abalonediver
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LAST EDITED ON Jan-24-12 AT 11:00AM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Jan-24-12 AT 10:57?AM (MST)
I took my youngest son, Carson, to Colorado this year. He turned 12 in September and it was his first time deer hunting. What an awesome experience. It started on November 6, 2011, with driving from Susuanville, CA to Sparks, NV, to pick up my dad. A storm had hit in Eastern Nevada and I-80 was a mess. We had to chain up several times so it was slow going. We pulled into camp EARLY Monday morning and set up the tent in brisk 7 degree weather. We were up several hours later to start. My dad, son and I hunted together in the morning and then for the afternoon hunt my son and I split off. We came back to camp that night and my dad told us that he had shot a small 4x4. He is mid sixties and still hunts hard. It was in the low teens and he had stahed the buck back a trail, so while he made dinner, Carson and i took off on the quad to bring it back. Over the next several days Carson and I spotted and stalked 8 or 9 bucks without him pulling the trigger. I never realized how much more work it was for a youngster to pull the trigger. (Couldn't see the buck, brush in the way, rifle moving and yes...even "he's to small") Finally on the fourth day on the drive back to camp, we glassed a nice 4x3 about 450 yards from the truck. I know it was a long shot and Carson was shooting a .308, so not a very flat shooting gun but i wanted him to a least get a feel for shooting at a live animal. I had a feeling he was waiting for everything to be too "perfect". I whistled the buck up and he stood and started feeding with some does. I set him up on a rest, he got on the buck and my dad and I waited and waited and waited. Everytime i put the glasses down and looked over at him he was re-adjusting. I just let him take his time but after about 15 minutes he started to tear up a little. We talked and he was so concerned that he was going to miss the deer. Long story short he relaxed and took several shots at the buck, who glanced our way without cause and continued to chase a doe around. We went back to camp for lunch but it was like a huge weight had been lifted from Carson's shoulders. About three that afternoon my dad took the truck the hours drive into town for fuel so Carson and i set out for an evening hunt in an area that we knew held a lot of deer. On the quad ride there we spotted a doe feeding in the oak brush about 80 yards off the road, so we glassed for a buck chasing her with out luck. We continued for a couple hundred yards when several does jumped up on the road from a steep ravine on our right, followed by 2 bucks. The bucks chased the does over the road and continued up the ravine. It was like time slowed down to me. I stopped the quad and Carson jumped off, loaded his gun and kneeled down. One of the does stopped at the top of the ravine in an opening in the oak brush. I knew one of the bucks was right behind her, but we couldnt see him, even at under 70 yards. If you have ever hunted in oak brush, you know what I'm talking about. I was able to tell Carson if the doe continues to our right, the buck will step out, but if she goes the other way, we'll never see him. Sure enough she took two steps to our right and the buck stepped into the opening. I gave a low whistle and he stopped and looked right at us...BOOM. He dropped in his tracks. I was able to watch both front legs collapse and down he went. I looked at my son and I saw a look in his face that I will never forget. We looked like a couple of bozos hollaring and hugging in the snow. We climbed up the ravine and discovered this awesome buck. He was a young deer with great genetics and measured 24". After much picure taking and some time just to reflect on a great hunt we pushed him down the hill (You can see the marks in the snow behind us). It was getting dark so we managed to load him on the quad and quarter him up in camp with a latern going (a luxery i know, but take them when you get them). When my dad got back to camp we where halfway done with the buck and my son was beaming with pride and waiting to tell the story. I know that he ended up shooting the buck off the road, but we put miles on our boots. We spotted several bucks with a spotting scope and worked in to them without luck. I think he got a great overall experience on how to hunt mule deer and the subtle complications that go with the territory. He is getting a european done and was explaining to me that in the furure, we are going to run out of room in our living room thanks to his contribution (s) to the skull numbers. I cant explain how it felt to experience this with Carson but I know that at least right now, I dont care if I ever kill another animal, as long as I can take my boy hunting.
I took my youngest son, Carson, to Colorado this year. He turned 12 in September and it was his first time deer hunting. What an awesome experience. It started on November 6, 2011, with driving from Susuanville, CA to Sparks, NV, to pick up my dad. A storm had hit in Eastern Nevada and I-80 was a mess. We had to chain up several times so it was slow going. We pulled into camp EARLY Monday morning and set up the tent in brisk 7 degree weather. We were up several hours later to start. My dad, son and I hunted together in the morning and then for the afternoon hunt my son and I split off. We came back to camp that night and my dad told us that he had shot a small 4x4. He is mid sixties and still hunts hard. It was in the low teens and he had stahed the buck back a trail, so while he made dinner, Carson and i took off on the quad to bring it back. Over the next several days Carson and I spotted and stalked 8 or 9 bucks without him pulling the trigger. I never realized how much more work it was for a youngster to pull the trigger. (Couldn't see the buck, brush in the way, rifle moving and yes...even "he's to small") Finally on the fourth day on the drive back to camp, we glassed a nice 4x3 about 450 yards from the truck. I know it was a long shot and Carson was shooting a .308, so not a very flat shooting gun but i wanted him to a least get a feel for shooting at a live animal. I had a feeling he was waiting for everything to be too "perfect". I whistled the buck up and he stood and started feeding with some does. I set him up on a rest, he got on the buck and my dad and I waited and waited and waited. Everytime i put the glasses down and looked over at him he was re-adjusting. I just let him take his time but after about 15 minutes he started to tear up a little. We talked and he was so concerned that he was going to miss the deer. Long story short he relaxed and took several shots at the buck, who glanced our way without cause and continued to chase a doe around. We went back to camp for lunch but it was like a huge weight had been lifted from Carson's shoulders. About three that afternoon my dad took the truck the hours drive into town for fuel so Carson and i set out for an evening hunt in an area that we knew held a lot of deer. On the quad ride there we spotted a doe feeding in the oak brush about 80 yards off the road, so we glassed for a buck chasing her with out luck. We continued for a couple hundred yards when several does jumped up on the road from a steep ravine on our right, followed by 2 bucks. The bucks chased the does over the road and continued up the ravine. It was like time slowed down to me. I stopped the quad and Carson jumped off, loaded his gun and kneeled down. One of the does stopped at the top of the ravine in an opening in the oak brush. I knew one of the bucks was right behind her, but we couldnt see him, even at under 70 yards. If you have ever hunted in oak brush, you know what I'm talking about. I was able to tell Carson if the doe continues to our right, the buck will step out, but if she goes the other way, we'll never see him. Sure enough she took two steps to our right and the buck stepped into the opening. I gave a low whistle and he stopped and looked right at us...BOOM. He dropped in his tracks. I was able to watch both front legs collapse and down he went. I looked at my son and I saw a look in his face that I will never forget. We looked like a couple of bozos hollaring and hugging in the snow. We climbed up the ravine and discovered this awesome buck. He was a young deer with great genetics and measured 24". After much picure taking and some time just to reflect on a great hunt we pushed him down the hill (You can see the marks in the snow behind us). It was getting dark so we managed to load him on the quad and quarter him up in camp with a latern going (a luxery i know, but take them when you get them). When my dad got back to camp we where halfway done with the buck and my son was beaming with pride and waiting to tell the story. I know that he ended up shooting the buck off the road, but we put miles on our boots. We spotted several bucks with a spotting scope and worked in to them without luck. I think he got a great overall experience on how to hunt mule deer and the subtle complications that go with the territory. He is getting a european done and was explaining to me that in the furure, we are going to run out of room in our living room thanks to his contribution (s) to the skull numbers. I cant explain how it felt to experience this with Carson but I know that at least right now, I dont care if I ever kill another animal, as long as I can take my boy hunting.
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