My Brother-In-Law and I have hunted together with our boys since they were just little runts.
This year was no different and it started with the archery hunt. We were having a hard time getting into the Elk this year so we decided to focus on the Mulies.
We found deer right away and we made some attempts and finally my boy cam face to face with a very nice 3X4 with eyeguards. When I say face to face I mean 10 feet.
Let's just say the old BF got the best of my boy and the opportunity was missed, but the look on my sons face when I got back up to him was priceless. He was shaking and all he could say was "Dad, he was a lot bigger face to face than he was through the spotter". I know that moment is etched in his mind forever and the experience for him was almost as good as if he had harvested that animal.
Fast forward - We continue to find good bucks and even found one great buck but we only saw him one time and we could never turn him up again.
http://www.monsterhuntclips.com/video/1628/Northern-Utah-Buck
We hone in on a couple of bucks that we had patterned over 2 weekends and decide to go after them. Only problem being this is public land and a couple other hunters were on to them as well.
http://www.monsterhuntclips.com/video/1629/Tevins-Buck
We waited our turn, so to speak, and watched the other guys have a couple of close calls. This pushed the bucks into an area where we could make a move, so we did.
We were able to get my nephew to within 20 yards of the bigger buck and the rest is history. Mind you, this is his first deer with a bow.
My Nephew Tevin with his Buck
My Nephew and his Dad
My Nephew and his Cousin
The Crew
Live Pics (forgive the quality - through the spotter)
I had to travel for work and my boy wanted to go after it again with the muzzleloader. My Brother-In-Law jumped at the chance to take him up on the opener but they didn't see any bucks (same area).
So, my boy decided he wanted to give it a shot with the rifle, which I am not a fan of.
When I was 16 my Dad and I were hunting this same area on the rifle hunt. We had a stray bullet come to within 5 feet of us as we sat on a ridge. My Dad stood up right there and we walked out of the canyon and he has not rifle hunted the general rifle since. We both took up archery and that was that. I have not hunted the general rifle either except for the last 2 years so we could take advantage of it for my boy. How can a guy turn down a day in the hills with his Son? We decided to brave it out!
We drove up first thing Saturday morning and were glassing by 7:00 AM. We found a few does and even more hunters. It was looking pretty gloom and doom but we finally spotted 2 bucks hanging out in the bottom of a canyon where no one else was hunting (which as you can imagine was one small little area). We decided to go after them.
It was hard to tell for sure because we were about a mile away but the bigger of the 2 bucks looked just like the one my boy had missed earlier on the archery hunt.
My boy and I dropped into the canyon above the bucks with the wind in our favor. We hurried as quietly as we could down to where we had last seen them.
As we crested the small rise in the terrain we could no longer see them but we knew they had to be in there. We started to glass the trees and finally about 150 yards away the smaller buck steps out into a clearing.
My boy drops to a knee and adjusts his shooting sticks. He let's me know he has him in the crosshairs but I tell him to wait for a minute and let's see if we can spot the bigger buck. My boy waits patiently but he finally says he wants to shoot the one in the crosshairs. I tell him if he feels good about the shot to let him have it and squeeze.
I put up the binos and watch the buck crumble right on the spot, dead on it's feet. What a shot! 225 yards with the 7mm rem mag and the buck was down.
I am waiting for the bigger buck to come busting out of the trees but we never see him.
We only had that morning to hunt due to many other committments (family, school, Lacrosse, etc.) so I am glad we didn't wait for the bigger buck in this case, especially since we saw the bigger buck dead in another guys rig on the way out. He must of snuck out of the canyon while we were making our way over to them. Wouldn't you know it, it was the buck he had missed earlier during the archery hunt.
Either way, this is my boys second buck and this one is bigger than his first. He was happy and that makes me happy!
He had just gotten his Eagle Scout the week before and his Uncle gave him a brand new hunting knife for his accomplishment. Less than a week later he was able to break it in.
The deer was spotted at 7:30, it was dead at 8:00, we got back to him with packs and such at 9:30 and we had him back to the truck by 11:00. What a hunt, short but sweet.
My boy Jaden with his buck
My boy and I
My boy and his uncle
My boy packing it out
We have had an awesome year getting our boys onto bucks. Hopefully our success isn't over yet as both my Brother-In-Law and I have the front to hunt, and that's just getting ready to heat up
Good luck to everyone else and thanks for reading!
"The problem with quotes on Internet Forums is that it is often difficult to verify their authenticity." - Abraham Lincoln
This year was no different and it started with the archery hunt. We were having a hard time getting into the Elk this year so we decided to focus on the Mulies.
We found deer right away and we made some attempts and finally my boy cam face to face with a very nice 3X4 with eyeguards. When I say face to face I mean 10 feet.
Let's just say the old BF got the best of my boy and the opportunity was missed, but the look on my sons face when I got back up to him was priceless. He was shaking and all he could say was "Dad, he was a lot bigger face to face than he was through the spotter". I know that moment is etched in his mind forever and the experience for him was almost as good as if he had harvested that animal.
Fast forward - We continue to find good bucks and even found one great buck but we only saw him one time and we could never turn him up again.
http://www.monsterhuntclips.com/video/1628/Northern-Utah-Buck
We hone in on a couple of bucks that we had patterned over 2 weekends and decide to go after them. Only problem being this is public land and a couple other hunters were on to them as well.
http://www.monsterhuntclips.com/video/1629/Tevins-Buck
We waited our turn, so to speak, and watched the other guys have a couple of close calls. This pushed the bucks into an area where we could make a move, so we did.
We were able to get my nephew to within 20 yards of the bigger buck and the rest is history. Mind you, this is his first deer with a bow.
My Nephew Tevin with his Buck
My Nephew and his Dad
My Nephew and his Cousin
The Crew
Live Pics (forgive the quality - through the spotter)
I had to travel for work and my boy wanted to go after it again with the muzzleloader. My Brother-In-Law jumped at the chance to take him up on the opener but they didn't see any bucks (same area).
So, my boy decided he wanted to give it a shot with the rifle, which I am not a fan of.
When I was 16 my Dad and I were hunting this same area on the rifle hunt. We had a stray bullet come to within 5 feet of us as we sat on a ridge. My Dad stood up right there and we walked out of the canyon and he has not rifle hunted the general rifle since. We both took up archery and that was that. I have not hunted the general rifle either except for the last 2 years so we could take advantage of it for my boy. How can a guy turn down a day in the hills with his Son? We decided to brave it out!
We drove up first thing Saturday morning and were glassing by 7:00 AM. We found a few does and even more hunters. It was looking pretty gloom and doom but we finally spotted 2 bucks hanging out in the bottom of a canyon where no one else was hunting (which as you can imagine was one small little area). We decided to go after them.
It was hard to tell for sure because we were about a mile away but the bigger of the 2 bucks looked just like the one my boy had missed earlier on the archery hunt.
My boy and I dropped into the canyon above the bucks with the wind in our favor. We hurried as quietly as we could down to where we had last seen them.
As we crested the small rise in the terrain we could no longer see them but we knew they had to be in there. We started to glass the trees and finally about 150 yards away the smaller buck steps out into a clearing.
My boy drops to a knee and adjusts his shooting sticks. He let's me know he has him in the crosshairs but I tell him to wait for a minute and let's see if we can spot the bigger buck. My boy waits patiently but he finally says he wants to shoot the one in the crosshairs. I tell him if he feels good about the shot to let him have it and squeeze.
I put up the binos and watch the buck crumble right on the spot, dead on it's feet. What a shot! 225 yards with the 7mm rem mag and the buck was down.
I am waiting for the bigger buck to come busting out of the trees but we never see him.
We only had that morning to hunt due to many other committments (family, school, Lacrosse, etc.) so I am glad we didn't wait for the bigger buck in this case, especially since we saw the bigger buck dead in another guys rig on the way out. He must of snuck out of the canyon while we were making our way over to them. Wouldn't you know it, it was the buck he had missed earlier during the archery hunt.
Either way, this is my boys second buck and this one is bigger than his first. He was happy and that makes me happy!
He had just gotten his Eagle Scout the week before and his Uncle gave him a brand new hunting knife for his accomplishment. Less than a week later he was able to break it in.
The deer was spotted at 7:30, it was dead at 8:00, we got back to him with packs and such at 9:30 and we had him back to the truck by 11:00. What a hunt, short but sweet.
My boy Jaden with his buck
My boy and I
My boy and his uncle
My boy packing it out
We have had an awesome year getting our boys onto bucks. Hopefully our success isn't over yet as both my Brother-In-Law and I have the front to hunt, and that's just getting ready to heat up
Good luck to everyone else and thanks for reading!
"The problem with quotes on Internet Forums is that it is often difficult to verify their authenticity." - Abraham Lincoln
