yoderjac
Well-Known Member
I invited our retirement property neighbors out to the farm to hunt during youth day which was Saturday. They have 2 hunting aged boys, one just turned 14 and the other is 10. In previous years the older boy had a shot opportunity and missed. Last year, the younger boy, hunting with his dad as a guide, got shot. The deer was well out of range, but dad wanted him to have the experience of firing the gun at game. The younger boy is pretty soft-hearted and struggled a bit with the idea of killing last year, but by this year, he was anxious to go.
I met them at the farm about 1500 and we headed out. I put the younger boy and his dad in one box-blind overlooking a food plot and I took the older boy to another box-blind overlooking a food plot about 500 yards away. With the remnants of the hurricane moving through, the past week has been cool and cloudy when it wasn't raining. Youth day was the warmest and brightest day in a week.
I just sat and let the older boy do his thing. He has always considered himself the hunter in the family. In fact, he is the boy I gave my switchback too (another thread). We saw nothing, but about 1830, I got a text from dad that they had turkey in the food plot they were hunting. Not long after that, they had a couple deer in the plot. One was a small buck. The younger brother took careful aim at the chest for a broadside shot and pulled the trigger. The buck dropped in it's tracks. We heard the shot and they texted a picture of the deer. They said the other deer in the field, a doe, had not run off at the gun fire and asked if they should take her. Since we have a 2 day limit, I told them it was up to them. A few minutes later we heard the second shot.
The old boy and I sat, seeing nothing, until quitting time and then headed back to the UTV to pick up dad and little brother.
It turns out the reason the deer dropped was that the shot hit the middle of the neck. They had gone to look for the second deer but couldn't find it. They told me they had jumped a deer at one point. After describing the deer behavior after the shot, it sounded like a paunch shot. They didn't know any better. I took the younger brother and his deer back to the barn and then went back to get dad and big brother.
Younger brother, with a little instruction, pretty much did all the field dressing himself. It took forever, but he stuck too it. When they finally got to the point where they started skinning the deer, dad and big brother helped him. Meanwhile, I headed back out with the FLIR to look for the second deer. No luck. It was probably the deer they bounced.
When I got back, it was going on 2130 and they were finishing up. I asked younger brother, "Would you like to start over now and process that deer again?". He said "I don't think so". I told him that that is something you need to remember and think about before deciding to shoot a second deer. He just smiled.
I met them at the farm about 1500 and we headed out. I put the younger boy and his dad in one box-blind overlooking a food plot and I took the older boy to another box-blind overlooking a food plot about 500 yards away. With the remnants of the hurricane moving through, the past week has been cool and cloudy when it wasn't raining. Youth day was the warmest and brightest day in a week.
I just sat and let the older boy do his thing. He has always considered himself the hunter in the family. In fact, he is the boy I gave my switchback too (another thread). We saw nothing, but about 1830, I got a text from dad that they had turkey in the food plot they were hunting. Not long after that, they had a couple deer in the plot. One was a small buck. The younger brother took careful aim at the chest for a broadside shot and pulled the trigger. The buck dropped in it's tracks. We heard the shot and they texted a picture of the deer. They said the other deer in the field, a doe, had not run off at the gun fire and asked if they should take her. Since we have a 2 day limit, I told them it was up to them. A few minutes later we heard the second shot.
The old boy and I sat, seeing nothing, until quitting time and then headed back to the UTV to pick up dad and little brother.
It turns out the reason the deer dropped was that the shot hit the middle of the neck. They had gone to look for the second deer but couldn't find it. They told me they had jumped a deer at one point. After describing the deer behavior after the shot, it sounded like a paunch shot. They didn't know any better. I took the younger brother and his deer back to the barn and then went back to get dad and big brother.
Younger brother, with a little instruction, pretty much did all the field dressing himself. It took forever, but he stuck too it. When they finally got to the point where they started skinning the deer, dad and big brother helped him. Meanwhile, I headed back out with the FLIR to look for the second deer. No luck. It was probably the deer they bounced.
When I got back, it was going on 2130 and they were finishing up. I asked younger brother, "Would you like to start over now and process that deer again?". He said "I don't think so". I told him that that is something you need to remember and think about before deciding to shoot a second deer. He just smiled.
