Photo courtesy of MLive
Dan Nauta would have loved to see his son kill his first buck, but that’s not what happened. He died July 6, 2015, from an unknown cause, reportedly collapsing while helping take down a tree.
“He was gone before he hit the ground,” Dan’s wife Cherié told MLive. “It was a complete shock. I did CPR but he was already gone.”
Dan was 46.
His son is 9. Franklin Nauta had to await an autopsy report with other family members when he would have otherwise been preparing for Michigan’s deer season with his father. The 2015 season would have been their first time afield with Franklin taking the shot. Dan left this life early, but thanks to the kindness of others young Franklin was able to honor his late father’s memory with an exceptional eight-pointer.
Franklin took part in Michigan’s youth hunting weekend September 19-20, taking his father’s rifle and 23-year-old brother, Brad Benham, with him. Turkey Creek Whitetails in Dewitt heard of Franklin’s loss and offered to let the boy hunt on its ranch.
Franklin was nervous of carrying Dan’s lever-action rifle on the hunt and opted for a crossbow instead. A big buck came by the hidden hunters but stayed out of range of the archery tackle. When it left, the brothers made their way back to fetch the rifle and returned 20 minutes later.
The brothers sat and talked quietly on the hunt, remembering Dan and advice he had given. When a big eight-point buck walked out, Franklin held Dan’s .30-30 close—but not too close, as Franklin recalled, because the scope could hit him in the nose like it had once done to Dan—and squeezed the trigger.
The brothers made their way to the fallen deer and knelt to pray. Faith is important to the family, but especially so during the triumph of the hunt.
“Once the deer was down I put my hand on his dad’s gun and asked him if he wanted to pray and we prayed,” Brad said. “We thanked the deer, we thanked for success and God’s grace. It worked out well.”
Dan had been with Brad when he killed his first deer, and though the moment was bittersweet, it was special for the brothers to share it. Brad told MLive he plans to hunt with Franklin until he’s ready to go solo.
Mill Creek Taxidermy chipped in with a free deer mount for Franklin, with Wilderness Meats & Deli processing the meat.
Dan was 36 when he killed his first buck, four times the age of Franklin. He was with Franklin on the hunt, if only in spirit and the boy’s memories.
“[Dan] would be just full of pure excitement for him,” Cherié told MLive.