By Chris Crist

December 1, 2019

I didn’t get as early of start in hunting as most have. My dad didn’t do a lot of hunting when I was younger, I can only remember 1 deer. He always got a tag in case something ran close to the farm, but didn’t go out and sit specifically for it. I somewhat did the same thing, I went out here and there, not every year consistently though, and didn’t pursue it with much passion.

It wasn’t until I was at least 35 or so until a friend I worked with at the time talked me into going turkey hunting for my first time. I went to his place one morning, shot my first turkey, and I was hooked. I’ve turkey hunted ever since and gotten more involved over time since then in deer and coyote now too. This past summer my wife give me the green light to build an upper for my AR in 350 Legend, and it came to be that the Hornady American Whitetail 170gr grouped their best out of 3 different manufacturers.

I was able to get my first deer this past gun season in Michigan with this nice 8 point. At 120 yards, it did lethal damage to the heart and lungs. He went another 15-20 yards after the shot and dropped. The excitement of a great shot lining up gets old, no matter the animal. My only regret is not getting to experience the thrill and excitement of hunting much sooner in life.