WTU's My First Deer Program Celebrates Hunting Success

Program celebrates a life-long memory – a hunter’s first deer.

A hunter’s first white-tailed deer is an important part of their personal hunting heritage, and Whitetails Unlimited’s My First Deer program is ready to celebrate that rite of passage with them. As deer seasons come to an end across the country, when you (or someone you know) take that first deer, remember to go to the Whitetails Unlimited website to celebrate a successful season.

The My First Deer program celebrates a life-long memory – a hunter’s first deer. While oriented strongly toward youth, the program acknowledges a hunter of any age entering into a very special hunting fraternity of sportsmen and women. This special group of hunters can trace its roots all the way back to the Native Americans and early European settlers in North America.

To participate, a hunter need only submit a photo of their first deer, along with a short narrative (250 word maximum) about the hunt that resulted in their first deer.

To mark the occasion, Whitetails Unlimited will provide the successful deer hunter with a personalized color certificate, suitable for framing, and a Cabela’s shooter’s cap to wear with pride. In addition, everyone who participates will be entered into a drawing for one of three gift cards, generously donated by Cabela’s. First prize is a $300 Cabela’s gift card, second prize is a $200 Cabela’s gift card, and third prize is a $100 Cabela’s gift card. The drawing will be held January 3, 2012, with winners posted on the WTU website.

“This is a great way to mark this special deer hunting experience, and provide the successful hunter with a permanent reminder of that memorable day,” said Kevin Devault, WTU’s manager of conservation funding. “It’s a day and a moment in a hunter’s life that I promise they will never forget.”

Whitetails Unlimited introduced My First Deer as a pilot program in the last part of 2008, and it was an immediate success. As a result, WTU has run the program every year since then.

“Just ask any deer hunter, young or old, about their first deer and they will relive the entire experience as if it just happened yesterday,” said Devault. “Responsible hunters today, as in the past, continue to play a vital role in determining the fate of our nation’s deer population and the sport of regulated hunting. Honest, ethical hunters are the true conservationists in today’s society.”

For complete details on the My First Deer program, visit the WTU website at www.whitetailsunlimited.com.