Killing your first deer is a rite of passage for many youth in the Southeast.
A father (or mother) will teach the child and guide them into the woods for the kill.
It’s a ritual as old as hunting itself.
But for some, hunting isn’t a priority or a concern, so for them, there is no meaning behind it.
Still, some people, at a later age, find themselves in a place in life where they feel they have missed out.
With some encouragement from her husband Paul, Pamela Nelson decided to take on the challenge of getting her first kill.
After testing her hand predominantly at bow hunting over the past several years, the task of killing a deer proved to be an elusive one.
Then a bit of luck struck for Pam and Paul.
Due to a winning draw, the couple were awarded with a three day hunt at Panther Swamp, a hunt that would be taken with rifles.
On November 19, the hunt began.
The day drifted by and does were seen, but Pam was unable to make a kill, leaving two days left of hunting.
Day number two came and went without much fanfare, and the trip was dwindling down without the prize they went for.
For a minute, it seemed as if Pam’s kill would stay elusive.
Then came the final day of the trip.
Pam and Paul consulted with each other and decided they would move and check out another spot of land in Panther Swamp for their final day.
The move paid off.
At about 4 p.m. on the final day of the hunt, Pam killed her first deer.
And it was a beauty.
Pam’s deer was a 20-inch, 13-point buck that weighed 230 pounds.
According to Pam, everything happened so quickly that she didn’t even have time to feel nerves.
“I knew it was a buck when it came out, but it all happened so fast,” Pam said. “It came out from behind a tree about 25 yards away. There were two bucks, and I killed the smaller of the two because it was closest to me. I shot it from the ground, so I had to move quickly. I didn’t have time to be nervous.”
The moment was one of jubilation and fulfillment.
Despite watching his wife kill a monster deer, Paul felt no jealousy over the moment.
“He had been working for me to kill a deer for years now,” Pam said. “He’s the one that taught me how to shoot. He taught me everything about hunting. He wasn’t jealous at all. He was happy that I killed my first deer, and he was happy with its size.”
And with that kill, Pam completed her rite of passage.
