nmtaxi
Active member
One of these days, this kid is going to have an unsuccessful hunt. Since passing hunter education last March, he's taken a turkey, an antelope and now a mule deer. He killed this deer on a NM youth hunt (forkies are still legal on youth hunts).
We set up camp on Friday about 3 pm, and went on a little drive just to get a feel for where the other hunters were and see if we could find some sign. In about an hour, we saw over 30 deer (4 bucks and the rest does and fawns). Saturday morning we decided just to hunt right from camp since there was a lot of fresh sign around. We went on a 2 and half hour hike, but the brush was really thick and we could never find a good spot to glass from. There was a lot of fresh sign, so I'm sure we were kicking out deer in front of us. When we got back to camp we decided to take a drive over to another mesa where we had seen most of the deer the night before. On our way up the mountain, we spotted this forkie about 50 yards from the road. My son had already decided that he would take any legal buck, so we got out of the truck and headed in the direction the buck had taken off. We didn't go far when I spotted the buck in some brush watching us about 75 yards off. In all the excitement I had forgotten to grab the shooting sticks, so I let my son shoot off my back. His first shot hit a tree next to the deer. It startled him, but he didn't run off. His next shot hit him right behind the shoulder. The deer ran off, but I knew he wouldn't go far. As we were walking to where the deer had been standing, we heard something thrashing around in the brush above us. I figured it was his deer, but wanted to track him from where the shot had taken place. We found the spot and the tracks, and after about 10 yards, found the blood. My boy sure thought it was cool following the blood trail "just like on the hunting shows". Of course the blood trail was only about 10 yards long before we found his buck. I don't think he or myself would have been any more excited if it had been a 30" buck. There is nothing more exciting or fulfilling than hunting with my son. Not bad for a 10 year old!!!
We set up camp on Friday about 3 pm, and went on a little drive just to get a feel for where the other hunters were and see if we could find some sign. In about an hour, we saw over 30 deer (4 bucks and the rest does and fawns). Saturday morning we decided just to hunt right from camp since there was a lot of fresh sign around. We went on a 2 and half hour hike, but the brush was really thick and we could never find a good spot to glass from. There was a lot of fresh sign, so I'm sure we were kicking out deer in front of us. When we got back to camp we decided to take a drive over to another mesa where we had seen most of the deer the night before. On our way up the mountain, we spotted this forkie about 50 yards from the road. My son had already decided that he would take any legal buck, so we got out of the truck and headed in the direction the buck had taken off. We didn't go far when I spotted the buck in some brush watching us about 75 yards off. In all the excitement I had forgotten to grab the shooting sticks, so I let my son shoot off my back. His first shot hit a tree next to the deer. It startled him, but he didn't run off. His next shot hit him right behind the shoulder. The deer ran off, but I knew he wouldn't go far. As we were walking to where the deer had been standing, we heard something thrashing around in the brush above us. I figured it was his deer, but wanted to track him from where the shot had taken place. We found the spot and the tracks, and after about 10 yards, found the blood. My boy sure thought it was cool following the blood trail "just like on the hunting shows". Of course the blood trail was only about 10 yards long before we found his buck. I don't think he or myself would have been any more excited if it had been a 30" buck. There is nothing more exciting or fulfilling than hunting with my son. Not bad for a 10 year old!!!
