By By Mike Giles / outdoors writer
Feb. 27, 2004
On New Years Eve 12-year-old Jaime Sharman joined her dad, Randy, on a deer hunt near Chunky. The two hunters have been on quite a few hunts together and were ready for some action on that day. They were positioned in a stand overlooking a long green field.
Not long after they got into the stand, does started coming into the green grass. Sometime around 4 p.m. a decent buck came into the field and started chasing does back and forth. That deer would have been good for many hunters, but Jaime and her dad decided to wait for a bigger one.
Eventually about a dozen does came into the food plot to feed. They were pretty intent on finding something to eat, but were interrupted occasionally by the amorous buck. Around 4:30 a bigger buck came into the field and immediately garnered all the attention. He was big and obviously the king of the woods thereabouts.
On the move
The buck didn't stay still for very long, preferring instead to chase after the does. Before Jaime could get the rifle up and the crosshairs on the deer, he chased a hot doe out of the patch and into the woods. At that point the elder Sharman figured that they wouldn't see that deer again.
Jaime had really gotten excited at the site of the big buck, but needed time to regain her composure. It didn't take long for a young spike buck to start chasing the does and the action heated up once again. The young buck had approximately four-inch spikes and was doing his best to corner a willing doe.
Approximately twenty minutes after the big buck left the field, a doe came running back. As she came into the field, the big buck was close behind. This time the deer entered the field about 30 yards from the hunters stand. However, he didn't present a shot at that point. He was going dead away from them as Sharman had her sights clearly on the deer.
For about five minutes he stood in the edge of the field and made a scrape. All the while he watched the young immature spike chase does to and fro. If the spike got too close to his favorite doe, the big deer would run at the spike and bluff him off. By this time the young hunter had settled down and was watching and waiting for the buck to present a good shot.
Summer practice
Young Jaime Sharman honed her shooting skills during the summer time shooting a .22 rifle with her dad, and grandfather Jimmy Alexander. According to her father she really loves to practice and shoot that Ruger .22 rifle. All of the practice turned out to be worth it of course. In fact, Jaime is now two for two when harvesting deer. Last year she collected a fat doe with the .270 as well.
In addition to hunting deer, Jaime also turkey hunts with her dad. This year they are hoping to get her a turkey. Last year she even got to call to a gobbler and hear him respond with lusty gobbles before hanging up with his harem of hens. There's never a dull moment around the Sharman household as Jaime keeps them all hopping. In addition to her love of hunting she plays basketball, studies ballet and is a cheerleader as well.
This year Jaime's patience really paid off as she killed a trophy 9- pointer while passing on does, younger bucks and one good 8-point buck. As an added bonus the youngster won the youth division of The Meridian Star's Big Buck Bounty contest. Her first buck turned out to be a dandy as she showed all of the boys how to do it. In the meantime she even outdid her dad, Randy, and grandfather, Jimmy, both of whom killed nice eight-point bucks during the season.