QUIET TIME IN NATURE

    Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series about youth who enjoy the sport of hunting.
    Gannon Gefroh recently scored a deer with his 2024 Mentor Tag. Gannon, a fourth grader at Langford Area School and the son of Blake and Kaitie Stiegelmeier and Tyler and Maggie Gefroh told the Journal all about that day of the hunt. 
    He and his stepdad Blake were hanging out in their Redneck deer stand when he saw a doe come into view. “I didn’t use a tripod at all. I just stood up, and my dad reminded me to take the gun off safety. I aimed for right behind the shoulder because that’s where the heart is and pulled the trigger.’ Gannon said. The deer fell immediately and he knew he had done well. 
    After loading the deer into the side by side, his stepdad showed him how to properly gut and hang the deer. He said the sharp knife was kind of dangerous, so he just watched for most of that part. The deer was then made into meat, or in Gannon’s words, “We made it into deer dogs!” Deer dogs are similar to hot dogs but way better according to the young hunter. 
    Gannon says his favorite part about hunting is spending alone time with his stepdad. He is the oldest sibling of four and looks forward to quiet time and nature. He plans on teaching his younger sister how to hunt in the future though first he will show her how to use a Nerf gun. Then if that goes well, he’ll introduce her to the .22 before moving onto the deer rifle. 
    The youngster isn’t afraid of shooting a deer rifle, which he attributes to his stepdad Blake for teaching him about gun safety. Gannon stresses, “My dad says to always keep the gun pointed up, and to double check that it is always on safety.”
    Gannon’s hunting goals as he gets older would be to shoot a big buck that he can do a shoulder mount with and maybe shoot a moose if he ever sees one.