“Cannonball” Gets A Deer

December 8-10, 2006 marked the first deer hunt for some of Camp ASCCA’s campers. Camp ASCCA is in its second year of offering a deer hunting weekend to some of our physically challenged youth campers. Like all of our programs, the goal is to combine recreation and education. While our youth hunters are here, they also participate in the State of Alabama Hunter Education program. One of our hunters was able to complete the requirements for his Hunter Safety Certification (the other 4 participating hunters already had theirs).

The weekend went off without a hitch and everyone had a great time. The only thing missing was the cooperation of the deer. It seems that every species of animal except deer was spotted. Reports of a fox, bobcat, and coyote sighting were shared around the campfire. Sunday evening would find our luck changing for the better. One of our physically challenged hunters brought along his cousin to hunt with him. Javan participated in last year’s hunt and after seeing what a family event this is, he opted to bring his cousin and best friend “Cannonball”. I have never met someone with such an appropriate nickname, but that’s best left out of the blog.

Since neither of these young men had ever harvested a deer before, we decided to split Javan and “Cannonball” up and let them hunt separately. “Cannonball” and his volunteer guide Jered, an ASCCA summer camp counselor, sat in an open hardwood hollow. Their patience paid off about 30 minutes before dark. “Cannonball” was able to get a shot at one of the deer working its way down the hollow. After a short period of trailing we were able to recover “Cannonball’s” first deer. Sunday December 10th, 2006 will be a day that “Cannonball” and everyone else there will never forget.

In the picture, “Cannonball” is third from the left.

Josh Rhodes
Environmental Education Director