‘Pistol’ Pete Rodelsperger: a sportsman prodigy
By Ford Walpole
In his first decade on this earth, Peter Rodelsperger already has compiled an outdoors résumé enviable among sportsmen of any age. As the boy steadily began to notch hunting and fishing conquests, family friend Michael Lalich appropriately dubbed the young marksman “Pistol Pete,” a tribute to the memory of his own friend who had gone by the same moniker.
A proper outdoors upbringing requires several important factors: mentors, setting and opportunity. Fortunately, young Pete was reared with abundant access to all three. His parents, Dr. Robert and Holly Renken Rodelsperger are passionate about the natural world of the Lowcountry and its abundant recreational resources.
Pete’s older sisters (Allie, 17 and Emma, 15) are accomplished artists who likewise love to hunt and fish. Although they are still teenagers, both girls sell their artwork and one of their favorite subjects is outdoor scenes. Both girls fished Big Rock Kids’ Tournament and won the art contests that displayed their work on the tournament t-shirts in back-to-back years.
Pete also has been blessed with two grandfathers, each of whom significantly contributed to his hunting and fishing education. Pete refers to Dr. Ed Rodgelsperger as “Pop”; Kenny Renken is known as “Big Foot” to grandchildren and friends alike — because of his size 15 shoes. Both men are always eager to provide Pete with new hunting and fishing adventures.
When he was two years old, Pete accompanied his father on his first deer hunt. “Before Pete even held a gun, he was ready to shoot something!” Robert remembers. Pete harvested his first duck at two and one-half, a wood duck on Youth Day at season’s end. Robert recalls the hunt at Wingate Place, the family’s John’s Island farm: “He was wearing waders, but since he was so little, we didn’t want him standing in the water, so I backed the John Deere Gator down into the edge of the water in a flooded swamp and Pete sat on the tailgate. Right at shooting time, ducks came in and Pete shot a wood duck with his single-shot .410.” Jimmy Hortman mounted the drake, immortalizing the rite of passage.
A slew of sporting accomplishments would soon follow. At four, Pete bagged his first hog hunting his father in Sandersville, Georgia. At a very young age, Pete accompanied Robert offshore and sat on a beanbag on the deck, when he was five, Pete released his first sailfish on the Miss Wy and a few months later, at Wingate on Youth Day, Pete shot his first deer, an eight-point buck.
Holly contrasts Pete’s early COVID months to the extreme boredom experienced by many other children during the quarantine: For Pistol Pete, this respite from school provided a multitude of exciting outdoor opportunities — he caught a 13.89-pound flounder in the Wappoo Creek and killed his first wild turkey a few days later. A few weeks after that, Pete caught his first dolphin offshore with Robert and Ed. In the same spring just after turning six, Pete fished aboard the Palmetto Guard on a successful trip that yielded blue marlin and dolphin.
On October 15, 2021, Pete and Robert were hunting at Holly’s mother’s family place in Sandersville where Pete shot a nice nine-point buck that Big Foot had saved for him. After loading the deer in the truck, the young hunter was not ready to head to the processor just yet, instead asking: “What are we going to do now? Can we hunt somewhere else?” So, Pete and Robert climbed into another stand and Pete bagged a doe, finally ready to take both deer to the processor.
This past summer, Pete independently honed his inshore fishing skills: “He hops on his Onewheel with his tackle box and rod and heads to different spots in the neighborhood to try the bait he caught in the creek behind the house,” Holly says. “He now has three or four good fishing holes that he fishes with his neighborhood friends, and they have caught redfish, trout and ladyfish.”
In addition to being an avid outdoorsman, Pete’s sporting journal reveals a budding outdoor writer whose work mirrors the minimalist style of Ernest Hemingway. He writes: “On Sunday, July 28, I went fishing off my grandparents’ dock. I wasn’t getting any bites, so I put the rod in the rod holder and left the bail open and went inside. I waited about 20 minutes and walked back inside. I did not have a fish on. I walked back outside. I walked on out, and my bobber went under. I grabbed my rod and set the hook. It started screaming drag. Then I finally started gaining line. I finally got it to the dock, and we netted it. It was a huge redfish.”
This year’s Youth Day did not present ideal deer hunting conditions for Pete, so Ed took his grandson hunting at Wingate early in the season since Robert was fishing in a tournament that weekend. Pete relates the hunt: “Pop couldn’t see the deer because they were on my side. We saw two small six-points, four does, and another deer we couldn’t tell what it was. One hour later, another deer came out. Pop said I could shoot, so I shot. It was only a six-point, but it was a nice-sized deer — and my first one in velvet!”
“Pete asked if he could shoot the buck,” Ed adds. I said: “Heck, yeah, Buddy! You are hunting with your grandfather, and the green light is on!” After he shot the buck, that kid just exhibited so much joy; he was high-fiving me. That hunt meant so much more to me than any deer I have ever killed.”
“I think his grandad fell for Pete’s sales tactics better than his dad would have,” Robert laughs, acknowledging his son’s gift in the art of persuasion. “Two years ago, Pete and I were hunting and he asked to shoot a four-point but I said no. He sat there for a minute and said: “Well, I came out here this morning with two goals: to shoot a deer in velvet and to shoot one with this rifle, and this buck checks both of those boxes!””
This past Sunday night, Pete was deer hunting with Robert where a 10-point has been presenting itself to the camera. Robert put out a scent bomb but did not see anything for much of the evening. “At five minutes before 7:00 p.m. a six-point came out and I was watching him,” Robert says. “Pete saw an eight-point come from the same spot that cut into the field. Right at 7:00 p.m. he shot him at 40 yards. The buck ran to the edge of the power line and dropped. After Pete shot, he did a fist-pump and yelled “Let’s go!” He was so excited, he was shaking like a leaf,” Robert says.
At Cordray's Processing, an older gentleman congratulated Robert on the buck. When the father revealed that his 10-year-old son was responsible for the harvest, the man was surprised. Kenneth Cordray, who hardly shared the onlooker’s shock, declared of Pete: “This kid’s a killer, Man! I have taken more pictures of him in front of this sign than most grown men could dream of!”
All of Pete’s larger Wingate bucks have been taken from the same stand, even though he is not tall enough to sit on the seat, which adds a challenge for both Pete and his father. “He has to sit on my knee, so I’ve got to be sure I keep it together because if I start shaking, Pete might miss the deer,” Robert says.
Just 15 minutes after they loaded Pete’s eight-point and departed the field, the 10-point buck appeared on camera; however, the boy’s older sister Allie gets first crack at this one and for the remainder of the season she has dibs on which deer stand from which to hunt.
Additional accomplishments in Pistol Pete’s sporting life include quail, more hogs, deer and turkeys, a snow goose, an alligator, swordfish, blue marlin, blackfin tuna in the Keys, white marlin in the Dominican Republic, bonefish and tarpon in Belize, iguana hunting in Ft. Lauderdale, bowfishing in the Everglades and gadwall and mallards in Arkansas.
“Pete is like a grown-up from back in the day,” Holly says. “He is always doing something outside, whether that is fishing or playing football. Pete just can’t wait until it’s the next season to hunt or fish for something new. He is tough, and he doesn’t complain. It doesn’t matter if it is freezing cold or pouring rain, he doesn’t care, so long as he is hunting and fishing. We have talked to Pete about making hunting more of a challenge. He is currently pulling 20 pounds with his compound bow, but he needs to be pulling 40 before he’ll be ready to hunt with it,” she says.
“In 10 years, Pete has accomplished what most men who hunt and fish cannot do in a lifetime!” exclaims Kenny Renken. “It is just amazing — I tell you what: He is an outside person who is not going to sit inside playing video games or watching television and if he does watch anything, it’s going to be hunting and fishing shows.” Pete especially enjoys YouTube channels such as Deer Meat for Dinner and Bluegabe; he has no interest in cartoons or kids’ shows.
“Pete is something else; he is quite a character and is a special and kind young man,” Ed Rodelsperger says. “He is always up for doing anything that involves being outside. Pete’s my buddy and doesn’t mind spending time with old fellas like me and Big Foot, his other granddaddy. He is just so full of joy any time he catches a fish or is successful on a hunt. I have never seen him in a bad mood — Pete just always looks on the bright side of everything!”
We are all excited to hear about the inevitable upcoming installments of Pistol Pete Rodelsperger’s outdoor adventures and to discover what the future holds for this fine young man proudly continuing the Lowcountry’s rich sporting tradition.
Ford Walpole lives and writes on John’s Island and is the author of many articles on the outdoors. He teaches English at James Island Charter High School and the College of Charleston and may be reached at fordwalpole@gmail.com.
