Written By - Paul Biggs - 05/22/2007
Link to Original Article here

Maybe it doesn't take getting up before the crack of dawn to bag a trophy buck. I like getting in there early to hear nature awaken, but not 16 year old Nate Golden. He managed to sleep in until 9:00 and still harvest himself a wall hanger.

It was the morning of November 18th and Nate had decided to do a little still-hunting in an area he'd spotted several good bucks working. He was slipping through a low hardwoods funnel, when he and his cameraman spotted a buck standing over a doe. Nate takes advantage of the stealth tactics he'd learned watching Spiderman and attempts to crawl to a nearby fence row to see if he can get a shot.

He and his cameraman crawl for over a hundred yards and finally get within Mossberg shotgun range. Nate rests his trusty banging stick on the rusty barbwire fence and puts his mind in cuttin' down mode. Nate has yet to kill a buck of this caliber and he knows his buddies will give him all he can handle if he misses. It's a warm shotgun season in Illinois and small sweat beads begin to form as buck fever sets in.

As the safety flips off, images flash before his eyes of the movie "Bambi" which he still watches before he goes to bed. Then he begins to think of what his hero Buzz Light-year would do and at that moment an instinct hits him like nothing he's ever experienced. He puts the crosshairs on his objective and BAM!

Unsure if he'd hit his mark, Nate's excitement level is in limbo. He approaches the area where his target had stood and checks for any sign to indicate he hit his mark. To his surprise, the huge 10 point had just ran 30 yards. I don't think words can express the relief and excitement in this kid's eyes.

The instinct of hunting needs to reach all kids out there. The only way to do it is to get them involved and let them see how truly cool it is. Trust me it will be worth every penny.