Our fall Youth Hunt was this past weekend. We had a grand time. Of the five hunters (aged 12-13) three scored.
(Actually, Kayla, an ol' veteran now at 13 is limited to BIG bucks or doe after bagging a huge buck during the fall 2008 Youth Hunt...she sat with her granddad and could have shot 10-12 deer this weekend, but chose to let them walk and come back and hunt for another "big-un" in a couple weeks when the regular season opens).
Kayla & her Grandpa:
Here are the successful young hunters:
Cody, 13 years-old, my sister's son, shot the nicest buck. It's a 10-point that was VERY heavy. He's getting it mounted. It took an hour to cape the head for him...I know, I'm slow...I like to think of myself as careful!! I had great help. He shot his buck on October 31st at 7:30am. A 40-yard shot through the lungs! Cody lives in the KC Area. (I've shot three deer with this boy and I tell you he's a dead eye with hunting wisdom beyond his years {I'd like to take credit for some of this good stuff he does while hunting but it's a gift from God!}, I'd have let him hunt by himself this year had he gotten his Hunter's Safety out of the way prior to the season!) This was Cody's 5th or 6th deer. Cody's adult mentor was Chris. Chris is a good friend who is well known for taking kids out on their first, second, etc. hunts. I asked him to hunt with Cody as I was hunting with Cody R.
My other nephew, Cody R. from Albuquerque, NM came out for his first deer hunt. He'd been shooting with me a couple years ago. He's a good shot! I called his mom and asked if she would buy Cody a round-trip ticket on SW Airlines if I'd cover the rest. She agreed and was quite thrilled to help me plan the trip. He and I went out to lunch, hit Cabela's, hit my range (at least 6 times), he cleaned a bunch of guns and helped me organize and inventory some ammo...we did fun guy stuff! He also helped out around the house and was generally a joy to be around!!
I sat with Cody R. on October 31st and at 7:45am he was dialing in the pictured buck when it moved into the timber...a few minutes later the buck and his two doe came out again and this time Cody R. made the shot. His first words after pulling the trigger..."it was a good shot"...his next words, "I'm sure shaking".
His shot was 75+/- yards and perfectly aimed right through the lungs. We waited 20 minutes and then I let him locate the deer. He found it abour 25 yards into the brush. I gave him a long stick and told him to poke the deer's eye to make sure it was dead. He did an outstanding job and we drug him out to where we could haul him off for field dressing.
The field dressing was Cody R.'s least favorite part but he took it like a man and helped keep the deer's legs spread while Uncle Bob explained/illustrated the gutting process.
A nice 8-point:
My good friend Chad has had all three of his boys out to hunt during the Youth Hunt and this year it was 12 year-old Justice's turn. All three boys sat in the same stand with their dad and all three have shot their first deer out of the same seat.
Justice shot this nice 8-point and he and his dad had a great time.
Bob
(Actually, Kayla, an ol' veteran now at 13 is limited to BIG bucks or doe after bagging a huge buck during the fall 2008 Youth Hunt...she sat with her granddad and could have shot 10-12 deer this weekend, but chose to let them walk and come back and hunt for another "big-un" in a couple weeks when the regular season opens).
Kayla & her Grandpa:
Here are the successful young hunters:
Cody, 13 years-old, my sister's son, shot the nicest buck. It's a 10-point that was VERY heavy. He's getting it mounted. It took an hour to cape the head for him...I know, I'm slow...I like to think of myself as careful!! I had great help. He shot his buck on October 31st at 7:30am. A 40-yard shot through the lungs! Cody lives in the KC Area. (I've shot three deer with this boy and I tell you he's a dead eye with hunting wisdom beyond his years {I'd like to take credit for some of this good stuff he does while hunting but it's a gift from God!}, I'd have let him hunt by himself this year had he gotten his Hunter's Safety out of the way prior to the season!) This was Cody's 5th or 6th deer. Cody's adult mentor was Chris. Chris is a good friend who is well known for taking kids out on their first, second, etc. hunts. I asked him to hunt with Cody as I was hunting with Cody R.
My other nephew, Cody R. from Albuquerque, NM came out for his first deer hunt. He'd been shooting with me a couple years ago. He's a good shot! I called his mom and asked if she would buy Cody a round-trip ticket on SW Airlines if I'd cover the rest. She agreed and was quite thrilled to help me plan the trip. He and I went out to lunch, hit Cabela's, hit my range (at least 6 times), he cleaned a bunch of guns and helped me organize and inventory some ammo...we did fun guy stuff! He also helped out around the house and was generally a joy to be around!!
I sat with Cody R. on October 31st and at 7:45am he was dialing in the pictured buck when it moved into the timber...a few minutes later the buck and his two doe came out again and this time Cody R. made the shot. His first words after pulling the trigger..."it was a good shot"...his next words, "I'm sure shaking".
His shot was 75+/- yards and perfectly aimed right through the lungs. We waited 20 minutes and then I let him locate the deer. He found it abour 25 yards into the brush. I gave him a long stick and told him to poke the deer's eye to make sure it was dead. He did an outstanding job and we drug him out to where we could haul him off for field dressing.
The field dressing was Cody R.'s least favorite part but he took it like a man and helped keep the deer's legs spread while Uncle Bob explained/illustrated the gutting process.
A nice 8-point:
My good friend Chad has had all three of his boys out to hunt during the Youth Hunt and this year it was 12 year-old Justice's turn. All three boys sat in the same stand with their dad and all three have shot their first deer out of the same seat.
Justice shot this nice 8-point and he and his dad had a great time.
Bob
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Thank you for being there for those kids. I really got a
