This November, we ran our first Hunt/Range Stories Giveaway. The giveaway has closed, and we were blown away by the stories submitted. Thank you to everyone who entered! Keep an eye out for next year’s giveaway, and enjoy the winning stories, runners-up, and honorable mentions below.
Our pick for the best story:
Father and Daughter and the one that Got Away
“November 20th, 2023
The crisp morning air greeted us as my daughter and I arrived at our cherished hunting spot near Thomas Hill Lake in Mid-Missouri at the break of dawn, around 5:45am. The excitement was palpable as we quietly loaded our gear, only to realize my daughter had forgotten the magazine for her Savage rifle. Without missing a beat, I handed her my AR chambered in 6.5 Grendel, equipped with a powerful variable scope that could zoom up to 10x.
We stealthily made our way to our favorite spot on the side of a heavily wooded hill, with a steep 35-40 degree incline. Nestled between a couple of small trees, we settled in near some fresh tree scrapings we had spotted earlier that week. I encouraged my daughter to familiarize herself with the scope, adjusting it to focus on objects near and far until she felt comfortable.
As the hours ticked by, our patience was rewarded. At around 9:45am, a majestic buck emerged over a distant hill, roughly 250 yards away. He sniffed the air and looked in our direction, but we were downwind and had taken every precaution to mask our scent. Slowly, he began to move directly towards us along the same hill.
My daughter raised the rifle, her heart pounding as she tried to sight him in. The buck continued to close the distance, coming within 100 yards, then 50, and finally just 20 yards away. He sniffed the air again, looked directly at us, and then, in a heartbeat, disappeared over the hill behind us. Moments later, a thunderous BOOM echoed through the woods—someone else had taken the shot.
When I asked my daughter why she hadn’t fired, she admitted that in her excitement, she had forgotten to adjust the scope and lost sight of the buck. He was a large, young 8-point buck, even bigger than the one I had harvested earlier that week. Though we didn’t bring him home, the experience of our first hunt together was unforgettable. This year, I have no doubt she’ll be ready when the moment comes again.”
Runner up: Father and Son in South Texas
“My dad and I went on a once-in-a-lifetime guided whitetail hunt in South Texas. As the sun set on our first outing, we were amazed by the number of trophy bucks we had seen. Although these were the biggest bucks we’d ever encountered, none were mature enough to take.
As we packed up our gear in the dark and started to climb down the stand, my rifle slipped off my shoulder because I hadn’t fully attached the sling. The beautiful Winchester Model 70 fell 17 feet and ended up looking like someone had raked a saw across the checkering and barrel, with the scope’s objective bent. After a few choice words, we headed to the range to re-confirm its zero. Miraculously, the rifle was still on target.
A few amazing sits later, I was fortunate enough to take a beautiful 178” South Texas whitetail. Now, the dings in the stock remind me of those great memories—and I think I’ll keep them for now”
Honorable Mention: Covid Relief in the form of a Pheasant Hunt
“2020 was a rough year, lock down made it difficult or impossible to see many friends. That October, my brother's boss invited us to go pheasant hunting with him, his dogs, and some of my brother's co-workers. We were fully remote at school, so we didn't have to miss anything. We got to the field at 6:30am, met with everyone and went out to the field. We kept our distance, but still got to talk and hang out with one another. We walked through field after field behind the dogs. Waiting for them to Point and flush a ring-neck. That day not only did we each get our bag limit of 2, but it gave us a much needed break from the isolation that we were in. It gave us friendship and full bellies.”
Honorable Mention: Father Son and Bologna Sandwhiches
“My Dad and I on my first deer hunting trip, super excited and nervous. we had our bologna sandwiches prepped the night before. We walked, stopped, scoped all day - had those hot bologna sandwiches and they tasted so good and I was just so happy to be with my Dad and be in the forest. Unforgettable.”
Honorable Mention: Turkey Attack on the River
My dad, my brother in law and I would duck hunt every Thanksgiving morning as tradition. This Thanksgiving we settled in along the river before sunrise, I was leaned up against a tree just waiting for dawn. Just after daybreak the turkey roosting in same tree woke up and didn’t like the fact that I was there. Well I didn’t know he was there and scared the crap out of me, you could hear me scream all down the river. My dad and brother in law are both gone now, this hunt will always be my favorite.
Honorable Mention: Making it look Easy
“Last year on a very warm November Day I went hunting at my deer lease in East Texas. I climbed up into my elevated blind. In the blind I have a large leather chair that reclines back. It was 1PM about 95 degrees and I feel asleep. I am a person that snores very loud. I woke myself up from snoring so loud. I heard my cellphone notification alert and it was one of my cellular trail cameras telling me a deer was present. It was the camera 75’ from my stand. I looked up and there was an 11-point, 225 lb buck in my feeder pen. I took the shot and dropped him where he stood. Still can’t figure out why he wasn’t spooked from my loud snoring. This Hunter was very lucky that day.”
Honorable Mention: Not Used to hearing a 45/70 trap door rifle
“in SAN FRANCISCO i went to the range to shoot my new rifle. i fired one bullet and i heard the loud speaker say stop shooting. 3 people ran down to where i was. they came to see if i was ok. i said why. that loud of a bang they thought my gun blew up. i said it just was my 45/70 trap door rifle, no problem.”
Thanks again to everyone who entered! Sign up for our email list to be notified of the next story giveaway and have great rest of your day.
