Matt Wassenaar, The Initial Instinct

I learned how to hunt, similar to man's evolution. Through a lot of stupid and failed attempts. My parents didn't hunt, but I felt born with the instinct. Some youngsters instinctively love to catch anything that moves from the day they can walk—That was me.

It got started with my buddy Brad, older brother, and I starting camping together. Being bumbling idiots/kids, we'd try to shoot squirrels with slingshots and rocks. Eventually, Brad's parents gave him a pellet gun, and it was a game-changer for us boys. Later on, my parents got me one too—and it was game over.

I shot my first deer at 16, a 2x3 mule deer. I remembered exactly where I was, which tree I leaned on, and even the moment when I pulled the trigger. I had no vehicle at the time, so I hunted on foot with a Winchester Model 70. It was about 4 pm, and I was walking all stealth mode behind my parent's house in Fox Mountain—then to the left, holy crap, there was a deer.

The buck was bedded down, looking right at me about 30 yards away. At that very moment, I almost couldn't do it. I had nearly given up, thinking to myself, "I can't shoot it; I don't know what I'm doing. But I gave myself a little prep talk, "I didn't buy all this gear and spend all this time at the shooting range for nothing!" Taking control of my nerves, I leaned against a tree and took the shot. I looked up, and he was gone.

17 years later, mounted in my office is that first 2x3 mule deer. Since my adolescent days of stomping around in Williams Lake, BC, I've developed an active passion for the outdoors and the conservation of all things wild. I am a bonafide mountain hunter with constantly bruised or missing toenails to prove it.

-Matt Wassenaar

Editor's Comments

Matt's right; some are born with the natural inclination to hunt. As I listened to Matt share his adventure, memories of my wild childhood flooded into me, and the pieces started coming together. It brought to mind all those summers spent on my family's hobby farm back in Vietnam. I was found running around barefoot, chased by geese, shooting geckos off the walls, and butchering chickens for lunch.

I would love to hear your story about your first harvest, as I have yet to experience mine yet.

-Jenny Ly