Parents introduce their children to hunting at young ages, like this girl hunting with her papa. So, why should there be a cap on how long you can hunt? Many hunters keep rolling until they cannot aim anymore. One Idaho resident is still heading out to hunt with no intention of slowing down. According to an Idaho Fish and Game press release, Mildred Bryant is a 90-year-old hunter who just had her 80th hunting anniversary. Her prize? A 3x4 mule deer that she harvested near Malta. We're not sure if 80 seasons is a record for the most seasons hunted by any one person. If it's not, we believe it must at least be close.
In any case, Bryant's hunting story began 81 years ago in Coos Bay, Oregon. As a child, she rode horses and learned everything she could to be successful in a rural area. One essential skill was hunting.
"I've hunted all my life and shot my first deer when I was 9 years old," Bryant told Idaho's Public Information Specialist Connor Liess. "Eighty years ago."
Her daughter Linda Erickson, also a lifelong hunter, corrected her and adjusted the count, "Eighty-one." It may have been eight-one years ago, but Bryant remembers her first hunt like it was yesterday.
"We only had a single-cab truck, and my brother's friend, Willard, was always with us," Bryant said. "And for some reason, my dad was taking Buster, my brother, into town with him, and he made Willard and I stay home alone. Well, that made me mad."
Instead of doing what she was told, Byrant took her father's rifle off the wall and headed out to hunt, shooting her first buck.
"We couldn't pack it. We weren't big enough to carry it!" Bryant told Liess. "I went and got a rope and hung it by its horns up in a tree. I gutted it out and hung it up so it would drain good."
The eager 9-year-old went home to wait for her father to come back. When he did, Bryant said, "I killed a deer." His response was, "You did not."
Bryant said she insisted that she indeed shot her first buck.
"My dad was so mad at me. He could've blistered my butt, but he didn't. I remember I was starting to bawl because I thought he wasn't going to listen to me. But I needed to get the deer home."
Convincing her dad to go and get the deer was probably the hardest part of her hunting adventure. But she eventually got him to retrieve the deer from where she had left it hanging. Bryant said upon seeing the buck, her father had a few choice words. After that, life went on for Bryant as it does for many people. As an adult, she still hunted, even after she got married, had kids, and spent every waking moment tending their 85 dairy cows. Bryant and her husband taught their girls to hunt, carrying on the family legacy in the outdoors.
When Bryant hit her 80th season in 2021, she was ready. But as life goes, hindsight is 20/20, and due to unforeseen circumstances, Bryant and her daughter had to wait until 2022 for the momentous hunt. She had her sights set on a mule deer buck. After drawing a tag, Bryant practiced at the range to prepare. She said, "I just wanted to say I hunted something for 80 years."
Erickson and her son Ryan accompanied her, along with her .270 rifle. The pair helped Bryant get set up on a level tripod. However, she could not see clearly through the scope. Erickson had a solution in a more modern cartridge and rifle setup.
"We set her up with my 6.5 Creedmoor that had a better scope and could help her see a little better."
After a test run, Bryant was ready to find her buck. The first buck she came across was on the smaller side, but she went for it. Perched on a wooden stool, she squeezed the trigger on that buck but missed. Even with 80 years of experience, this proves it can happen to anyone! Luck was on Bryant's side though. With the help of the property's ranch managers, she soon turned her sights on a larger 3x4 mule deer buck. At 224 yards away, she looked down the scope and took the shot, dropping the large deer where it stood.
"It was quite exciting," she said in the press release. "We loaded up the buck and hauled it back to the shop to hang. Then gutted it out. We had some that night."
The buck's head is with a taxidermist, but Bryant knows exactly where it will go when it is done. It will take an open spot on the wall next to a 4x4 buck that's hung there for the last 50 years.
"There is nothing wrong with the outdoor life. I truly believe that," Bryant said.
