s first trip, he wasn’t yet ready to take a shot – he was a bit in awe of his surroundings.

But the family took a second trip to Mississippi during the New Year’s holiday. During that time, the plan was to take three, separate hunts.

On the first hunt, Mayberry said there was a lot of activity, but Blaze still wasn’t quite ready to take a shot.

“I was very nervous,” Blaze said. “We saw a bunch, but I couldn’t get a good shot.”

“We saw nine deer, but he just couldn’t get a shot because his hands were shaking too much,” Mayberry said. “Blaze had deer fever bad.”

As the activity slowed, the uncle/nephew duo headed back to preserve their energies for the rest of the day. On the way, Mayberry offered Blaze a little advice – some words of wisdom that would come in handy later in the trip.

“I just kept on telling him that he could do it,” Mayberry remembered. “I told him that he needed to pretend that it was just a rabbit because he’s so used to shooting those. He doesn’t get nervous with rabbits at all. So we got us a bite to eat and then headed back into the same stand.”

With food in his belly and a second chance, Blaze got his doe.

Blaze said that once they got back into the stand, they saw a couple deer at a distance, but they were too far away for him to get a good shot.

A few minutes later, three more approached and were about 80 yards away.

“I got my gun, and told myself that this is it,” Blaze said. “I was very, very nervous.”

“When he aimed, the last thing I told him was to pretend like it’s a rabbit,” Mayberry said.

The doe turned and faced the stand. The uncle estimates it stood still for about a minute while Blaze sized her up with gun in-hand. To the anxious by-stander, those seconds felt like an eternity.

The doe then turned its back to the stand, presenting a better shot for the hunter.

“I was just saying to myself, ‘Don’t miss,’” Blaze said when asked his thoughts while aiming the gun. “I wanted to make my shot count.”

“I told Blaze to take the shot whenever he was ready,” Mayberry added. “Before I could finish saying that, he pulled the trigger and took his shot.”

BANG!

The bullet glided through the air and was at its destination within the blink of an eye.

Blaze took his eyes from the barrel of his gun and looked up.

The doe was hit flush. She didn’t even take another step. She dropped in her tracks.

At that moment, both uncle and hunter realized that Blaze had did it! He’d just harvested his first deer.

“When I saw that the doe dropped, it really felt so good,” Blaze said. “I was so excited. I think that that’s something that I’m always going to remember, because being able to do that was a lot of fun.”

Of course, the first-ever harvest comes with tradition. The blood of the doe was smeared on the young child’s skin to symbolize the new accomplishment that he’d conquered.

He said the entire experience is one that he will never forget – something that he hopes to experience countless more times.

“I want to do it again – many times,” Blaze said. “That was something that was a lot of fun. I think that next time I won’t be as nervous anymore.”

Blaze Gisclair, 8, smiles after harvesting this doe in Mississippi. It was the first-ever harvest for the Galliano native, who said hunting is one of his favorite hobbies.

COURTESY PHOTO