utah400elk
Well-known member
Where to start?
I have a 5 year old son, Christian, who loves everything outdoors. He always tells him mom that he wants to hunt like his dad. He begged me last year to let him go on the hunts. I told him he was a little too young and that I would take him in a few years.
Well...I had a crazy year! I ended last year/started this year with the dreaded "C" from the doctor. My routine physical turned out not so routine. I had surgery on Feb 28th and was told in June that I was cancer free.
Of course I had planned ahead and had drawn an early Kaibab deer tag, a Wyoming archery elk tag and a Wyoming antelope tag. I was thinking of possibly taking my son on the antelope hunt but wanted to make sure he could keep up.
I told him he had to train for the hunts. We even entered him in a kid’s fun run (a one mile run in the Vegas heat). I told him he couldn't go hunting unless he could run the entire race. I was joking but he took me serious. The morning of the race was overcast and only about 80 degrees. It was the perfect conditions for his first race.
Here he is pre race. My wife and I were in for a shock….
The gun goes off and he takes off like a shot. Both my wife and I were shocked that he could run so fast and so determined. He would pick a bigger kid and run up next to them. He would then push himself to pass the other kids. Well he ran the entire mile and completed the race in less than 8 minutes (7:35 to be exact). For a five year old, I was shocked. I had to sprint to the end to get his picture. It was a great family day out.
Here he is at the finish.
After a race like that I told him he could go hunting this year. We looked at the three hunts I had planned and his school schedule. He started kindergarten this year and his tough school schedule precluded him from the archery elk hunt. I think he is still too young for that annual ritual but we will see about the next couple of years. It just happened that the deer hunt opened on October 25th and he had October 24th and 25th off for parent teacher conference. The Kaibab 12 AE deer hunt for the two guys.
My elk hunt was fun (no elk but snow in September and a great time in Wyoming).
My 2013 Wyoming goat.
I told my son he had to be really good in school if he wanted to go on the hunt. He was of course great and is doing very well in school. The planning for the hunt was underway. It was like Christmas. Each and Every day I was asked “how long to the deer hunt dad?” I used some Cabela’s points and ordered him his first pair of Binos.
Thing were cruising along great then life through me another little curve ball five days before the hunt. I was cancer free from June until October 21st. My Doctor told me my cancer was back and growing quickly. I will need to start an aggressive Radiation treatment in the next couple of weeks. Five days a week for 39 treatments. This threw a little bit of a wrench into our plans. Well we adapted and changed things up a little. I had been sure I could beat the odds and find a big Kaibab buck with my son but we were now going to slow down and make a family trip out of the hunt (and still try to find a big buck).
We left Las Vegas on Oct 23 for Arizona.
On the way we ran into a few traffic delays.
One of the best things about road trips is you never know what you are going to see. I think I might have to explain to my son why mom and dad were laughing so hard on the way to the deer hunt.
We decided to try the burn for a buck. On Oct 24 we drove into the big burn in 12AE. It was very tough for my son. All of the downed trees were really hard for my little guy. He never complained but it took him a long time to navigate the area. We were able to hike to a good looking canyon and we saw a 29 inch 6x7 feeding in a little side canyon.
This is what the burn looks like.
This is how he had to travel back to the FJ after spotting the big buck.
We went to the North rim of the Grand Canyon in the middle of the day. My son thought it would be fun to jump into the canyon if he only had a parachute and a helmet. My wife and I were terrified about the trail to bright angel point and were both glad to have an adventurous 5 year old back away from the cool parachute place.
Me and my son talking about the parachute idea.
My two angels at Bright Angel Point.
We drove around that night and saw several small bucks in the national forest that would be much easier for my son. There weren’t nearly as many downed trees and the glassing was much easier. What should we do the next morning? Go after the big buck or make it a fun. I asked God for a little bit of a sign. Well….
I think I got the sign loud and clear! About 3:45 opening morning we heard thunder, saw lightening, it stated to snow/hail/rain and a pack of coyotes started to go off. That was all my wife could handle. It was early but I think the conversation went something like this…”What was that?” I don’t know, probably coyotes. “Are you sure?” No, it’s ok go back to sleep. “Was that lightning?” I think so. “I am afraid! I think for Christian’s safety we should get into the car.” We are fine, go back to sleep. “Your son and I will be in the car, would you care to join us!?” Yes deer. I will start the coffee. It is very hard for me to not try for the big buck but wanted this to be a good experience for my son.
Here is Christian sitting in his car seat on his first opening morning. We still have about an hour before light but he is ready to go.
It was still snowing (thunder snow) at first light so we drove around a few of the roads by Jacob Lake until we could see. I was not sure how my wife and son would take the cold, wet conditions so I was very reluctant to get out of the car. My wife asked my son how he was enjoying the hunt and he said “Mom, the hunt doesn’t start until we are out of the car and hiking!” I was one proud dad!
We drove to an area where we had seen a few bucks the night before. My wife had planned on staying in the car and keeping the heater on while we hunted. However, when she saw the two of us getting out she asked if she could hike with us . Hunting is not my wife's thing but she wanted to be with her boys. The three of us headed out for both my wife and my son’s first hunt. We climbed to the top of the first canyon and my son let out a huge sigh and said “That was tough dad”. Several does took off right in front of us. He was a little sad that there wasn’t a buck but very excited to see the deer.
We hiked up to the top of the next little canyon (only about 500 yards) and I spotted another doe. I told him we needed to be very quiet and we snuck up to the edge of the canyon. There was a young two point in the bottom of the canyon (150 yards). I asked my son if that was the buck we should shoot and he said “Yes”. He put his earmuffs on and one shot later this is what you get…
A very happy and excited little guy hold “his” first deer.
We made ended up going to Kanab Utah that night. I guess the coyotes, rain/snow thunder and lightning were too much for my wife. If you have never been to Kanab before it is a beautiful little town. My son (A huge Disney Car’s fan) even managed to find “Mater” in Kanab.
We ended up going through Zion the next day on the way back to Vegas.
In all this was a great hunt and a great family trip. As hard as it is for me to say, I am glad I didn’t go after that big buck. This little deer with my son is very special and I hope I get the chance to do it again.
I have a 5 year old son, Christian, who loves everything outdoors. He always tells him mom that he wants to hunt like his dad. He begged me last year to let him go on the hunts. I told him he was a little too young and that I would take him in a few years.
Well...I had a crazy year! I ended last year/started this year with the dreaded "C" from the doctor. My routine physical turned out not so routine. I had surgery on Feb 28th and was told in June that I was cancer free.
Of course I had planned ahead and had drawn an early Kaibab deer tag, a Wyoming archery elk tag and a Wyoming antelope tag. I was thinking of possibly taking my son on the antelope hunt but wanted to make sure he could keep up.
I told him he had to train for the hunts. We even entered him in a kid’s fun run (a one mile run in the Vegas heat). I told him he couldn't go hunting unless he could run the entire race. I was joking but he took me serious. The morning of the race was overcast and only about 80 degrees. It was the perfect conditions for his first race.
Here he is pre race. My wife and I were in for a shock….
The gun goes off and he takes off like a shot. Both my wife and I were shocked that he could run so fast and so determined. He would pick a bigger kid and run up next to them. He would then push himself to pass the other kids. Well he ran the entire mile and completed the race in less than 8 minutes (7:35 to be exact). For a five year old, I was shocked. I had to sprint to the end to get his picture. It was a great family day out.
Here he is at the finish.
After a race like that I told him he could go hunting this year. We looked at the three hunts I had planned and his school schedule. He started kindergarten this year and his tough school schedule precluded him from the archery elk hunt. I think he is still too young for that annual ritual but we will see about the next couple of years. It just happened that the deer hunt opened on October 25th and he had October 24th and 25th off for parent teacher conference. The Kaibab 12 AE deer hunt for the two guys.
My elk hunt was fun (no elk but snow in September and a great time in Wyoming).
My 2013 Wyoming goat.
I told my son he had to be really good in school if he wanted to go on the hunt. He was of course great and is doing very well in school. The planning for the hunt was underway. It was like Christmas. Each and Every day I was asked “how long to the deer hunt dad?” I used some Cabela’s points and ordered him his first pair of Binos.
Thing were cruising along great then life through me another little curve ball five days before the hunt. I was cancer free from June until October 21st. My Doctor told me my cancer was back and growing quickly. I will need to start an aggressive Radiation treatment in the next couple of weeks. Five days a week for 39 treatments. This threw a little bit of a wrench into our plans. Well we adapted and changed things up a little. I had been sure I could beat the odds and find a big Kaibab buck with my son but we were now going to slow down and make a family trip out of the hunt (and still try to find a big buck).
We left Las Vegas on Oct 23 for Arizona.
On the way we ran into a few traffic delays.
One of the best things about road trips is you never know what you are going to see. I think I might have to explain to my son why mom and dad were laughing so hard on the way to the deer hunt.
We decided to try the burn for a buck. On Oct 24 we drove into the big burn in 12AE. It was very tough for my son. All of the downed trees were really hard for my little guy. He never complained but it took him a long time to navigate the area. We were able to hike to a good looking canyon and we saw a 29 inch 6x7 feeding in a little side canyon.
This is what the burn looks like.
This is how he had to travel back to the FJ after spotting the big buck.
We went to the North rim of the Grand Canyon in the middle of the day. My son thought it would be fun to jump into the canyon if he only had a parachute and a helmet. My wife and I were terrified about the trail to bright angel point and were both glad to have an adventurous 5 year old back away from the cool parachute place.
Me and my son talking about the parachute idea.
My two angels at Bright Angel Point.
We drove around that night and saw several small bucks in the national forest that would be much easier for my son. There weren’t nearly as many downed trees and the glassing was much easier. What should we do the next morning? Go after the big buck or make it a fun. I asked God for a little bit of a sign. Well….
I think I got the sign loud and clear! About 3:45 opening morning we heard thunder, saw lightening, it stated to snow/hail/rain and a pack of coyotes started to go off. That was all my wife could handle. It was early but I think the conversation went something like this…”What was that?” I don’t know, probably coyotes. “Are you sure?” No, it’s ok go back to sleep. “Was that lightning?” I think so. “I am afraid! I think for Christian’s safety we should get into the car.” We are fine, go back to sleep. “Your son and I will be in the car, would you care to join us!?” Yes deer. I will start the coffee. It is very hard for me to not try for the big buck but wanted this to be a good experience for my son.
Here is Christian sitting in his car seat on his first opening morning. We still have about an hour before light but he is ready to go.
It was still snowing (thunder snow) at first light so we drove around a few of the roads by Jacob Lake until we could see. I was not sure how my wife and son would take the cold, wet conditions so I was very reluctant to get out of the car. My wife asked my son how he was enjoying the hunt and he said “Mom, the hunt doesn’t start until we are out of the car and hiking!” I was one proud dad!
We drove to an area where we had seen a few bucks the night before. My wife had planned on staying in the car and keeping the heater on while we hunted. However, when she saw the two of us getting out she asked if she could hike with us . Hunting is not my wife's thing but she wanted to be with her boys. The three of us headed out for both my wife and my son’s first hunt. We climbed to the top of the first canyon and my son let out a huge sigh and said “That was tough dad”. Several does took off right in front of us. He was a little sad that there wasn’t a buck but very excited to see the deer.
We hiked up to the top of the next little canyon (only about 500 yards) and I spotted another doe. I told him we needed to be very quiet and we snuck up to the edge of the canyon. There was a young two point in the bottom of the canyon (150 yards). I asked my son if that was the buck we should shoot and he said “Yes”. He put his earmuffs on and one shot later this is what you get…
A very happy and excited little guy hold “his” first deer.
We made ended up going to Kanab Utah that night. I guess the coyotes, rain/snow thunder and lightning were too much for my wife. If you have never been to Kanab before it is a beautiful little town. My son (A huge Disney Car’s fan) even managed to find “Mater” in Kanab.
We ended up going through Zion the next day on the way back to Vegas.
In all this was a great hunt and a great family trip. As hard as it is for me to say, I am glad I didn’t go after that big buck. This little deer with my son is very special and I hope I get the chance to do it again.
