Ollin Magnetic Digiscoping System

MT 2-day Youth hunt

Flatbrimmer

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Well, I’ve been waiting for this time for many many years! Thursday was the opener for the 2 day Montana youth season and my oldest son never ceases to impress me.

For the last 4-5 years AJ refused to go with me unless I forced him. Hunting was boring and dumb. He didn’t like sitting still, didn’t like hiking, didn’t like glassing for more than just a second. And damn sure didn’t like the work involved with all things hunting. All that changed when he finally had a tag in his pocket…

We’ve spent the last year going out and shooting his .243 so he can gain confidence and comfortability. At 100 yards he was hitting clay pigeons first and every try. 200 yards was much more sporadic, with every shot somewhere on a paper plate. The 90 grain noslers shoot the best outta this rifle, but they’re nearly $70 a box and I just couldn’t do that when I was buying ammo. I’ve tried Hornady and now I have the the Core Lokt. None of them shoot as well as the Nosler. I tried to let him shoot the .308 and it hurt his shoulder… Oh well, we will just have to keep it under 200- no biggie.

A close family member was able to land some private for his son for the 2 day season and we were invited along. I told them and my son that I wanted this hunt to check all the boxes. I wanted him to see animals he couldn’t shoot. I wanted him to have to challenge himself to get to animals he could shoot. I wanted him to have to hike a little, but not get burned out. I wanted him to have to wait a little, but not get so bored that its absolutely not fun. I ultimately decided I would take AJ out to a public land BMA with a “youth only area” the first morning to see what we could find. On our way into town we see a pretty dang nice mule deer buck on some private, and it gets him excited!

When we pull into town we get signed in at the property and head up to this little bluff I wanted to peek over, where you can glass the entire youth area. As we’re getting to the area I wanted to park, we look to the left and there’s a NICE whitetail buck taking 6 does to safety across some private that’s connected to state land. We watched where they ran and decided to stick to the plan. As we’re walking across the small opening to the bluff, we hear a coyote singing his song. AJ thought that was cool! We get up to the small hill and sit down just on the other side. We hear a couple distant shots as shooting light is reached, but can’t see a single deer nor a single orange blip in the distance. It was strange to me; such an enormous area, at the primest of times, completely void of both hunters and the hunted… It didn’t take us long to determine its a waste of time sitting there for too long. We make the short walk back to the truck and drive 1/2 mile or so up to the entrance of the state land. We figured those whiteys probably got out into the middle of nowhere and calmed down, so we picked the coulee on the map that we think they landed in and start picking our way across the hilly landscape. We drop down the first coulee and up the second, glassing as we crest the hill. Nothing. Just as we head down into the second, a big group of huns flew up and scared the bajeezus outta both of us. 🤣 I told him it’s not something you grow out of either. When you’re trying to be quiet, sneaking along, anticipation mounting with ever stride and then some damned birds fly up. I’ll probably jump outta my skin every single time. 🤣😂😅

We laughed it off as we come up the 3rd and largest coulee. We sidehill it around the peak so as not to skyline and get setup on the middle of the small hill. We can see for miles…… no deer anywhere on the public…. After glassing awhile we turn up a PILE of mule deer on private. No bucks. At some point my son decided to glass back behind us and spots the songdog at 880 yards. We blow the “death kiss” for awhile but he’s not interested even a little bit. I know he could hear me though as he’d perk up and look our way now and again. Eventually we decide to bomb over to a different BMA where I’d killed a buck in the past and spend a couple hours in there. This BMA ends up mostly uneventful. AJ did spot a young bull moose coming up out of the trees after a couple hours of sitting, making the trip not completely boring…
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We pack it up and head back to Bozeman, knowing we still have the evening hunt on some prime private ground. Over at the ranch, the boys saw some GOOD bucks that morning but couldn’t get into a good spot by the time they headed into the cover. They took notes and decided to turn in for the day as well.

We all rendezvous around 3 pm to head up to the ranch. We decide we’ll sit opposite ends of the property and we split up after discussing where we’ll be setting up for safe shooting & wishing each other good luck. By this time Avery was over the tip toeing and sitting still, plus the grass was very tall and wet which didn’t provide great “sit and glass” ground. It’s sprinkling pretty good so we hunker down under a big cottonwood and keep our eyes peeled. At one point, I peek behind us and tell AJ, “Don’t move! Slowly look behind you. There is a doe and fawn feeding right next to us!” He looks to see them and he’s happy to see game so close. They feed off into the brush and all Ave wants to do is walk around the tree to try and see them again. I have to tell him that if anything comes out to our left, they’ll see him dancing around and to just sit back down and keep watch. No sooner than I say that, two does are watching him walk back and forth around the tree and I have to tell him to stop! He sees the does and recognizes the oopsie… thankfully they just continue to mill around in the trees- but they do not come into our field… IMG_2212.jpeg

CRACK. “That must be them! I think they got one!” I shoot a text over asking what’s up and get the response “Buck down” woohoo!!!!!!! They say they don’t need help but if we’re not seeing anything to maybe work their direction and sit the evening in their spot. We only
Have an hour and a half of shooting light and easily a 40 minute walk skirting the property so as not to walk through the middle. It takes forever but by the time we get over there it’s closing in on sunset. We can see deer all around but most of them have already cleared the property boundary. We sit it out til dark watching the deer and then head back to the truck to go get their buck. Day one is in the books.
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We get the deer to the house and hung up in the garage, get some food and hit the sack. We know right where they’ll be feeding into in the morning and we have a good plan. We get up on time and AJ is just as excited as day 1. No fuss from the Jr Hunter! We grab some hot chocolate and a donut and we’re on our way well before daylight. The walk in begins with about an hour of darkness left and only a half hour of walking. Perfect. We brought extra layers this morning because yesterday was so chilly. I can’t say if it’s the preparation or if it was just warmer on day 2 but we all felt much more comfortable now that we weren’t soaked. We get to a “Y” and ultimately cannot decide where we want to be in this “Y”. We decide to post up at what would kinda be the center of the Y, knowing that the deer will likely come from the left point toward the right point. We get a doe and fawn in the field as the clock hits shooting light. 80 yards and walking towards us. We got AJ all setup so he can practice getting steady and breathing. A round is ready and all he has to do is click it off safe… He sets up on this doe but we all know he’s holding out…IMG_2224.jpeg

They come all the way into 51 yards before she finally blows and they take off towards the rest of the bunch. Wind was great and they just knew something was funny without ever actually seeing or smelling us. Thankfully they didn’t take all the deer with them, but nothing else wanted to come into our field either. At this point we knew it could be a 200+ yard shot so we tell Avery to switch to the other rifle- a 6.5 CM that is super dialed and 300 yard 0. Avery is watching through the scope and at one point even lets out a “holy chit…” 🤭😅
He says “one of them over there is a TROPHY dad!” All the deer are stacked up about 300 yards out and near the boundary. We decide to crouch and hustle across the field another 100 yards or so to another opening. Nothing spooks and it’s all going to plan. There’s a smaller buck hanging out near some equipment with a doe and a yearling spike. We try to get him setup on the young buck but there’s tree limbs perfectly protecting his vitals. Dammit! I tell him we should crawl on hands and knees 20-30 feet to our left so we can get a better window. My son keeps looking behind him to make sure I’m with him and that he didn’t go too far. We get to the opening and I point out where I want him to sit. We get the rifle setup and Avery clicks the safety off. I put up my binos and can immediately tell the buck is a little lower than us, only showing his back and head. I tell Avery he’s gotta wait for a clear shot on his front shoulders, so he clicks the safety back on. We watch them look around for a bit and the buck has got his nose in the air. He takes one step forward and is perfect broadside. I ask AJ if he can see his shoulder now and he says yes. I ask do you feel like you’ve gotta good shot? He says “Oh yeah, perfect!” Now I’m nervous. He’s so confident…. 🥹😅 I wanted to watch the deer in my binos so I can see where he goes after the shot, but I’d be the 3rd set of eyes watching that, so I decide to just take out my phone and video the shot. I was so uncertain about that choice that the moment the shot cracks off, I quick drop my phone and pickup the binos. Haha! 140 yards with the 6.5 set to a far 0 means a high hit at this distance. The buck drops instantly. Avery had to keep his composure and does very well at this. I didn’t know it but he told his mom he started to cry after the shot, but didn’t want to be embarrassed so he sucked it up quick as he could. He kept his composure the entire hunt and displayed maturity and discipline the entire time. I couldn’t be more proud!!!

We take a long walk around the property due to a deep irrigation canal, and end up having to put him out of his misery due to a paralyzing spine shot. It’s done. I teach AJ how to gut it and also tell him next time we will do gutless and he can tell me what he likes better. I let him make a few belly cuts but he did not want to stick his hands in and yank the guts so it’s on me to show him… The piss sack got caught on some sharp bone at the pelvis and while I’m yanking, I get a nice steam to the neck and chest. Everyone but me is laughing. 😂 This is why your dad likes the gutless method better…..


2 days, 2 boys, 2 whitetail bucks.
2 proud fathers. I can’t wait to see them get their first elk!! ❤️

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Congrats to all the kids out there. We traveled 6 hours to one of the furthest corners of the state, looked over 3-400 deer on public land over two days. Saw a handful of 130-145” mule deer and one whitetail that was mid 160’s that busted out about 2 seconds before it would have been dead. Ate some shitty food with terrible service 2 days In a row. Watched a badger chase a coyote over a mile, not sure what its grievance was but pretty sure the coyotes dead if he ever stops. whacked a few ditch chickens, and found ourself looking over the best deer of the trip at dusk yesterday. She looked at me and I go it’s your hunt, your decision, but you know you can’t shoot a big one of you shoot a medium one. She smiled and flipped the safety back on, and the sun set on her last youth hunt. The next daughter will be 10 next year so no stopping the fun for me.IMG_4280.jpegIMG_4279.jpegIMG_4280.jpegIMG_4278.jpegIMG_4277.jpegIMG_4273.jpegIMG_4268.jpegIMG_4281.jpegIMG_4279.jpegIMG_4278.jpeg
 
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Congrats to all the kids out there. We traveled 6 hours to one of the furthest corners of the state, looked over 3-400 deer on public land over two days. Saw a handful of 130-145” mule deer and one whitetail that was mid 160’s that busted out about 2 seconds before it would have been dead. Ate some shitty food with terrible service 2 days In a row. Watched a badger chase a coyote over a mile, not sure what its grievance was but pretty sure the coyotes dead if he ever stops. whacked a few ditch chickens, and found ourself looking over the best deer of the trip at dusk yesterday. She looked at me and I go it’s your hunt, your decision, but you know you can’t shoot a big one of you shoot a medium one. She smiled and flipped the safety back on, and the sun set on her last youth hunt. The next daughter will be 10 next year so no stopping the fun for me.View attachment 345148View attachment 345149View attachment 345148View attachment 345150View attachment 345151View attachment 345153View attachment 345154View attachment 345155View attachment 345149View attachment 345150
Great pics @Doublecluck .
160" whitetail would be, as they say on social media feeds, jawdropping.
 
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