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Bush & Crick

Father-Son Duo Shares Unforgettable Archery Success

10-year-old Bryce Bailey bags a buck and doe in archery season

Filling your buck and doe tags during the Pennsylvania archery season is a lofty goal. With the right approach, keen attention to wind direction, scent control, and plenty of practice, it can be attained.

But not often by someone who’s 10 years old. Yet that’s just what Bryce Bailey, New Ringgold, accomplished during the 2024 season. 

First, using a youth bow called the Matthews Mission, Bryce arrowed a mature doe with a ten-yard shot. After that, he was looking for a buck.

Submitted photos

One afternoon, when he and his dad Kevin were on their tree stand, Kevin spotted a nice buck approaching the area. He whispered about it to Bryce, who quickly turned to see it – but the buck spotted the movement, swapped ends and trotted away.

“I kind of felt disappointed,” Bryce said. “My dad and I didn’t think he’d come back again to that spot.”

But Bryce got his second chance before the archery season ended. As he and his dad watched, the same buck approached, following two does.

“He was eating stuff, and when he stuck his head behind a tree I drew (the bow),” Bryce said. “He was only 12 yards away.”

Kevin said that the set up was perfect. 

“Where we were, there are a lot of oak trees and the deer like to feed through there,” Kevin said. “And he was preoccupied with feeding and chasing the does.”

Bryce was ready to immediately exit the tree and look for the deer. Both were wearing safety harnesses, tethered to the tree and also to a strap they’d be attached to while climbing down from the tree. 

Still, even with the habit of using the safety equipment, Bryce and Kevin were on the ground “in like a minute,” Kevin said. They did wait to give the buck some time to expire and found him only about 70 yards from the tree stand.

“Just like we all do, he learned by failure, by moving too fast the first time we encountered that buck,” Kevin said. “The next time, he didn’t move until the deer couldn’t see him, made the shot and then he was pretty excited.”

Bryce has been hunting with his dad since he was six years old and had previously taken deer with the rifle. The doe and buck from the 2024 archery season are his first deer taken with archery equipment.

“I like hunting with the bow,” Bryce said. “You have to be close, and you get to see how deer interact.”

Bryce and Kevin had their bows set up at Andrews Archery, Frackville. Kevin said he “attributes our success” to owner Dave Andrews with the selection of archery equipment and setup of their bows. Kevin shoots a Matthews Phase 4 bow.

“I told Bryce that I wasn’t going to let him hunt with his bow unless he could prove to me that he was accurate with it,” Kevin said. “He was practicing every day, and when school started, he was practicing before school every morning.”

Kevin, who has a dozen bucks scoring 130 or higher to his credit, treasures his days hunting with Bryce. 

“This is the first year I didn’t shoot a buck,” he said. “But taking him out and being there for his doe and buck, well, it was my best season ever.”

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