Take a kid hunting......again!

[Elkwhisper]

Some of you might remember a post from about this time last year, where I took my little buddy Jace out for his first buck.

http://onyourownadventures.com/hunttalk/showthread.php?t=257002

We were lucky enough to get him connected on a great first buck. We have been teasing him for a year about being spoiled right out the gate, and how tough it was going to be top that one.

 

[Elkwhisper]

Even though we knew big deer aren't easy to find or kill, Jace and I set out opening morning to try and see if we could raise the bar a little higher for him this year. We saw some nice bucks that day, but nothing came together.

School and sports make it tough for him to find time to get out, but yesterday morning I was able to get him and his dad out for a morning hunt before the big Cat / Griz game. I got him on a pretty good buck I had been seeing last week right at first light, and some shots were fired, but no tag filled.

My back up spot provided nothing but a fork horn and a couple of does, and Jace decided he would rather eat his tag that shoot a fork horn.

I had one last spot I wanted to check out before we headed for home. This spot has been good to me over the years, and I have killed and seen some pretty nice bucks here. That said, I have been in there 6 times this year and have yet to see a deer. Well we had no longer showed up, and got to glassing and I spotted a buck chasing a doe about a mile out into the BLM. I looked at Jace and said, "That's your buck.... we are going down there and killing him right now. You good with that?" Of course he was good with that....

45 minutes and sold mile stalk later and I finally had eyes on the buck's bedded doe, on the edge of a deep washout. Try as we might we couldn't get eyes on the buck. I knew he was in there but just couldn't pick him out. I left Jace's Dad high on a rocky point with a 300 yard shot at the cut the deer were in. I told him to keep his eyes peeled while Jace and I circled wide for a better view up into the wash. I was hoping that if we spooked the deer while we moved, at least Dad would get a crack at him,

Jace and I were able to drop out of sight and circle around where we could see better. I immediately picked out the doe and Jace got his bipod down and got in prone position, read for a 238 yard shot. We held tight for a few minutes, because the doe could see us, and I figured it was just a matter of time before the buck stood up. After waiting a bit with no movement from the deer, I decide to drop back, and circle a little further around. I left Jace where he was and told him that when I got into my new position, I would signal him to come up to me. Before I left, I told him, " Keep that scope right on the doe... if that buck stands up, don't look at your dad, don't look at me... you don't need to ask permission, just put the crosshairs where they need to be, and squeeze the trigger." No sooner had I crawled back out of sight, when I heard the crack of his Tikka 7mm-08!

By the time I popped up to see what was going on, I could see the doe headed out, with no buck in tow. I asked Jace what happened, and he said as soon as I moved they both stood up, and he let him have it. He felt like he made a good shot, but it happened so fast he didn't see where the buck went. Neither his Dad or I even saw the buck, so we headed to where they were bedded and a quick search turned up this..... his best yet! So the bar has been raised a notch higher, and we definitely have our work cut out to best it next year!

 

[TheShootist.41]

Congrats Jace! Goal accomplished. You have a great mentor.

 

[kansasdad]

Good on you Elkwhisper. Congratulations on raising the bar.

 

[Big Fin]

If you had him spoiled last year, seems you added even more spoiling this year. Happy to see the young hunters have so much success this year. Congrats to Jace.

 

[fishing4sanity]

I'm guessing that taking the shot on his own is going to make it feel even more like 'his' deer. Congrats to both of you!

 

[JohnCushman]

Spoil me please

 

[worm]

Nice!!!

 

[L. I. Yankee]

Holy cow....talk about adding fuel to the fire......Congrats on a great buck.....

 

[MT_elk]

Wow! Very nice!

 

[Devil Diver Down]

I hope to spoil my kids - or myself - to such a degree some day. Well done!

 

[1_pointer]

Well done Jace and well done for getting him started! Congrats all around!

 

[Corax]

Congratulations to both of you. And thanks - Reading this post is an excellent start to my day.

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

Awesome job, to you and Jace!! That is a really cool buck, those are some great bases.

 

[Bwana]

Congrats to the young gun on a mighty fine buck!

 

[noharleyyet]

Nice buck...

 

[Mac7]

Very nice buck. Congrat to Jace and all involved.

 

[Festus]

Beauty!
Congrats!