The story ends with eating a heart—yes, a deer heart—but that’s only the finale.

It begins in a Nevada airport, where three young girls—two seventh graders and a third grader—met before flying across the country for a youth deer hunt in Missouri. The youngest, Zora, had hunted before on her family’s farm. Her father, Pat Jackson, had reached out months earlier, offering to host a hunt if the Wild Sheep Foundation wanted to introduce a few new youths to the outdoors.

Soon, logistics were set. Two families were contacted, and Finja and Isabelle signed on for the adventure. Five months later, at 4:45 a.m., the girls were shaking hands for the first time at the airport.

They landed in Kansas City that afternoon and drove to the small town of Carrollton to drop their gear. Because it happened to be Halloween, the girls changed into costumes and went trick-or-treating—gathering candy for the blinds as much as for themselves. Meanwhile, Pat and a mentor headed to the farm to finish setting up blinds. Everyone met later at a local pizza place for dinner, and the girls quickly hit it off.

The next morning, each girl headed to a blind with a mentor. About an hour and a half into the hunt, a photo popped up on everyone’s phone—Zora with a deer. Hope surged. Finja saw deer but couldn’t get positioned for a shot in time.

All the girls gather around Zora's buck before learning how to clean a deer in the field.

That afternoon, opportunity returned. Thirty minutes before the end of shooting time, Finja made a perfectly placed shot on a doe—her first deer. She was vibrating with adrenaline, pausing in the stand until she calmed down, then proudly knelt beside her harvest.

Finja in the tree blind about an hour before she shot her first deer.

Isabelle with her first deer.

The next morning, Isabelle spotted a nice buck. With her dad coaching quietly beside her, she stayed calm, took a steady shot, followed the blood trail, and found her deer.

About an hour later, Finja filled her second tag, this time on a buck. Another well-placed shot—another proud moment.

In just two days, all three girls harvested deer, strengthened friendships, and shared an experience with their parents and mentors that none of them would forget. Five coolers of meat were checked at the airport. When adults asked what was inside, the girls grinned and answered, “Those are the deer we shot.”

Finja, Isabelle, and Zora tower over their coolers of meat at the airport.

Once back home, everyone gathered to process the meat in Pat’s backyard wall tent. Fresh steaks sizzled over the fire. During the cleaning in Missouri, Pat had shown them various organs—prompting the wide-eyed question, “You can eat that?” when the heart came out. “Yes, you can,” he replied.

Before the backstraps were even tasted, two of the girls sampled sliced deer heart for the first time.

In just five days, they trick-or-treated in a new state, climbed into tree stands, harvested their deer, learned to cut and package meat, and tried wild game they never imagined eating. It was a hunt—and an adventure—they will remember for a lifetime.

Tags: Youth