2015 - Another big buck shot by local youth
Eleven-year-old Cameron Richards wasn't the only young hunter to make headlines this season
November 24, 2015 • Voyageur Press
Ten-year-old Clay Anderson of the Cromwell area also had a memorable hunt, harvesting an impressive eight-point buck weighing more than 200 pounds.
Clay was hunting near Cromwell, Minnesota, with his father, Keith, when the opportunity finally came. But the morning didn't get off to quite the start they had hoped.
According to Keith, Clay actually had an opportunity at another buck about an hour earlier.
“But bad dad forgot that his son was left-handed,” Keith joked. “By the time I got Clay on the other side of the stand where he could shoot, the buck was gone.”
Keith felt terrible about the missed opportunity. Once it became clear the deer wasn't coming back, he decided they needed to make sure the same mistake wouldn't happen again.
The father and son began preparing for the following weekend's hunt, rearranging the stand to accommodate Clay's left-handed shooting position.
“We rearranged the stand so he would be able to shoot left-handed if we got another opportunity,” Keith explained.
By then, Clay was getting tired and ready for a nap.
“I said go ahead. After all, we had just made so much noise any deer in the area had to hear,” Keith recalled. “I even poured a cup of coffee, which I rarely do, and Clay fell asleep around 8:34.”
After finishing his coffee, Keith looked out one window and then the next.
“There it was standing about 25 yards away!”
Fortunately, the two had practiced waking up and getting ready to shoot the day before — preparation that would soon pay off.
Keith gently nudged his son awake and helped position the gun through the window.
“He made a great double-lung shot!” Keith said. “After waiting and talking for a half hour, we got down, reloaded and went looking. There it was, 20 yards into the woods!”
The successful hunt resulted in an eight-point buck weighing more than 200 pounds — an impressive accomplishment for a 10-year-old hunter.
Keith admitted that he hadn't harvested a buck of that size until he was 24 years old.
“It had a similar rack but not as heavy,” he said. “I can honestly say, I have never shot a buck that big before.”
For Clay, a little rearranging, a well-timed nap and some practice with Dad turned into a deer season he'll never forget.