HARRISVILLE — J.T. Burton isn’t much of an indoor cat.

He does not really play video games, and although he loves the television program “Duck Dynasty,” the 13-year-old really thrives in an outdoor setting.

The eighth grader at Slippery Rock Middle School plays football and rides quads, but one of his favorite activities is hunting.

“I like it because it’s quiet and there’s no stuff to distract you,” said J.T. of Harrisville.

He started hunting four years ago, when he was 9-years old.

Although he sometimes hunts for small game, the real excitement comes with rifle season for deer.

Traditionally, he goes with his father, Kevin Burton, as well as his brother and uncle.

They hunt near his grandparents’ house in Marion Township. They hunt in the morning and then have lunch at the house.

“Always on the first day, for sure,” Kevin Burton said.

J.T. has killed three deer in the past three years.

Last year, J.T. netted a large, 12-point buck on the first day of the season.

He recalled sitting in a tree stand and spotting the buck about 120 yards away in some brush. He took aim and it took two shots from his .270-caliber Remington Model 760 Gamemaster to take it down.

“It was very cool that it was that big of a buck that walked in,” Burton said.

He received a certificate from his school for being the student to get the largest buck in 2012.

The deer was turned into bologna and jerky. J.T. said that he likes eating the lean meat.

When the family has too much venison, his father often takes it to a food pantry or gives it to people he knows can use it.

Just recently, J.T. got the 12-point mount back from the taxidermist. It hangs in his bedroom, which features camouflage bed sheets and window curtains.

In 2011, J.T. and his 16-year-old brother, Isaac, both shot deer minutes apart on the first day of the season.

Their father also has nabbed several deer in the past. However, he has not had such success since his sons began hunting. This doesn’t bother him, since he finds it rewarding to teach his sons in the field.

“Kind of a shared experience,” he said.

J.T. hopes that this year’s rifle season, which starts Dec. 2, will bring another buck.

“I think it would be cool to get a fourth one in a row,” Burton said.

If he has children, J.T. said that he, too, would like to see them carry on the hunting tradition.