Nick C., a co-founder of the Bull Moose Hunting Society killed his first doe two days ago. This is what he had to say about it:

This morning around 645 am, I shot and killed my first deer. I was hunting in Northwestern Virginia on some private land owned by a classmate of mine. I scoped the medium to large sized doe at about 70 yards from an elevated position. I took aim with a marlin .35 caliber lever action and fired. My shot hit her just behind her shoulder blade. She collapsed and died on the spot. She was accompanied by a fawn who initially ran off, but soon returned to see what had happened. Watching the young one walk around its dead mother caused me to feel remorse, but also reminded me why I took up hunting in the first place. I eat meat, and every steak, pork chop or chicken breast comes from an animal that was once alive, and might have even been a mother of a young one. And if I’m going to eat them, I also need to be willing to kill them. It’s my way of being part of the cycle of life. The reality is that that cycle is not always rainbows and butterflies. Its fielddressing and blood too.

Fact is, that doe lived a much better life than the average farm animal. It fed on the apple cores of the area orchards, the green beans from garden and drank from the ponds and creeks of the Shenandoah valley. Now that I’ve harvested her, I will share her meat with my family and friends. We will be nourished by her and will be thankful for her sacrifice.