The Beardsley Buck

Livingston County, NY Youth Hunt 10-Point

As told by Myra Beardsley, age 15

This past weekend, October 12-14, 2024 was my last year to experience youth hunting. It had been pouring all day Saturday and Sunday, so when we went out we didn’t have any luck on those days. We were hoping to go out the next day, which was my last chance at harvesting a deer in youth season and I wanted a buck so desperately.

I set my alarm on Sunday night, planning on waking up early Monday morning. Instead, I woke up to my dad telling me to go back to sleep and that it was pouring rain outside. There was no sense in going out in the wet and cold if we weren’t going to see anything. Later that same day, there was a Wyoming County 4-H Shooting club meeting. I am on the competition team for air rifle which is a 10m, 3 position competition with a top score of 600. We went to that meeting and while the rest of the group was learning about tracking deer, we ended up leaving early to go hunting. The rain had stopped. We knew we would be going out hunting that night but we didn’t know where until my dad had mentioned that my uncle said they had some big deer on camera at the family farm in the southern tier. So we went home, got changed, loaded up the truck, and headed to the farm. I hadn’t been there in two years.

My Dad grew up hunting on the farm with his father and other family members so going there was special. We got there, grabbed our things, and started to hike up the big hill to the field that we would be sitting on. We sat in my Uncle’s hut that is about 50 yards off from the edge of the field. By the time we sat down, it was about 3:30.

While we sat, I kept watch out the windows. My Dad kept dozing off so I continued to wake him every time I saw his eyes close. Around 5:15, I caught him asleep again. I decided that I would just let him sleep that time. Somehow he sensed that I was looking at him and he opened his eyes and when he looked out his window, in the field, there was a buck. I had to reposition myself to see the deer because of where I was sitting. He said it was a “big buck” so I stood up to see for myself. I was a little nervous and my heart started to race. When I saw it, I wasn’t surprised. It was a four point. It was a big wide four point but it wasn’t big like my Dad said it was. It just wasn’t big enough and wasn’t what I had my heart set on. So I let it go in hopes for something bigger. While it was in front of us, It had stopped for a second and stuck its head up in a branch. That's when I realized that there must be a scrape there.

After that my Dad was giving me grief because I didn’t shoot it. I asked him if he would have shot it. He told me that If he was my age, he would have and mentioned that we don’t know how many chances I’d have to harvest a buck at the family farm. That made me stop and think. Maybe I made a mistake. Then I started to wish that I hadn’t passed up the opportunity. It wasn’t the biggest deer ever but it would have made a great memory. But at the same time, I was happy with my decision because I didn’t want to fill my tag on a smaller size buck when I could shoot something bigger later in the year.

About 15 minutes later, another deer came through the exact same place the other one had. I saw my Dad’s eyes widen. And he said to me, “You're shooting this deer”. When I saw the deer, I immediately started to shake. My heart was racing and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. This deer was huge! I was so scared that something would go wrong. But my Dad was there and he kept me calm as we watched him walk the same path as the four point. When he was almost to the scrape, he stopped and my dad told me to take the shot but there was a branch right where I needed to place my crosshairs so I had to wait till I could get a better shot. He took a few moresteps and walked right into the scrape and stretched his neck right out so that he was facing me straight on. That is when my Dad told me to put my crosshairs right on his brisket and shoot.

I wasn’t confident that I would be able to make the shot but I knew that this was probably the only opportunity I would have to try. I was so excited, scared, and nervous when I pulled the trigger that I jolted and I ended up breaking his leg. He ran towards us and down into the gully. He probably ran about 100 yards. I picked up my gun, turned around, and tried to get loaded for a second time. But I was so stressed out that I accidentally loaded two bullets and my gun jammed. But, thankfully, the deer had stopped and wasn’t going anywhere in a hurry.

He was quartered away. I got my crosshair on him and shot. This time, he went down.He was still moving a bit so I was scared that he might get back up again. If I had to shoot again, I didn’t know if I would be able to. I was shaking so bad. I felt so many emotions. I don’t know how to truly describe it. I cried and hugged my Dad. I don’t think anything could ever top that moment for me. It was truly amazing.

I’m so grateful that I was able to share this memory with my father, Jeffrey Beardsley. I have learned from the best and I am forever grateful for him and my grandfather, Ron Beardsley, who have taught me their love of hunting.