What a great weekend hunting with my son. It has been a season with almost no equal for me on our trad only club but Luke has had a lean year because of very, very little hunting time due to a crazy football season. He missed a good buck a week ago and this weekend with our rut totally over, I was simply hoping for a doe for him. Boy, did we get more action than we expected.
I had a great buck on camera numerous times working a ridge and we knew to have any hope of getting him the shot would come right at dark as he exited his security cover. I have to back up just a bit and say that Luke just turned 16 and has really come of age as a bowhunter. From hanging his own stands to making all of the decisions on where to hunt etc. On this hunt he even drove to the stand area (he just turned 16) and positioned a camera stand for his friend to watch and film the hunt.
With just a minute or two of shooting light left, Luke looked down and saw the giant 10 point at five yards through the thick branches of a beech tree. The buck never exposed his kill zone and stood there for ten minutes until it was simply just too dark for an ethical shot. I was quite proud of Luke passing on that shot as he told the exciting story. Here is the buck on a different day.
The next morning was cold and windy and Luke was on a high ridge where we have seen a cool looking non-typical on a couple of occasions. The buck slipped in on Luke and got behind some brush before turning and walking directly away again offer no quality shot. Here is the buck we call Mufasa. His rack is dwarfed by his enormous body.
Returning to the original stand, Luke had two does come in and offer a tough shot through heavy cover. I will let the video tell the story from here.
This is his 5th whitetail in two seasons with his recurve. He has also taken a bear and a few hogs in that time. The numbers are really nice but watching him mature into a young man with strong hunting ethics is really what makes me the most proud.
Those boys had a fantastic time and I enjoyed being there along for the show.
A footnote to this video... Luke's cameraman Austin is 16 and this was his first ever deer hunt. His excitement ERUPTS after the shot, He was simply overwhelmed by the moment. He has been on two adventures with us and the first one was a fishing trip where Luke landed a 10' hammerhead shark on light tackle. That boy is going to be thinking it is always like this outdoors, lol.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfIBsafA8AY&feature=player_detailpage&list=UUdL0nqTUdEPx4HWQEmjDvFQ
Topic: #5 for my son (Read 670 times)
