5 states, 4 species, and hopefully a boys first deer.

[Irrelevant]

Kids are off for fall break tomorrow.

WTF is this? I would have killed for a "fall break"!

 

[WildWill]

WTF is this? I would have killed for a "fall break"!

At least it's not like two weeks ago when they where off for "teacher development" day.

 

[BenP]

WTF is this? I would have killed for a "fall break"!

We homeschool... take breaks when we want as long as they behave and learn when they need to.

 

[WildWill]

First time shooting sense his cast came off and things went OK but not great. There is a shooting test before his controlled hunt. To pass the test you have to put 3 consecutive shots into a paper plate at 75 yards from a bench rest (unlimited tries). We recreated the test today and he took 3 tries before getting 3 in a row. I'd prefer it to be on the first go but in fairness he was close. He did do a fantastic job safely handling and loading his rifle completely on his own. We're gonna practice again tomorrow, Sunday, and every day possible. His hunt starts 2 weeks from today we're both excited.

 

[Nick87]

First time shooting sense his cast came off and things went OK but not great. There is a shooting test before his controlled hunt. To pass the test you have to put 3 consecutive shots into a paper plate at 75 yards from a bench rest (unlimited tries). We recreated the test today and he took 3 tries before getting 3 in a row. I'd prefer it to be on the first go but in fairness he was close. He did do a fantastic job safely handling and loading his rifle completely on his own. We're gonna practice again tomorrow, Sunday, and every day possible. His hunt starts 2 weeks from today we're both excited.View attachment 345018

Rooting for that kid, big time. He'll do just fine.

 

[WildWill]

Rooting for that kid, big time. He'll do just fine.

I was a bit frustrated with his shooting yesterday. My dad would've made me sit there and shoot a box of ammo till it was "right" and I was miserable. But I'm trying a gentler hand (my wifes fault) some days I wonder if it's a mistake. Gonna take the scoped 22. out this morning for a bit longer of a session before we pull out the big gun.

 

[Nick87]

I was a bit frustrated with his shooting yesterday. My dad would've made me sit there and shoot a box of ammo till it was "right" and I was miserable. But I'm trying a gentler hand (my wifes fault) some days I wonder if it's a mistake. Gonna take the scoped 22. out this morning for a bit longer of a session before we pull out the big gun.

That's probably a great idea. I find myself in the same parental predicament all the time. It'll work out.

 

[WildWill]

This weekend is Oklahoma's regular youth season. My buddy took his son out on our property this morning and killed a nice doe. I make fun of this little tractor sometimes but God it's handy.

 

[WildWill]

So we got some 22. time in yesterday and I took a look at his form with the 243. It became obvious the scope needed to come back a bit but more importantly the length of pull just isn't a good fit. It's a standard Ruger m77 not a youth model and I have no doubt he will grow into it sooner than later but for now on to plan B. My wife’s rifle is a youth 7mm-08 and we broke it out. Almost instantly I could tell it was a better fit and his shooting reflected that. Was a little worried about the recoil but he's a champ and far from recoil sensitive. Took him out this morning and and he did great 4 shots at a paper plate at 75 yards. First shot he pulled left, next two were perfect right above the bull, for the final shot we changed his point of aim to try for a bullseye and hit just a bit low. Much happier with his shooting today then Friday. My fault for waiting so long to get things squared away. We are going to practice again Wednesday before I head to NM and the day I get back then off to his hunt.

 

[Wild Bill]

I grew up shooting a 7MM-HT. Idk if you can find a more well suited, all around cartridge for a growing boy.

 

[WildWill]

I grew up shooting a 7MM-HT. Idk if you can find a more well suited, all around cartridge for a growing boy.

It is fitting for a hunt talk thread. Forgot to mention the load we're shooting is 44gr of RL15 behind a 120gr SST.

 

[WildWill]

Nephew got this guy and a doe yesterday.

 

[WildWill]

The truck is loaded except for my gun and small cooler I'll load in the morning and my alarm is set. Will be headed for NM in the morning. Made a pulled pork tonight for road sandwiches and carnitas in camp.


This will be a muzzleloader hunt in SW NM and my tag is legal for any fork antlered deer. This unit has both coues deer and mule deer I will be focusing on coues. I had the same tag last year and was able to find a good pocket of coues at around 6000 feet in a thickly forested area. The terrain dosen't really allow for the classic glassing coues hunt and is much more akin to hunting whitetail here in the piney foothills of SE Oklahoma. I had many encounters with does and one spike but never saw a legal coues buck. I ended up shooting a smaller mule deer mid morning on the last day that I had been watching near camp. This year I brought a climbing stand and my turkey chair with ghille jacket and plan on going full midwestern whitetail hunter on these diminutive desert deer in hopes of harvesting my first one.

 

[WildWill]

Well I'm back from NM and am scrambling to get everything ready for the next hunt starting tomorrow with my boy plus Halloween. Gonna do some updates today and try to catch up. If you're only here for the kill shot I'll save you some time there won't be one for this trip.


Day 1: After a 12+ hour drive I got to the cabin I'd be staying at for my hunt in Glenwood NM. Unloaded the truck and took a short hike on a trailhead near the cabin just to stretch my legs.

Day 2: This was the day before season opened. I usually like to get to a area a few days early to scout. But sense I had the same tag last year I figured I already had my spot dialed in plus with my loaded schedule time was at a premium. So the day before I roll into my spot a bench at about 6500 feet loaded with coues. I head down into a bottom that's has several trails all leading to the best water hole in the area. I notice fresh boot prints immediately and when I get to the tank there's a full blown pop up set-up exactly where the brush blind I built last year was and trail cam set-up. I'm a bit dejected but also it's public land I should've expected it. I didn't run into one other hunter in here last year and just assumed it be the same way this year. Big mistake. I scout the rest of the area including the only other two water holes on the bench and fine fresh sign but mostly doe and nothing like the bottom. I check a few other areas and find some elk which was cool. I was at a bit of a loss as to my next step. Just because someone sets up a blind dosen't mean they own the area. But at the same time I always especially when hunting public try and stick to the doctrine of "treat others how you'd like to be treated". There's really only one intelligent place to park if you're hunting in that bottom so I decided to keep my eye on it and leave him alone if he was actively hunting if not I figured free game.

 

[Valley1320]

Hope you find a stud!

 

[WildWill]

Day 3: Opening morning and I decided to try a new spot I had scouted the day before that had good sign. I was hiking just below the crest of a canyon glassing into the bottom and other side when I spotted a deer on my side of the canyon about 150 yards ahead. Pull out my binos and see a doe and fawn. I watch for a minute then move a bit closer. As I drew closer my new perspective revealed several more deer including a couple spikes, a couple forky's, and in the back a 3x3. I got setup and and had the deer in my sights at just over a 100 yards and pulled the hammer back. Unfortunately the buck in front of me was a mule deer and very similar in size to the one I killed last year. I had resolved to kill a coues or nothing and on day one I wasn't to tempted. I moved along and ended up having another opportunity at a forky at 99 yards on my way back to the truck. Around 9 am I checked the hot spot to find a cherry looking older tacoma parked at the access to the bottom. I pulled out and hunted one of the other water sources a trough tank during mid day. The weather was well into the 80s during mid day so sitting water seemed the smart move. That afternoon I hunted on top of the bench finding decent sign buy it was so dry and thick stalking one up wouldn't be easy. Went back to the cabin and decided to take my turkey chair and ghille jacket up on the bench tomorrow and setup on a trail.

 

[WildWill]

Day 4: I rolled up the mountain a good hour before sun up. As I pass the last camp on the road before you head up the hill the same place I camped last year I see the cherry tacoma. Now I could rush to the spot and get in first but dick move so I continue on with my plan. Less then 10 minutes after I park and am still getting my gear together the tacoma comes cruising past. I wave at the two guy's they wave back but keep heading up. I get up on the bench setup looking down a trail with a good view of the opposite canyon I can glass on my left. Nothing happens for a couple hours so I get up and drive to a new place that has a promising tank. I end up sitting at the tank all day with a high of 89 degrees only to see a couple mule does at last light but damn they got close and a butt load of quail.

 

[WildWill]

Day 5: I had been a bit unmotivated and lost sense showing up and my plan A had been blown apart. I decided this had to change and I needed to get out there and make things happen. So I loaded up my pack and headed into a area that looked promising just north of the area i knew held coues in some slightly higher elevations. I parked at a trail head and after less then a mile I hit the wilderness boundary. After another 3 miles I headed off trail to scout to canyons. I spent 10 hours in there saw no deer and very little sign but most importantly no water. I end the day glassing the are I had seen the mule deer on opening day but only turned up 3 does. I ended that day pretty dejected and in a low spot all the motivation from that morning was gone replaced with doubt and a hint of self pity.


I enjoy reading books about the areas I'm hunting in while there. While reading Frontier Regulars this week a officer from the 1800s summed travel in this country up very well.

 

[WildWill]

Day 6: This would be my last full day of hunting as I was not missing another Halloween and needed to get things together for my sons hunt. It would also be the only day I actually put eyes on a coues deer. I decided after wearing myself out the day before to go back and hunt the bench above the honey hole. It was to thick for glassing but at least I knew there were coues deer in there. I setup looking down a trail and hunted for a couple hours with nothing to show for it. I got up and worked my way over to a area I found the other day where you could overlook a water trough. As I reached the opening and looked down I caught sight of a deer at the water. I hunkered down and got my binos up to my delight it was a coues in fact two but unfortunately no bucks a doe and fawn. I watched them for awhile eventually they fed off and I watched the tank till around noon when hunger drove me to the pickup for the lunch of champions Spam. Then back to the tank for the rest of the day. I even set out some doe N heat scent the last couple hours in the hopes of drawing a young dumb one in but no luck. Another long day and I was starting to feel it one up side the weather had broke a bit with highs only reaching 65.

 

[Valley1320]

Bummer I was hoping to see a dead coues! You'll get it done one of these times yet!