passing it on

[horst]

This year my oldest boy decided to try bowhunting, its been interesting to say the least.Hes been practicing and was drawing to much wieght which he stubbornly insisted was just the right amount, but more on that later.The first obstacle was my wife, she threw a fit when I mentioned hunting from a stand, and pointed out I dont even use them much myself anymore preffering to do most of my hunting on the ground.By the end of the argument which I wasnt going to win we {she} decided he could hunt from the double ladder stand we have but not from my other stands.Fine, he can hunt like I do from the ground untill I can afford more ladder stands.

I didnt buy a bow license this year deciding to focus on him getting a deer with a bow and teaching him the ins and outs of hunting from the ground with a close range weapon.

Our first couple outings had mixed results, the first night we only seen deer from a distance, the second night I had to back early and lewt him sit in the sae place as the night before by himself with his grandpa hunting a 1/4 mile away.Due to bad instructions given by me he got a little lost and had to call grandpa to drive out and pick him up:)

We switched spots the third night and found an awesome little ambush spot a sharp cut bank about 3 ft high with a hedgerow growing along the bottom.First I showed him his shooting lanes, then explained he had to clean all the dry leaves and grass out of where he was sitting so as not to make noise when he had to move.About 45 minutes before dark a big doe came down the trail by herself.She was going to pass by about 15 yrds from us and as I told him earlier he started to draw before she was next to us while she was still moving, it almost worked perfectly except for his draw wieght, he started to draw and had to raise the bow, the limb stuck up past the bank and it was game over.He knew what scared her and we resighted it yesterday after he asked me to turn it down.

Next night in the same spot, we got settled in and I cleared the new fallen leaves from my spot, he just watched as I did this and sat down.The sae doe came out but went down the opposite side of the bank this time.He had to turn to shoot, she was standing about 15 yrds away again facing the other way when he shifted his foot slightly while drawing, the leaves he hadnt cleared away crunched and once again he was at half draw with a deer running away.

Last night we moved to a standing corn field that was stripped out.I watched as he cleared all the corn leaves out, broke the ones off behind him that he might bump drawing back and made sure nothing would give him away.He was paying attention after all I thought.It was rather short lived as he sat down and after a few minutes I asked if he had forgotten anything.He didnt know what it was so I asked him where exactly he was planning to shoot out to.He still looked confused.Finally I told him if he wanted to shoot through the corn he needed to bust some shooting lanes out or we would only be able shoot down the row and have no shot outside the

strip we were sitting in, nothing came in last night close to us but hopefully he learned something about shooting lanes, i showed him how to make them just big enough to shoot through while still leaving enough to conceal his outline in the corn, and how to do it without destroying any more of the corn then neccassary.

About 15 minutes before dark a small buck came through about 60 or 70 yrds down from us.Nothing else was in sight so I decided to try sneaking down the row for a shot.Tonights lesson will be on picking his feet up while sneaking through dry corn stalks so as not to sound like an elephant while he walks LOL.

[wtnhunt]

Tonights lesson will be on picking his feet up while sneaking through dry corn stalks so as not to sound like an elephant while he walks LOL.

LOL:D. Good luck on that one Chris. Been trying to teach my oldest to walk lightly for a long time. Great story, best of luck to your son too.

[rhine16]

Great story and it sounds like he is learning some very good tips. Hopefully it will come through for him. I started bowhunting when i was 10, before i had even gun hunted. That early bow season and late season taught me plenty of lessons that still burn in my mind today(i'm 18). I hunted by myself throughout that time but my dad would back every hunt up with a reasoning of why everything turned out like it did. On the last evening of that season, i flung an arrow at a young buck at 40 yards(way out of my 40# bow range) and then i shot at a doe and missed at 20 yards 30 minutes later. I remember both of those shots very vividly.

Today, bowhunting is still my passion, as my rifle hardly comes out of it's case. I've learned much much more, but i've still not taken a buck. I've killed three does, missed more bucks than you can count on one hand, and wounded a near pope and young buck. It's a learning experience as i'm sure you know. Best advice i can offer him is patience, preparation, and the willingness to learn are key. Keep teaching him, and i'm sure he will become an accomplished bowhunter one day. I know that having my dad help me and teach me has been awesome.I wouldnt be half the bowhunter that i am without him.

[buckee]

Sometimes the hard way is the very best way to learn

It doesn't sound like he's too far away from getting his first deer now.