horst Posted January 12, 2008 Report Share Posted January 12, 2008 Well my son got to try out his hand at hunting by himself the other night, wife was working and I had to watch the other two kids, he went with my dad and the spot dad was hunting is only big enough for 1 guy.We discussed it and decided Austin could go to my uncles ladder stand, it sits about 1/2 mile from where dad was hunting at the top of the hill on some public ground. I was nervous the entire time, they were only gone about 2 1/2 hours but it seemed much longer.Its about 1/4 mile walk into the property where the stand sits and I kept wondering if he found the stand ok and if he got a shot at a deer what he would do afterwards.We have discussed it on and off all year about following upon a shot, hes been with me many times when weve went after deer that one of has shot, but I didt know how much had sunk in. Apparently about 45 minues before dark a doe showed up behind him, he got turned around and took the shot.He watched her go into a little bunch of cattails and thought she went down.He reloaded his ML, and waited untill just before dark.He then climbed down and walked towards where she had dissapeared, From the ground he couldnt tell exactly where she had went in so he walked back to where she came out of the grove and found the blood trail. He said wasnt going to follow it at first but it was easy to see, she sprayed blood everywhere and it went the direction he had to go to get out anyway so he followed it.He tracked his first deer on his own and followed it up to where she layed, he marked the spot and walked out to the road to wait for dad to show up.Then they called me to come drag her out:D On the bright side he was so excited about his first do it yourself hunt he had her halfway to the road before I showed up, hadnt even bothered to gut her:cool:Near as I can tell he did everything as Ive showed him, he waited after the shot, reloaded his gun in case she got back up, even remembered to double back and pick up the blood trail when he couldnt find where she went down the first time.Kid just might be a good hunter yet I believe, probably doesnt even need the old man around slowing him up anymore:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearClaw Posted January 12, 2008 Report Share Posted January 12, 2008 Congratulations to your son!! Tell him nice job! You must be very proud of him and he obviously had a very good teacher! Congrats to you both! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkeygirl Posted January 12, 2008 Report Share Posted January 12, 2008 Congrats Horst and to your son also! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Kid Posted January 12, 2008 Report Share Posted January 12, 2008 thats a kewl story Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripper Posted January 12, 2008 Report Share Posted January 12, 2008 Great day for him and I'm sure even a better day for you. My dad always said he enjoyed hunting deer, but the best deer hunt he was ever on was the day I shot my first deer. With my boys just 2 and 4, I have some time to go before I experience this excitement but when I hear stories like this, It really puts a smile on my face. Great story Horst, thanks for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardwood_HD Posted January 13, 2008 Report Share Posted January 13, 2008 congrats to your son! i wanna see pics too!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted January 14, 2008 Report Share Posted January 14, 2008 That is cool Chris. Congratulations to Austin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horst Posted January 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2008 Unfortunately the camera was screwed up and we dint get pics with this one:(Season ended yesterday, all in all it was a good year, Austin managed to take 2 bucks and a doe, nothing with his bow though.Next year Im positive he will accomplish that. Seemed like yesterday he was 4 yrs old and tagging along with me to a duck blind at 4:30 in the morning, Never forget that, he was so excited to go on his first hunt, we got there early and set up, I picked a spot in the cattails where we could just pass shoot so he wasnt out in the water.By the time the ducks started flying he was asleep in the cattails, killed almost a limit of ducks and he never even moved:D Had a cripple go down in the creek that morning, when he got up he was upset he had slept through it, took him down where the cripple had went down and we snuck up and shot it off the water, he forgot all about being upset in a few seconds:cool: Now hes off deer hunting by himself and succeeding at it, guesse I musta done something right with him:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAMABUCKS Posted January 14, 2008 Report Share Posted January 14, 2008 Congrats to the both of you. I find myself in the same boat you were in about cutting the cord with your son. How old is he by the way? My son has been hunting with me since he was 8 & is now 13. he has killed quite a few deer, with his best coming this year. I am having a hard time letting him go & do it on his own...the worried dad I guess. I know he would rather be out there by his self (you know at 13 dads are not cool & don't know anything), it's just hard to let go. He tells me all the time about his buddies hunting on their own, climbing trees with portables, etc., but they're not mine. Anyhow, maybe next year I will cut the cord. Congrats again & thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKLambert Posted January 15, 2008 Report Share Posted January 15, 2008 Congrats!!!! Passing on the love and passion for hunting is a MUST.. Good Job, and something to definately be proud of! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
okbowman Posted January 15, 2008 Report Share Posted January 15, 2008 Congrats to your son!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MUDRUNNER Posted January 15, 2008 Report Share Posted January 15, 2008 Congrats to your boy!I would say he had a great teacher! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horst Posted January 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2008 Bama Austins 12, he will be 13 this year.He has been hunting with me since he was 4, got his first BB gun at 5 and last fall he passed his hunter safety course and got his certificate.Hes now legally able to hunt in this state by himself. Most of the time he isnt alone,me or my dad go with him.Even when he is alone one of us is near by, close enough to hear him shoot anyway if he isnt directly in our sight. Honestly hes probably a couple years away from really going all out by himself.For example the spot he killed the deer in we have had him up there 4 or 5 times before that with one of us, he knew where the stand was and we knew he only had to follow the driveway in and out so he had little chance of getting lost in the chest high grass out there.My biggest concern was he would follow a blood trail into that grass and get turned around in the dark, seriously, Ive been in that stuff after dark and its easy to do even if youve hunted it for 20 years. Ive tried teaching him what I could and hes very safe in handling his guns and paying attention to whats going on{other hunters coming in, houses in the background etc...}I just decided it was time to loosen his leash a little bit this year and see how he did. The only real rules I made were he had to use a ladder stand if he was going up by himself, otherwise he had to hunt from the ground.And as I said earlier he couldnt wander off from where he was supposed to be sitting.If he didnt see the deer go down and it headed away from the road he has to either wait for one of us, or mark the spot he shot it and walk back out to the road if theres enough light.Theres 1100 acres of slough around the area we hunt and it would be impossible to find him if he wandered into it untill daylight the next day. He follows these rules even if he doesnt like them because he knows if he doesnt he will be done hunting for the year.Basically I guesse Im saying if you think your kids ready to handle it you can give him a little slack without really letting him make all the decisions himself.Make a few simple rules, make sure you know where hes hunting, and if possible you can put him out by himself and still stay close enough to see the action.I put him in ladder stands because theyre easier to get up and down in and secondly thier heavy, hes not likely to try moving it himself:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.