Bill Pollock sets his sights on a potential harvest as sunset nears in Gasconade County.

Bill Pollock sets his sights on a potential harvest as sunset nears in Gasconade County.

It was “D-Day” for me…as in deer.  After spending the last couple of months becoming a certified hunter through the Missouri Department of Conservation, and hitting the range for practice, I got my warm clothes and hunter orange, picked up my tags and now I’m finally ready for my first hunt.

I was joined by Kyle Lairmore, Hunting Education and Shooting Range Coordinator from the conservation department, as we headed out to Pigg Hollow Farms in Gasconade County.

We set out in the afternoon after lunch and got set up in our elevated blind just after 2 p.m.  After we got settled into the blind, I tried to take in my surroundings, using landmarks, such as trees, or different shades of coloring in the field to help determine distances that I knew would be within my shooting range of 150 yards and closer.

Then I scanned the field looking for any deer movement and kept my own movements and talking to a minimum.  In our third Google Hangout of this series on Adult Onset Hunting, you’ll hear Kyle and I talk about how perceptive deer are of their surroundings.  When you enter their environment, they are very in tune with things around them.

The biggest question I was asked by my family and friends was if I was nervous when I set my sights on my first harvest.

Yeah, I was excited, but I have been waiting for this opportunity.  For the last few weeks, I’ve visualized how I would approach my first attempt.  Constantly reminding myself to stay calm, control my breathing and to remember the most important aspect of a hunt is to go for a quick, clean, harvest.

My biggest concern was that I didn’t want to rush a shot, or take a bad shot with a low success rate to where I would just wound the deer and that’s not what I wanted to do.

I was more excited seeing a buck through the brush and then when I saw three yearlings and a doe behind us, but once I decided to make an attempt, I actually felt calm and confident for my first harvest.

How would things actually workout?  Watch our Hangout as we take your through my first day of hunting from start to finish.