A drawing was held at the Bass Pro Shops Crappie Masters national championship kid’s rodeo, by Proplite’s J.D. Huffman. The lucky youth to win the drawing was Ryan Blackwell. He won a deer hunt in Mississippi from Proplite. Mike Blackwell, Ryan’s father, was excited to get to go on a hunt with his son as he sought his first deer.

They arrived at camp on Friday early enough to scout out the next days hunt. After scouting the area they returned to camp for a cookout and bonfire. They were joined by a couple other youth as Mr. Huffman had help from his grandson.

The Saturday morning hunt began with high winds from a front that moved through the area, that prevented the young hunter from seeing a deer. As the afternoon approached, the wind died down and Ryan had his first chance to take this first deer. It was a long shot of about 180 yards that missed. The miss cost Ryan his shirt tail as he learned the rituals that come with deer hunting.


Sunday morning the conditions improved. A cold morning with no wind and a good frost on the ground created perfect hunting conditions. Ryan and his Dad spotted two deer coming into the field about 140 yards away. They picked the larger of the two and around 7:30 am Ryan had bagged his first deer, a mature doe.

Ryan got his ‘first deer ritual’ and you can see in his face the joy for that first successful hunt. Mike was not only excited for his son but was also very appreciative of having won a hunt as he stated, “The hospitality and friendship shown towards myself and Ryan during our stay at Mr. Huffman's farm and deer camp was just wonderful. We could not have ask for and got such a great weekend to spend as father and son. When Ryan harvested his first deer that was just topping on the cake. He harvested a mature doe and the venison is in the freezer now for us to enjoy. We hope that Crappie Masters, Bass Pro Shops, Proplite and your other sponsors will continue to support things of this nature to get our youth involved in the great sports of hunting and fishing. These things are apart of our heritage and the children today are the future of that great heritage.”

We couldn’t agree more with his statements. Bass Pro Shops Crappie Masters, Proplite and other outdoor sponsors hope to extend that heritage for more youth at each opportunity. Proplite is planning on giving a Turkey hunt away at the Bass Pro Shops Crappie Masters Grenada’s kids rodeo in 2007.

Congratulations to both Mike and Ryan not only for getting Ryan’s first deer but creating memories and bonds that will carry the father & son in the future and always be a part of them.

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