MCC Nursing Instructor Elesha Smith has been accompanying her husband to the woods for quite some time but only recently got in on the actual hunting due to commitments with her work and children. During her husband Eric’s military deployment a couple years ago, Smith started hunting by herself and has had great success.

“I got my first deer, a nice doe, last year,” said Smith. “I started going with my husband many years ago just so we could have some time together on our own, but after he got deployed it seemed everything fell to me as far as running the household and taking care of things at home.”

When hunting season rolled around in 2020 Smith decided to hunt by herself on family land.

“It was my time to spend time in the woods, in the quietness of nature, and it was just a good time to spend time with the Lord there,” Smith said. “I fell in love with hunting and went just about every day and finally tasted success with my first one last year and I was hooked!”

The peaceful nature of the woods along with the allure of hunting the majestic whitetail buck was just too much to resist, and the succulent venison the harvest provided was just icing on the cake.

During a late afternoon in December the talented nursing instructor decided to head to her deer stand for some much needed “me time,” so she told her husband, who was at work, that she was heading to the woods.

“I got to my stand about 3:00 that afternoon and it was pretty quiet, just like I like it,” said Smith.

Smith soaked in the ambiance of the woods and enjoyed watching the birds, squirrels and other game foraging around her stand. There’s just something different about being in nature in search of a deer and the excitement it provides.

“I had just texted Eric to let him know that I’d not seen any deer yet when I heard something and looked to my left,” Smith said. “I glanced over there to see what it was, and my heart started beating fast.”

“Oh my gosh it’s a buck!” she said. “I thought about texting Eric but thought I might better not do that. He crossed the creek, and I raised my rifle, stood up in the stand to get a better view, and aimed downward toward him, and as soon as I got the crosshairs on him, I shot.”

“Ka-Boom!” The .243 rifle roared, and the buck jumped, whirled around and crossed the creek and collapsed.

“I was so excited about my first buck kill that I texted Eric and told him that I’d shot a buck,” said Smith. “He asked me if I got blood, and I told him that I’d killed the deer and he asked me again if I saw blood. I told him you don’t understand, I’m looking at him laying on the ground, I got him!”

The buck only ran 15 or 20 yards before collapsing instantly. It was dead on his feet, and he never knew that a talented sharpshooter was the cause of his demise.

While some might have been ready to put down the rifle and celebrate and enjoy Christmas, not Elesha Smith. She was back on another deer hunt in Southeast Lauderdale County on Christmas day hunting with her Uncle Joey.

“I killed another deer, a big doe on Christmas day,” Smith said. “I saw several deer that afternoon and just thought that if they ever came into the field that I’d shoot one. Finally one came out and I put the crosshairs on him and fired a shot from the 7MM 08 rifle and harvested another doe.”

“We love deer meat, and I had some Maple flavored breakfast sausage and hamburger meat made up at the processor,” she said. “We also got some pepperjack sausage made and that was really good too.”

Harvesting your first buck is any hunter’s dream, but to be able to harvest one after hunting only a short time by yourself is quite a feat indeed. Smith is also quite a good cook, and I can only imagine how good the succulent venison was after she put her culinary skills to good use on cooking it.

Though hunting was once a man’s game, it has now become routine for ladies of all ages to hit the woods in search of a buck or doe, and Elesha Smith is leading the charge and also passing it on to her own daughters.

If you think you’d enjoy deer hunting then take a tip from Elesha Smith and find a mentor, learn to shoot and what to do and try it yourself. You are never too young or old to become a successful deer hunter.

Carpe Diem!

Call Mike Giles at 601-917-3898 or email mikegiles18@comcast.net.