There is no greater feeling than watching your kids try for something they want, sticking with it through the ups and downs, and finally succeeding. My son Jakey has been trying to get his first deer with a bow for two years. He finally got it done this weekend!
Jakey is 11 years old and has practiced a lot with his bow. It’s a youth bow and therefore we needed a close shot to ensure a quick kill. I had originally set up a blind in wide tree row that deer had been using heavily. We tried the blind and continually kept getting busted in this location. Frustration set in so I went up about 10 days ago, pulled the blind, and put up two ladder stands.
It keeps them quiet!
Friday evening I got Jakey, his sister Julia, and I set up in the ladder stands and tied off with fall protection. It was really windy and after about 90 minutes two does appeared. It was clear they were wound up tight because of the wind. Extreme caution on their part.
Jakey showed a lot of composure for an 11 year old and waited for them to calm down. This took about five minutes and he never moved a muscle. When they finally started to relax a bit at 15 yards and begin to feed, I noticed Jakey slowly raising his bow. Every time their heads went down to feed the bow came up a few inches and he froze when they brought their heads up. His nine year old sister Julia also did great by sitting ridiculously still while this was going on. After about five cycles of head up/head down he was finally ready for the shot.
The next time the does head went down he drew back, took his time aiming, and released. Immediately I saw he hit the doe well and I lost sight of her as she made a loop behind us through a stubble field. Jake and Julia both asked if he had hit her. I pointed to the ground and there was his arrow sticking in the ground covered in blood. I am glad they were both tied off, because they started fist pumping, and to their credit, silently celebrating. I told them both it was a good shot, but looked like a liver hit so we would have to wait for at least an hour. That put a bit of a damper on the celebration as they wanted to go after her right away.
After the longest hour in history finally passed, we headed out. Not a lot of blood, but steady through the stubble field. As the doe looped back toward the tree row, it looked like she had stopped and bled for a bit before entering. I took a few steps in the tree row and there she was down for the count. Massive, vocal celebration ensued. Hugs, shouts, high fives, huge smiles, loss of words, and a few tears all happened over the next few minutes. It was one of those moments burned in your memory and something they nor I will never forget.
We took lots of pictures and they helped me cape and bone out the deer. We probably could have driven closer or dragged it, but I wanted them to get the full experience. Jakey wanted to pack out both the boned meat and cape, which he did for a while. He decided to let me take the meat after about ten minutes.
Heavy!!!
Jake is a hunting junkie and this just made the drive that much stronger. Julia has always come with us and enjoyed the outdoors, but she changed her tune a bit. When we got back to the vehicle Julia said she wanted to go deer hunting in a few years and then asked if I would take her elk hunting when she “got older”. No freaking way it gets better than that!
On Saturday and Sunday, we did some crane and youth duck/goose hunting with friends. The birds cooperated and it was non-stop action in the decoys. Everyone got some great shooting opportunities and birds to their credit. You can’t ask for a better weekend.
Jakey is 11 years old and has practiced a lot with his bow. It’s a youth bow and therefore we needed a close shot to ensure a quick kill. I had originally set up a blind in wide tree row that deer had been using heavily. We tried the blind and continually kept getting busted in this location. Frustration set in so I went up about 10 days ago, pulled the blind, and put up two ladder stands.
It keeps them quiet!
Friday evening I got Jakey, his sister Julia, and I set up in the ladder stands and tied off with fall protection. It was really windy and after about 90 minutes two does appeared. It was clear they were wound up tight because of the wind. Extreme caution on their part.
Jakey showed a lot of composure for an 11 year old and waited for them to calm down. This took about five minutes and he never moved a muscle. When they finally started to relax a bit at 15 yards and begin to feed, I noticed Jakey slowly raising his bow. Every time their heads went down to feed the bow came up a few inches and he froze when they brought their heads up. His nine year old sister Julia also did great by sitting ridiculously still while this was going on. After about five cycles of head up/head down he was finally ready for the shot.
The next time the does head went down he drew back, took his time aiming, and released. Immediately I saw he hit the doe well and I lost sight of her as she made a loop behind us through a stubble field. Jake and Julia both asked if he had hit her. I pointed to the ground and there was his arrow sticking in the ground covered in blood. I am glad they were both tied off, because they started fist pumping, and to their credit, silently celebrating. I told them both it was a good shot, but looked like a liver hit so we would have to wait for at least an hour. That put a bit of a damper on the celebration as they wanted to go after her right away.
After the longest hour in history finally passed, we headed out. Not a lot of blood, but steady through the stubble field. As the doe looped back toward the tree row, it looked like she had stopped and bled for a bit before entering. I took a few steps in the tree row and there she was down for the count. Massive, vocal celebration ensued. Hugs, shouts, high fives, huge smiles, loss of words, and a few tears all happened over the next few minutes. It was one of those moments burned in your memory and something they nor I will never forget.
We took lots of pictures and they helped me cape and bone out the deer. We probably could have driven closer or dragged it, but I wanted them to get the full experience. Jakey wanted to pack out both the boned meat and cape, which he did for a while. He decided to let me take the meat after about ten minutes.
Heavy!!!
Jake is a hunting junkie and this just made the drive that much stronger. Julia has always come with us and enjoyed the outdoors, but she changed her tune a bit. When we got back to the vehicle Julia said she wanted to go deer hunting in a few years and then asked if I would take her elk hunting when she “got older”. No freaking way it gets better than that!
On Saturday and Sunday, we did some crane and youth duck/goose hunting with friends. The birds cooperated and it was non-stop action in the decoys. Everyone got some great shooting opportunities and birds to their credit. You can’t ask for a better weekend.
Congratulations!
