Have you ever seen a black whitetail deer? Albino deer and piebald deer seem to generate headlines a few times year, but a deer that’s black in color is like the unicorn of the whitetail family. The black color is actually because of an overabundance of melanin, and the odds in Texas (a “popular” area) of such a deer are roughly between 1 in 600,000 to 1.2 million. In other words, the odds are similar to winning the lottery.
Brooke Bateman, 14, of Dallas, was hunting with her father, Mike Bateman, and won the unofficial whitetail lottery – with her first buck ever!
“She had not fired a rifle since missing the doe last year. We’ve got a range with silhouette targets. They’re fun to shoot, and Brooke shot just fine with a borrowed .243-caliber rifle that several kids have used for their first deer. It’s a pretty small rifle with light recoil.” Mike told the DallasNews.
“It was nerve-racking, but I knew I could do it,” Brooke said when interviewed about the experience. “At first I was so excited that I couldn’t pull the trigger. Dad helped me calm down with deep breaths. I found the deer in the scope again, took a deep breath and shot. The deer fell over backwards. It was awesome. I love hunting with my dad.”
