Itchy Dog
10-17-2007, 10:21 AM
My 13 year old son has had himself a season of firsts. Starting with Hunter Ed certification last spring, we soon headed into the turkey woods where he bagged his first gobbler. Spent the summer getting comfortable with his Tikka .243, shooting several boxes of handloads at the range. Off the bench he was shooting 2 inch groups at 200 yards. He needs some time on the clay range, but he'll get there as we have plenty of bird season ahead of us. On the pheasant youth hunt, he shot his first rooster with a borrowed 20 gauge. Last weekend we headed to Winthrop for a deer hunt with a group of friends. All the kids had doe tags, which was a good thing because the shootable bucks were very sparse. Saturday morning after thinking we were better off heading back to camp for breakfast, we were suddenly presented with an opportunity to harvest his meat. We didn't have much time as the deer snuck up on us (instead of vice versa). They were out at about 85 yards, preparing to jump a fence, so I stuck my shooting sticks on the ground, told him to relax, and squeeze. He's calm under pressure, unlike his old man. The result was a young doe that will eat real good and whet his appetite for many years to come. The lessons in responsibility preparing for this hunting season have been priceless. This has been a big year for the lad and his dad. Oh, and he also caught a few nice trout and countless smallies and bluegills this summer.
(this photo is posted in my gallery)
(this photo is posted in my gallery)