Riley Skirvin, 7, of St. Louis, Mich., got her wish during a youth hunt on Saturday, shooting an 8-point buck to replace a previous catch she lost during a house fire. (Courtesy: The Skirvins)
A 7-year-old Michigan girl who lost her prized trophy eight-point deer in a house fire earlier this year has reportedly found herself a replacement: An 8-point buck.
Riley Skirvin lost her beloved catch, which was hanging on her bedroom wall, during a May 21 fire in her family’s home in St. Louis, Mich. Her father, Ben Skirvin, told MLive.com she was very eager to return to the woods this year to replace the catch, hopefully a doe this time since she had already captured a decent-sized buck.
“She shot her first deer at 5 and it was an eight-point and we were more than ecstatic,” Skirvin told the website. “If there was one item I could have saved in that house it would have been that buck.”
Riley got her wish during a youth hunt on Saturday, shooting an 8-point buck from about 23 yards away.
“My dad was looking around and then he saw a deer and it came up to the bait pile,” Riley said. “I asked him what line to use [inside the scope on her crossbow] and he told me it was the top line.”
Skirvin, who owns DropTine Archery and Outdoors in St. Louis, said his daughter “can talk hunting” with anyone who comes into the shop.
“It cracks everyone up,” he said.
Skirvin said he often impresses upon his daughter the importance of herd management and the belief that taking does is just as important as killing bucks.
"This year she said she’d maybe shoot an 8-point if she could,” he told the website. “It sounds funny, but it seems like every time she goes out . . . bucks are coming in to her.”
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