mooretitan
WKR
My oldest son has always loved the outdoors. He has a drive/love for fishing and hunting that is pretty crazy for his age. Since I love it too we have gone on some great adventures already. This year things have been a little different for me. I lost my best hunting partner for some bad personal decisions they were making and my wife has been battling some serious health issues. Anyways the amount of time and passion to get out has not been there but knowing how much me kids love the outdoors I try to make it happen between life events and my wife’s health. General deer season started this weekend I don’t think I have missed opening weekend since I was away for college but this one was going to be a little different. Three kids events in the morning that I had to attend so the kids could play left me Saturday evening and all day Sunday to get out. Depending how my wife felt I should be able to get out for a 3 day hunt towards the end of season.
So Saturday morning took the kids where they needed to be and was packed up with my oldest boy (12) for the hunt. He new that General season us finding a buck were not the greatest. This zone hovers around 7% but I have been pretty successfully over the years. As we strapped up the packs I was hoping Lady Luck was on out side. We quickly spotted 2 does and a spike on the way in around 4:00. I was a little surprised to see them up this early. I was taking this as a good sign. After an hour or so we were glassing the bowl I planned to stay in until dark. As we settled in I was kicking myself for not taking my diet and training more serious. With in a few minutes I spotted a buck about a 1000yards down into the bowl. For this area it was a pretty respectable buck. We had the wind in our favor and a pretty easy approach to get within range. At 400 yards everything looked good and the buck was still in the area finding on the oak trees. Another 200 yards and we would be close enough for a solid shot. As we closed the last few yards we spooked a few does but luckily they busted out in a different direction. As we came in for the final stock I set my pack down and got out the tripod and pig saddle set up for the 260. As we scanned the area I picked the buck off to our left under a few trees but deep enough in a ditch to conceal his movement. I knew he had to clear a few trees and we should be good. I asked my son if he was ready and he said yep. After about 20mins and the deer not clearing the trees I started to get a little nervous. We had lots of day light left and just needed to sit tight. If it was just me I would have just gone in and shot him off hand but my son is very small and shooting off head with a heavy barreled 260 was not an option. I told my son I was going to go back to my pack and get my binos and hopefully be able to pick up buck somehow. As I reached my pack I heard the 260 go off. I looked down at
my son and he said I got him. I told him to load again but he said dad I killed him. I shot him in the neck and he dropped. I got to where he shot and I could not see the buck and I did not really hear a solid hit so I was a little worried. Again my son said dad I killed him. I had a steady rest and practiced pointing at a few trees. We worked our way to the tree he said the deer was at and sure enough he dropped him right there. After a quick gut job and pictures I knew we had a long hike out so we left the deer hanging and headed out. As we topped the ridge we stopped and had a short talked about life and everything that God has created and to take this moment in. He had one heck of a day. Started out throwing 2 touch downs and catching an interception and ended shooting his 1st general season buck.
The next morning we started back in around 6 and did not make it back to the truck until 1. Quartered the buck out came out carrying roughly 70 plus pounds of stuff. My legs killed on the hike out of the bowl and weren’t much better going down the mountain. But everything stayed together and besides being a little tired I am grateful for the small window of time we had to get it done.
As we got into the truck to head home he told me this is how he likes to hunt. His 1st two bucks were private land Idaho bucks which were great hunts but not the most physically demanding. As long as I have him burning with passion I have a great reason to make these trips keep happening. His younger brother and sisters are waiting for their turn. We shared our hunt tonight over back strap and bake potatoes. A great start to the season.
So Saturday morning took the kids where they needed to be and was packed up with my oldest boy (12) for the hunt. He new that General season us finding a buck were not the greatest. This zone hovers around 7% but I have been pretty successfully over the years. As we strapped up the packs I was hoping Lady Luck was on out side. We quickly spotted 2 does and a spike on the way in around 4:00. I was a little surprised to see them up this early. I was taking this as a good sign. After an hour or so we were glassing the bowl I planned to stay in until dark. As we settled in I was kicking myself for not taking my diet and training more serious. With in a few minutes I spotted a buck about a 1000yards down into the bowl. For this area it was a pretty respectable buck. We had the wind in our favor and a pretty easy approach to get within range. At 400 yards everything looked good and the buck was still in the area finding on the oak trees. Another 200 yards and we would be close enough for a solid shot. As we closed the last few yards we spooked a few does but luckily they busted out in a different direction. As we came in for the final stock I set my pack down and got out the tripod and pig saddle set up for the 260. As we scanned the area I picked the buck off to our left under a few trees but deep enough in a ditch to conceal his movement. I knew he had to clear a few trees and we should be good. I asked my son if he was ready and he said yep. After about 20mins and the deer not clearing the trees I started to get a little nervous. We had lots of day light left and just needed to sit tight. If it was just me I would have just gone in and shot him off hand but my son is very small and shooting off head with a heavy barreled 260 was not an option. I told my son I was going to go back to my pack and get my binos and hopefully be able to pick up buck somehow. As I reached my pack I heard the 260 go off. I looked down at
my son and he said I got him. I told him to load again but he said dad I killed him. I shot him in the neck and he dropped. I got to where he shot and I could not see the buck and I did not really hear a solid hit so I was a little worried. Again my son said dad I killed him. I had a steady rest and practiced pointing at a few trees. We worked our way to the tree he said the deer was at and sure enough he dropped him right there. After a quick gut job and pictures I knew we had a long hike out so we left the deer hanging and headed out. As we topped the ridge we stopped and had a short talked about life and everything that God has created and to take this moment in. He had one heck of a day. Started out throwing 2 touch downs and catching an interception and ended shooting his 1st general season buck.
The next morning we started back in around 6 and did not make it back to the truck until 1. Quartered the buck out came out carrying roughly 70 plus pounds of stuff. My legs killed on the hike out of the bowl and weren’t much better going down the mountain. But everything stayed together and besides being a little tired I am grateful for the small window of time we had to get it done.
As we got into the truck to head home he told me this is how he likes to hunt. His 1st two bucks were private land Idaho bucks which were great hunts but not the most physically demanding. As long as I have him burning with passion I have a great reason to make these trips keep happening. His younger brother and sisters are waiting for their turn. We shared our hunt tonight over back strap and bake potatoes. A great start to the season.
