Hey friends!
I’d like to tell you about one my favorite memories at Outdoor Friends Forever (OFF). My first, and favorite, memory was my very first time at OFF! It was a December hunt, and I was told my guides were going to be a firefighter, Joey Davidson, and one of our good friends, Kristi Hardy. (Side note- Anyone who knows me knows that I’m obsessed with anything to do with firefighting, and my dream was to be a firefighter.)
The Saturday morning of that hunting weekend we went to target practice before going on our first hunt that afternoon. After practicing, Joey and I went fishing. We had the best time cutting up, getting to know each other, and taking silly pictures with the fish! Finally, the time came for us to go on the first hunt. Kristi, my mom and I followed in the vehicle behind Joey and Braden Jones, or as I like to call him, B! As we were driving, I colored a picture for Kristi. When we finally got there, Joey helped carry me up into the stand. (I’VE NEVER HAD AS MUCH FUN IN A STAND OR LAUGHED THAT MUCH IN MY LIFE!!!)
After sitting for a while, “Deer:30” rolled around, and it was time to settle down and wait for our “Mac-daddy” to walk out. We saw a good buck a long way off, so we had to wait until he got closer. Then finally, BOOM, we shot! I got in the truck with B while they looked for him. Me and B were waiting and waiting for what seemed like an eternity. They had been looking for about two hours when B said “Christina, I know this was your first buck, and if they don’t find it then you can have mine.” We never found it, but I killed one the next day and was able to get the meat processed.
A few weeks after the hunt, Jim Hardy asked me to come get the meat. Joey, Jim and Kristi were there with a big box. They asked me to check the meat, even though I didn’t know what deer meat was supposed to look like. When I opened it, there was my nine-point’s antlers on a plaque! They had gone back after the hunt and found the deer three days later! When they found it, they immediately called Joey, and he put it on a plaque in order to surprise me with it! That was the BEST “DEER MEAT” EVER!
-Christina Brown
P.S.- I have more to come!