Beginner’s Luck: The Story of the Varghese Boys

Beginner’s Luck: The Story of the Varghese Boys

By Ryan Graden

I was taken into the timber for my first hunt when I was four years old. It was a squirrel hunt at Ledges State Park just outside of Boone, Iowa. My Dad was attending college at Iowa State and I had a few uncles who were attending there as well. Weekend squirrel hunts were a common practice, and if the weather was fair enough, I was determined to go. As the years went on, my ambition for the sport advanced. It was always my desire to mentor anybody who was interested. I was ready for the challenge and the privilege of leading them into the sport and ethics of hunting.

Planting a Seed
I was attending Iowa State University in the late 90’s to early 2000’s. My wife and I had plugged into a local church. There, I met this guy who came from Chicago. He cared to know you intentionally and even though we came from very different backgrounds, it didn’t seem to matter. Fast forward 20 years and Jacob and I are still friends. In the fall of 2022, Jacob mentioned his son Luca had expressed interest in deer hunting. I suggested hunting the late muzzleloader season.

Prior to the hunt, Jacob and Luca came out to shoot my muzzleloader. I set them up at 50 yards, showed them how to load the gun, and talked them through some basic shooting principles. Within a few shots, they were consistently hitting the bullseye.

Jacob’s Hunt
On our first evening out, I picked a blind on the edge of a friend’s beanfield. I had been seeing a steady stream of deer there most evenings. I suggested Jacob and Luca should not be too picky for their first deer. We would do our best to just make a good shot and a clean harvest. They both agreed.

As the evening ticked away, a few deer started to come out in the field. Unfortunately, they were quite a distance away in the field. I happened to catch a little bit of movement through the window. Standing on the edge of the timber carefully looking over the field, was a large-bodied buck! His antlers matched his body!

Knowing that we might not have too much time before this buck turned left, I grabbed Jacob’s arm (because he was closest) and said very excitedly, “There is a huge buck over here in the timber!” He looked in the direction I was looking and saw it pretty quickly. “Jacob, get ready!” I whispered rather excitedly. I opened the window quietly and Jacob slid the barrel out of the window. In total control, Jacob zeroed in on the buck, took a deep breath, and squeezed the trigger. An explosion of smoke immediately engulfed us, I saw the deer spin and take off into the timber. I heard the unmistakable crash of a buck falling down the ravine into total stillness at the bottom! I knew what we’d find, but I wanted him to experience the full story.

Jacob, Luca, and I headed toward where the buck stood. I showed them the tracks and the unmistakable color of blood in the snow. Jacob followed the sign to the edge of the ravine peering to the bottom to see his very first deer. A trophy buck in anyone’s book!

As we approached, I saw awe and wonder on Jacob’s face. He said, “I’m speechless. He looked so majestic and there was a weird sadness and a weird excitement all at the same time. As I was shooting, I realized a life is going to be over if it hits.” My response was, “Jacob, that is the right response of a true hunter.” We took pictures, celebrated, and I started texting all our friends sharing the picture of Jacob and his eleven-point trophy! However, Luca still had a tag and the season wasn’t over.

Luca’s Hunts
After Jacob’s successful hunt, we were now ready for Luca. We sat hoping to see something for Luca to harvest, but nothing came out within range. So, a second night was planned.

Luca and Jacob showed up and we hustled to the blind. It didn’t take long for us to see the leader of the group pop into view. The deer slowly trotted nearer and nearer until it finally spotted the blind where it stopped. A sixty-yard broadside shot sent the deer running toward the timber. It hopped a fence and disappeared into a ravine. I could see Luca’s shot and I knew that this deer would be piled up not too far into the timber. As Luca began to track the blood it led us to his very first harvest! A young doe made for a great picture that evening and the smile was evident on Luca’s face.

Youth Season 2023
Luca’s story continued when he bought his youth deer license for September of 2023. Luca and Jacob had carved out some time on the opening weekend of that season. For this hunt, Jacob and Luca were going to be on their own. I received a much-awaited text from Jacob. “I think we shot one!” Jacob said that in the final 15-20 minutes, Luca looked up out of the blind and said, “Dad, there’s a buck right there.” Luca dialed in with his shotgun and carefully pulled the trigger. The buck spun and headed back into the timber, and that was the last they saw. I told Jacob, “Go ahead and step out of the blind and begin to look for blood before it gets too dark.”

My youngest daughter and I hopped into our ATV and made our way to where Jacob and Luca were on the edge of the timber. When I arrived, I asked them, “Did you find any blood yet?” I could see they were searching as we pulled up. Jacob answered, “No, but that might be kind of hard for us. Both of us are color blind and can’t see the color red.” I chuckled as my daughter and I took the lead looking for blood. It didn’t take us long to find it! A short 30 yards of following that blood led us to Luca’s harvest! His very first buck and a fourteen-pointer at that!

Luca was all smiles as were the rest of us! What an incredible memory for all of us to have. Many people might hunt years before they kill bucks of that caliber, but not these two! Hunting is so much more than a harvest, it’s the opportunity to be in God’s creation and experience the peace that it offers. My hope is that Jacob and Luca continue to venture into the outdoors. I hope they continue to pursue adventures and create memories that a father and son should share. Congratulations Jacob and Luca!