Gerald Martin
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2009
- Messages
- 8,356
Guys, I thought you might be interested in hearing about the success of a budding young hunter.
Shadrach(Shad)Yoder is my friend Israel Yoders oldest son. At ten years old and weighing in at 63 pounds, Shad might not be considered by many to be a serious hunter. His success this year in his first year of bowhunting would suggest otherwise.
Shad is not a newcomer to archery. He has been shooting a bow for several years now. This was the first year that he was able to meet the criterea that his dad Israel had set before he would be allowed to hunt deer. Shad had to be able to pull 40lbs with his Diamond bow and keep 4 out of 5 arrows in the 3" white of a standard paper target at 20 yards. This was also the first year that he met his home state of Michigan's age requirement for youth hunters. Shad met the accuracy requirements with ease and worked hard all summer to meet the draw weight requirements.(This was his dad's requirement. As far as I know it wasn't a state reg.)
Shad completed his hunter safety course on August 23 just in time to head for his grandparents farm in Deleware for the Sept 1 opener. His first set of the season saw a fat doe come past and Shad made the money shot and connected. First deer down! Later that week another doe made the fatal mistake of coming past his stand and recieved a mortal arrow. Two arrows, two deer! The first weekend in October was the start of Michigan's archery season. With two does already under his belt, Shad was primed to prey on the local deer population. A kind neighbor granted Shad access to a woodlot that lay just several hundred yards from Shad's house and Shad and Israel had his ladder stand prepared in a prime location near a field edge.
Over the course of the next month Shad racked up three more antlerless kills. One of the most memorable was done totally solo while his Dad was out hunting another spot. That day Shad went to his treestand by himself, put a perfect shot on a doe, tracked and recovered the deer, (which outweighed him probably 50lbs) and drug her to the field edge. He also passed up numerous small bucks during the course of the month. A quick word about passing up the small bucks. This was a voluntary action on Shad's part. His dad and friends have been passing on any deer smaller than 3 1/2 years old for several years now. Shad chose to follow the same example even though his dad made it clear he could shoot whatever he wanted.
At this point in the season when I talked to Israel on the phone I though Shad was already having a phenomenal year. A quick run through of the numbers of Shad's season this far. Seven shots taken, five does killed. Two of those shots were clean misses, four of those shots were through the heart. He also had a day when he killed four chipmunks in one day. Clearly this kid can shoot. Well as the month of October began winding down, the prerut was heating up. Around the last week of October Shad headed out for his stand for an evening hunt. The deer that came past him was one that many of us would absolutely love to kill and Shad was about to do just that. Unfortunately, at the shot, a branch deflected the arrow, ruining Shad's previous streak of great shots. But on the positive side, the deer was recovered the next forenoon and all the meat was salvaged.
I've included a photo of Shad's awesome southern Michigan buck. The deer grosses right in the low 140's and should have very little deductions.
This buck was taken in an area that experiences very high hunting pressure on the surrounding properties. Shad is not hunting on a huge, managed piece of ground with exclusive access. Their area does have some great genetics, awesome food and habitat, and could be a world class hunting destination if there weren't so many hunters. Very few bucks make it to 3 1/2. But that is a topic for another day.
Congratulations Shadrach Yoder on an awesome buck and an awesome first year of bowhunting. Keep the passion for deer hunting burning in your heart and remember, there probably won't be bucks like this every year.
Part two to follow shortly........
Shadrach(Shad)Yoder is my friend Israel Yoders oldest son. At ten years old and weighing in at 63 pounds, Shad might not be considered by many to be a serious hunter. His success this year in his first year of bowhunting would suggest otherwise.
Shad is not a newcomer to archery. He has been shooting a bow for several years now. This was the first year that he was able to meet the criterea that his dad Israel had set before he would be allowed to hunt deer. Shad had to be able to pull 40lbs with his Diamond bow and keep 4 out of 5 arrows in the 3" white of a standard paper target at 20 yards. This was also the first year that he met his home state of Michigan's age requirement for youth hunters. Shad met the accuracy requirements with ease and worked hard all summer to meet the draw weight requirements.(This was his dad's requirement. As far as I know it wasn't a state reg.)
Shad completed his hunter safety course on August 23 just in time to head for his grandparents farm in Deleware for the Sept 1 opener. His first set of the season saw a fat doe come past and Shad made the money shot and connected. First deer down! Later that week another doe made the fatal mistake of coming past his stand and recieved a mortal arrow. Two arrows, two deer! The first weekend in October was the start of Michigan's archery season. With two does already under his belt, Shad was primed to prey on the local deer population. A kind neighbor granted Shad access to a woodlot that lay just several hundred yards from Shad's house and Shad and Israel had his ladder stand prepared in a prime location near a field edge.
Over the course of the next month Shad racked up three more antlerless kills. One of the most memorable was done totally solo while his Dad was out hunting another spot. That day Shad went to his treestand by himself, put a perfect shot on a doe, tracked and recovered the deer, (which outweighed him probably 50lbs) and drug her to the field edge. He also passed up numerous small bucks during the course of the month. A quick word about passing up the small bucks. This was a voluntary action on Shad's part. His dad and friends have been passing on any deer smaller than 3 1/2 years old for several years now. Shad chose to follow the same example even though his dad made it clear he could shoot whatever he wanted.
At this point in the season when I talked to Israel on the phone I though Shad was already having a phenomenal year. A quick run through of the numbers of Shad's season this far. Seven shots taken, five does killed. Two of those shots were clean misses, four of those shots were through the heart. He also had a day when he killed four chipmunks in one day. Clearly this kid can shoot. Well as the month of October began winding down, the prerut was heating up. Around the last week of October Shad headed out for his stand for an evening hunt. The deer that came past him was one that many of us would absolutely love to kill and Shad was about to do just that. Unfortunately, at the shot, a branch deflected the arrow, ruining Shad's previous streak of great shots. But on the positive side, the deer was recovered the next forenoon and all the meat was salvaged.
I've included a photo of Shad's awesome southern Michigan buck. The deer grosses right in the low 140's and should have very little deductions.
This buck was taken in an area that experiences very high hunting pressure on the surrounding properties. Shad is not hunting on a huge, managed piece of ground with exclusive access. Their area does have some great genetics, awesome food and habitat, and could be a world class hunting destination if there weren't so many hunters. Very few bucks make it to 3 1/2. But that is a topic for another day.
Congratulations Shadrach Yoder on an awesome buck and an awesome first year of bowhunting. Keep the passion for deer hunting burning in your heart and remember, there probably won't be bucks like this every year.
Part two to follow shortly........
What an amazing story. It just goes to show how hard work and determination can get the job done. Well done to the young man and to the father caring enough to teach his son correctly.
