By Rose Henson

On Sept. 11, 2007, Leon County Buckmasters held its 4th annual banquet in Jewett, Texas. During the banquet, it was announced that our chapter had one more project for the year.

That project was to give a youth an adult-sized hunt. The hunt would take place on the 5H Ranch located in Artesia Wells, Texas. We called all youth at the banquet who are enrolled in school to come to the front and receive a playing card torn in half. The lucky winner who was holding the winning playing card was a young man named Calvin Gilbert. He is the son of Jerry and Peggy (Foley) Gilbert.

The hunt was to be held in October and Calvin's dad, Jerry, couldn't get off work to take Calvin. It was decided that Calvin's uncle, Rocky Foley, would go on the hunt with him. Rocky had hunted on the 5H Ranch and told Calvin that he would have a good time. Calvin's mom decided to go, too.

The hunt date finally arrived. Calvin, his mom, and Uncle Rock found themselves at the 5H Ranch where they met Steve McMullen who was their guide. From this point, Calvin said time flew by.

They rode around the ranch in a Jeep looking at all the different hunting stands and scoping out the deer. After the first hunting day, Calvin said his mom made him too nervous. It was decided that his Uncle Rock would sit with him. Calvin's mom got to film video out of another stand and loved it.

By the end of the second day, Calvin was getting really nervous because he hadn't seen "The Big One." Steve assured Calvin not to worry and that he would get his shot.

Sunday morning arrived, and Uncle Rock and Calvin saw "Mr. Right." It was a 10-point buck! Uncle Rock tried to video and talk Calvin through the shot. All the while, Uncle Rock was shaking more than Calvin!

Calvin shot and the buck ran.

When Steve and Peggy arrived, Calvin and Uncle Rock were dragging the buck out of the brush. Uncle Rock said Calvin shot the deer right where he told him to at 128 yards!

Calvin believes the buck appeared because he and his uncle wore matching shirts on that Sunday. Since that trip, Peggy states that Calvin talks about his hunt all the time and is ready to go back to 5H Ranch.

Our small group achieved one of our goals by sending Calvin on this trip. We are dedicated to getting our youth hooked on conservation, compassion, and community rather than drugs, violence, and video games.

For more information about BADF, contact Beth Gregory at 1-800-240-3337 or bgregory@buckmasters.com.

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