270.Rose
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2020
- Messages
- 247
We've always made a point of including the boys in our hunting trips and it was lovely to get out and about this afternoon with perfect weather, sunshine and blue skies on a crisp fall day. My husband took our middle son to check out a new spot and I had Mr. 8 and Mr. 5 in one of our favorite places to hunt.
Not long after we arrived we were seeing deer. The boys were fantastic about sitting quiet and still, keeping voices to a whisper, and the oldest had his new pair of 'grown up' binoculars, bought himself with his hard earned money. He was spotting whitetail deer in the brush at 410 yards and correctly identifying does and fawns.
The buck stepped out from behind a tree into clear sight and after 4 years of hunting I got my first case of buck fever. Ranged him at 408. I was shaking so hard I could barely keep him in the scope while I waited for him to turn broadside instead of facing directly away from us. Messed around. Got my pack adjusted to brace on. Rested my elbow on a rock. I knew as soon as I shot that I'd pulled it badly, it missed him clean but since he didn't know where it came from he stood still, broadside, looking around. Right away running the bolt the buck fever left, I was completely calm. All the fundamentals came together and the next shot hit exactly where I wanted it to. He dropped like a rock. I love that 7Mag. We might have a discussion about whose rifle it ends up being, when I catch my husband in a really good mood. (@220yotekiller, just kidding...or not...)
Of course we had a good dissection and biology lesson over the gutting, both boys pitched in to help and study all the different organs as they came out. They weren't squeamish about eating while they watched either, raiding my candy stash in my hunting pack. We got him dragged out to the road, loaded in the back of my longsuffering RAV4, and headed off to meet up with the rest of the family. It felt great to punch a tag, especially since the boys did so well in the field and enjoyed themselves thoroughly. I'm so thankful for the opportunity for them to know where their food comes from and grow up understanding the principles of conservation and game management, and very grateful for such great family memories.
Not long after we arrived we were seeing deer. The boys were fantastic about sitting quiet and still, keeping voices to a whisper, and the oldest had his new pair of 'grown up' binoculars, bought himself with his hard earned money. He was spotting whitetail deer in the brush at 410 yards and correctly identifying does and fawns.
The buck stepped out from behind a tree into clear sight and after 4 years of hunting I got my first case of buck fever. Ranged him at 408. I was shaking so hard I could barely keep him in the scope while I waited for him to turn broadside instead of facing directly away from us. Messed around. Got my pack adjusted to brace on. Rested my elbow on a rock. I knew as soon as I shot that I'd pulled it badly, it missed him clean but since he didn't know where it came from he stood still, broadside, looking around. Right away running the bolt the buck fever left, I was completely calm. All the fundamentals came together and the next shot hit exactly where I wanted it to. He dropped like a rock. I love that 7Mag. We might have a discussion about whose rifle it ends up being, when I catch my husband in a really good mood. (@220yotekiller, just kidding...or not...)
Of course we had a good dissection and biology lesson over the gutting, both boys pitched in to help and study all the different organs as they came out. They weren't squeamish about eating while they watched either, raiding my candy stash in my hunting pack. We got him dragged out to the road, loaded in the back of my longsuffering RAV4, and headed off to meet up with the rest of the family. It felt great to punch a tag, especially since the boys did so well in the field and enjoyed themselves thoroughly. I'm so thankful for the opportunity for them to know where their food comes from and grow up understanding the principles of conservation and game management, and very grateful for such great family memories.
