Spotlight Kid

Killian Wilson

By: Killian Wilson

My name is Killian Wilson and I am a freshman this year at Bend Senior High School. I have been hunting with my family and friends since I could walk and have taken two deer in the last two years! As June came around I was excited and hoping that I drew a few of my tags. Unfortunately I didn't draw any of them.
So, instead of our usual methods of spot and stock rifle hunting, me, my granpa and uncle decided to try our hand at archery hunting in a blind this past season. Just after we got the news that we didn't draw any tags the bows came out of their case. After shooting my old bow for a couple of days I soon realized that I was maxing out the draw weight on it but I still couldn't reach out 50 yards. Thankfully my good friend and mentor, Steve Bradbury had a brand new bow that he had never used so he gave it to me. With my new bow in hand I was easily hitting out at 50 yards!
After weeks of scouting, preperation and blind building we finally got setup and before I knew it it was opening morning. We got up before the sun and anxiously headed out to our hunting spot. While we were sitting there, about five shooter bucks walked in towards our blind. As the first shooting light came I stood up and settled my pin on a big tall five by five.  I watched my arrow sail under its stomch and my heart sank.
About three more days went by without any shots presented. Then on the fourth morning we had nice big forked horn come in and my grandpa made a great shot! After cleaning his deer we were sitting in the blind when my uncle said, "It sure would make our trip worth while if got another deer." Right as he said that a four point came trotting in. It would step out from behind the junipers for a few seconds then dart behind a tree again. This happend about three more times, like it was playing hide-and-go-seek.
Finally, he stepped out at 17 yards. I took a deep breath, drew my bow and let it fly. He only went 90 yards before he expired. As we walked up to him I was speechless because all of our hard work had paid off. Not only was this  my first archery kill but my first four point! It is definitely a hunt I will never forget!