Editor’s Note: No, Taylor Drury, the daughter of Mark Drury of Drury Outdoors, wasn’t wrapped in Mossy Oak when she came home from the hospital. But according to Taylor, “There is a picture of me hanging at home of me in Mossy Oak when I was 6-months old. So, I feel like I was born in Mossy Oak.” Now 18-years old and a freshman in college, this week Taylor Drury will talk about growing-up as a hunter.
When I was very little, Dad had started me off shooting with a plastic bow-and-arrow set. When he finally thought I was strong enough to pull a very-small compound bow, he got me my first bow. He set up a target range in our basement. We had a backstop, and Dad blew-up different-colored balloons and taped them to the backstop. So, when I shot a balloon, and it popped, it was very exciting and fun. I always had plenty of balloons of different colors to shoot. Back then, bowhunting was more of a game than a sport for me.
When I got older and could pull a compound bow and shoot an arrow fast enough to penetrate a deer, my dad took me hunting. I never will forget that first deer I took with a bow. I was 20-feet off the ground in a tree stand wearing my safety harness made by ScentBlocker. And, like my dad says sometimes, “That buck read the script.” He did exactly what he was supposed to do. He walked within 9 yards of the base of my tree. I tried to remember everything my dad had taught me about shooting my PSE Chaos bow – how to anchor my shot, how to bend at the waist and how to aim, when a deer is right under you. I made a great shot, and my dad was there to see it. We both were so excited that I had taken a deer with my bow like I always dreamed one day I would. For me, taking a deer with a bow was another milestone in my hunting career that my dad had helped me accomplish. The buck would score about 110 Pope & Young points. And, yes, my dad had it mounted. Today it hangs in our farmhouse.
My Biggest Gun Buck – 167 Boone & Crockett with Taylor Drury
