Dad, son, 8, revel in thrill of first deer

GULFPORT - It's hard to tell who actually gave the Christmas present to whom on a recent hunting trip or who really received it.

The bottom line is neither Tim Magee of Gulfport nor his eight-year old son, Will Magee, will every forget the 2005 Christmas season.

You see, Tim was sitting in a ground blind when his son, a third-grader at Westminster Academy in Gulfport, bagged his first deer, a solid eight-pointer that weighed 170 pounds - dressed.

And they have the experience on video tape. "It was his first deer and everyone likes to be with their son or daughter when they kill their first deer," Tim Magee said. "It was more fun watching him kill the deer than me shooting it."

"It was kind of good having him there, I guess," he said. The young Magee was hunting a field in Urichville, Ohio, which is near Columbus. He was using a gun (7mm/08) that was handed down to him by his sister, Lauren, who killed her first deer when she was 13 while hunting with her dad in Alabama.

Will Magee bagged the deer on the second day of a scheduled three-day hunt on a portion of land that belongs to a Christian organization called Questhaven (Questhaven.com). The first day, while hunting on a tree stand, two bucks walked out of the thicket. But the deer remained at the furthermost part of the field, meaning Magee didn't have a sure shot and didn't want to risk it.

Just before dark, the eight-point stepped out of the thicket, but instantly smelled the hunters who were down wind from the feeder. Frustrated, the deer left the feeder for a brief moment and ran into the thicket before entering the field again.

In fact, the deer rubbed the ground as if it were going to charge before snorting at Will and stepping behind the feeder.

It was at this moment that Will Magee raised the rifle to his shoulder, determined to wait the deer out. Either darkness was going to set in or the deer was going to find itself face down in the grass.

Tim Magee, perhaps more anxious than his son, wondered if his son was going to pull the trigger.

"Just when I was signalling to him, he shot," he said. "A perfect shot right through the shoulder. The deer never moved, just fell to the ground."

"He had his hands over his ears," Tim Magee said. "His ears were ringing from the echo."

"It was great," Will Magee said. "It was my first deer, but I thought I was going to miss it. My dad was taping it and all I saw on the tape was his fur flying around.

"I was feeling like I needed to scream up and down. The doe that was with the deer ran off like there was a fire. She was out of there. I was telling myself, 'you shot a deer, you shot a deer.'

"Will is a real cautious hunter," Tim Magee said. "He will not pull off on a shot. He is really good and hits the targets when we practice. He puts the bullet right where it needs to go.

I'll try again, sometimes I post like an 8 year old.

GULFPORT - It's hard to tell who actually gave the Christmas present to whom on a recent hunting trip or who really received it.

The bottom line is neither Tim Magee of Gulfport nor his eight-year old son, Will Magee, will every forget the 2005 Christmas season.

You see, Tim was sitting in a ground blind when his son, a third-grader at Westminster Academy in Gulfport, bagged his first deer, a solid eight-pointer that weighed 170 pounds - dressed.

Will Magee, however, did give his dad a little credit. But not much.

The second day was all Magee.

At this point, the deer was mad and looked right at the Magees.

In fact, the deer rubbed the ground as if it were going to charge before snorting at Will and stepping behind the feeder.

Will Magee, only eight, wasn't giving in.

The deer then emerged from behind the feeder.

Tim Magee, perhaps more anxious than his son, wondered if his son was going to pull the trigger.

"Just when I was signalling to him, he shot," he said. "A perfect shot right through the shoulder. The deer never moved, just fell to the ground."

With the deer on the ground, dad looked back to see his son's expression.

"He had his hands over his ears," Tim Magee said. "His ears were ringing from the echo."

But that was fine.

A young hunter had been baptized into the great outdoors and he was feeling it.

"It was great," Will Magee said. "It was my first deer, but I thought I was going to miss it. My dad was taping it and all I saw on the tape was his fur flying around.

"I was feeling like I needed to scream up and down. The doe that was with the deer ran off like there was a fire. She was out of there. I was telling myself, 'you shot a deer, you shot a deer.'

The deer is headed to the taxidermist.

"Will is a real cautious hunter," Tim Magee said. "He will not pull off on a shot. He is really good and hits the targets when we practice. He puts the bullet right where it needs to go.

"I don't know who was excited the most when the deer fell to the ground."

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