LEARNING FROM GRANDPA

    He was born into a hunting family, and thankfully, he loves to hunt. Elliot Weerts, the son of Lacey Babekuhl, is a fifth grader at Langford Area School. This deer season was his second time using a Mentor Deer Tag.
    Mentor Deer tags in South Dakota were created to help children learn about the importance of safe hunting at a young age. The requirements include the applicant being under the age of 16 and being accompanied by someone 18 years or older who holds a hunter safety license.
    Elliot, who resides in Eden, lives just across the street from his mentor, Grandpa Craig. “I enjoy being outside, and experiencing nature with my grandpa,” Elliot stated.
    Last year, his first year getting a Mentor Tag, Elliot recalls using a tripod for his gun, which in fact was his mother’s gun when she was growing up. He felt the tripod gave him extra steadiness, but this year during the hunt, there was no time to get the tripod set. Grandpa Craig handed him the rifle and Elliot pulled the trigger. In his words, “First day, second shot, second kill”- meaning this was his second deer he shot on his own.
    When asked if he processed the deer for meat, he replied with a smile, “Yes, I always have it processed at Schmidt’s Meats in Roslyn and last year I donated all the meat to a family in need!” He even used the skull from the deer last year as a 4H project and received top honors for his efforts. This year, he kept the meat from Schmidt’s and had most of his deer turned into meat sticks, which he gladly shared during the interview.
    According to the young hunter, “My grandpa said, ‘if you don’t feel a rush of adrenaline before shooting a deer, then your heart is not in it,’ but I always feel that rush, so I know my heart is into deer hunting!”
    Elliot looks forward to more years of earning a Mentor Tag, though when he turns 12, he plans on completing the hunter safety course and drawing his own SD deer tag.