One of the most significant events in my life was in the summer of 2023 in Molokai, Hawaii where I killed my first deer. It all began on my birthday when I thought I had opened all my gifts, but my dad handed me a mysterious envelope. I opened it and was confused at first, but as I started to read what the paper said, I shouted with excitement. The envelope said, “Congratulations, Colton! You have a deer hunt in Molokai, Hawaii in July.” I freaked out and started yelling at my friend as he watched me as if I was crazy. I ran around the house as fast as I could. I’d been dreaming about a deer hunt my whole life, and I couldn’t believe I had gotten one.
Four months later, I was on a plane to Molokai. There were no direct flights to Molokai, so we had to fly to Maui first. We took a small plane to Molokai, and the guide from Go Hawaii Outfitters picked us up. We stayed at an old cabin in the hills that looked over all of Molokai, and it was gorgeous. We unpacked, and our guide, Aims, took us to go to the hunting spot. We hiked to a hill and looked over where we were going to hunt. We saw a group of blackbucks, which is a type of antelope from India. There were no bucks, only does, but we decided to go watch them for a while.
We got behind a little rock about 100 yards off and sat there for a while. I decided to look at them through my binoculars, and I saw that there was a buck that had showed up. They have to be over one curl to be legal to shoot, so the guide checked if it was legal. It turned out to be two curls. I got it in the scope, but it kept stopping behind trees and other deer, so I couldn’t get a clear shot. Then, it went around the corner, so we decided to go follow him. We couldn’t seem to find him, but then we looked behind a tree and he was staring right at me 50 yards away. I got him in the scope and pulled the trigger. “Click!” The gun didn’t go off, so I racked the bolt again. I pulled the trigger, and it didn’t shoot again. They realized we were there and took off running. I was sad but also so happy. I was feeling so many different emotions.
We then went to a spot where there’s always axis deer. When we got there, there were only a few deer, not a single buck. We went back to the camp and went to bed. We woke up early the next morning and went to a new spot where we saw a small buck. We decided not to shoot it so it could grow for a while to get bigger for another hunter. We called the head guide to see if it was okay if I got a doe first because you are supposed to get a buck first and then a doe. Since it was my first deer, the boss said I could.
We found a big doe and watched it for a while. She ate at one bush for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, she started walking and got into the clear. She was 260 yards away, and I put the scope right on the front shoulder. Bang! My gun went off, and the deer dropped. We started to walk up to her, and there were beautiful white spots everywhere and beautiful colors. When I put my hands on her, I said a prayer and thanked God for letting me have this opportunity with my dad.
We field dressed the deer and got all the meat. We hiked a mile up the hill with a lot of meat in our backpacks. We got back to camp and got a lot of rest.
We woke up for the last morning praying for a big buck. We sat on top of a hill for a couple hours, and when the fog finally cleared, out stepped a giant buck. We put the gun on it, and I did a couple dry fires. When I felt like I was ready to take the shot, we racked a bullet in. I put the crosshairs right on the front shoulder and eased the trigger. Bang! The deer walked a few steps and fell over. I was shaking so much because I was so excited for this moment that I’d been waiting for my whole life.
We walked up to it and took a lot of pictures and then field dressed the deer. We packed it out to the truck, put it all in the freezer, and went to our plane. We went back to Maui for a few more days and told the story to everyone. I’ll keep telling the story for the rest of my life.
Four months later, I was on a plane to Molokai. There were no direct flights to Molokai, so we had to fly to Maui first. We took a small plane to Molokai, and the guide from Go Hawaii Outfitters picked us up. We stayed at an old cabin in the hills that looked over all of Molokai, and it was gorgeous. We unpacked, and our guide, Aims, took us to go to the hunting spot. We hiked to a hill and looked over where we were going to hunt. We saw a group of blackbucks, which is a type of antelope from India. There were no bucks, only does, but we decided to go watch them for a while.
We got behind a little rock about 100 yards off and sat there for a while. I decided to look at them through my binoculars, and I saw that there was a buck that had showed up. They have to be over one curl to be legal to shoot, so the guide checked if it was legal. It turned out to be two curls. I got it in the scope, but it kept stopping behind trees and other deer, so I couldn’t get a clear shot. Then, it went around the corner, so we decided to go follow him. We couldn’t seem to find him, but then we looked behind a tree and he was staring right at me 50 yards away. I got him in the scope and pulled the trigger. “Click!” The gun didn’t go off, so I racked the bolt again. I pulled the trigger, and it didn’t shoot again. They realized we were there and took off running. I was sad but also so happy. I was feeling so many different emotions.
We then went to a spot where there’s always axis deer. When we got there, there were only a few deer, not a single buck. We went back to the camp and went to bed. We woke up early the next morning and went to a new spot where we saw a small buck. We decided not to shoot it so it could grow for a while to get bigger for another hunter. We called the head guide to see if it was okay if I got a doe first because you are supposed to get a buck first and then a doe. Since it was my first deer, the boss said I could.
We found a big doe and watched it for a while. She ate at one bush for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, she started walking and got into the clear. She was 260 yards away, and I put the scope right on the front shoulder. Bang! My gun went off, and the deer dropped. We started to walk up to her, and there were beautiful white spots everywhere and beautiful colors. When I put my hands on her, I said a prayer and thanked God for letting me have this opportunity with my dad.
We field dressed the deer and got all the meat. We hiked a mile up the hill with a lot of meat in our backpacks. We got back to camp and got a lot of rest.
We woke up for the last morning praying for a big buck. We sat on top of a hill for a couple hours, and when the fog finally cleared, out stepped a giant buck. We put the gun on it, and I did a couple dry fires. When I felt like I was ready to take the shot, we racked a bullet in. I put the crosshairs right on the front shoulder and eased the trigger. Bang! The deer walked a few steps and fell over. I was shaking so much because I was so excited for this moment that I’d been waiting for my whole life.
We walked up to it and took a lot of pictures and then field dressed the deer. We packed it out to the truck, put it all in the freezer, and went to our plane. We went back to Maui for a few more days and told the story to everyone. I’ll keep telling the story for the rest of my life.