Caliche and Auroras 2018 youth hunt

[CatfishKev]

The kids both wrote essays to turn in to the ADA for a chance at a rifle. Here they are. Auroras is pretty funny......

[CatfishKev]

Aurora XXXXXXXXX

November 7^th, 2018

Arizona Deer Association

 

My unsuccessful deer eXpeRieNCe essay

The first day we arrived things were going pretty well. We would drive around and scout some areas. But our original plan was to head out to the power lines opening morning. When we arrived that morning, we glassed everywhere but there wasn’t a single elk. We mainly thought because everything was freshly cut down and it seemed like it spooked all the big game. However my brother killed his elk and it was a pretty easy pack out.

 

But from there on out it seemed like the world was against me. We would pray just about every day but we would have no luck. It would rain all day and rain all night and you couldn’t see a thing cause everything was really foggy and it even snowed pretty badly too. At  night we would be cold when it snowed and our camper would sway and shake in the wind all night. Everyday me and my dad would still get up and fight through the ugly weather, but mainly because I did have my eyes on an orange like chocolate buck. He was an eight pointer and we had given him the name Rusty. But no matter how hard I tried my ExPerIeNcE would get ruined.

 

The one morning me and my father got up and we headed towards young we spotted him, tracked them to where we hiked until we were about 400 yards to him. They bedded down so we waited for hours in the rain. Once we spotted again where they where bedded down it began to rain a little heavier. We weren’t concerned about it until the fog became thicker and started coming down more towards the mountain were Rusty and his buddy were. What was worse is that once I  had rusty in my scope and ready they got up and left once we could no longer see them through the fog. My ExPerIeNcE was ruined once more. However my dad did tell me “Those who hunt the trophy goes home hungry.”

 

We came back the next day when the weather was still pretty nasty to go find rusty .After an hour of classing my father spotted Rusty while I was taking it easy. NATURALLY. I was so happy. Me and my father set up part of the tripod we were missing the plate that connects to the gun so we had to make do with what we had on us. I found him in my scope as they were feeding until they were spooked by something on the hill. ( we later found out it was a skunk.) We quickly  tried to follow them in my scope. By then rusty had stopped to look back at what they had spooked them. However there was a tree branch kind of in his way. But there was no time to spare. I took the shot. Rusty had a pretty good reaction to my shot because he kicked his legs out and then took off. Me and my dad began hugging and then I couldn’t stop crying because after about week of struggling and hard work it was finally over. OR SO I THOUGHT.

 

Me and my dad went after him all day for nine hours. Pfft yea you heard me. Me and my dad finally had a snack attack so then we took a break and began eating some energy bars. After we had finished my dad said we should go around and double check to make sure. I was really up for it but we wanted to make sure so we did. We began hiking again behind the hill. As we went around my dad was all like “ I smell deer.” And then I was like “What, no way freak.” (poor basturd is delusional) But conventilly I walked up a few more yards and found our first trail of blood.

 

Me and my dad had high hopes and we began to follow the blood trail back up the mountain.  Sometimes we would get closer to the blood and we would both smell the deer. We would stack a tower of rocks every time we found blood dripples. It was getting really late and we were dangerously low on water so my dad said hopefully nature will take its course by the morning. We came home to our campsite and my mother came up with the logic that we should start letting the deer come to us. But that didn’t work either. Dang.

 

We had another day dedicated to having a search party for Rusty. We retraced our steps thanks to our sweet friken rock towers. We didn’t make much progress until we spread out and I think it was my little brother who found the continued blood trail. And then by then everything was going real good for a couple of hours. We would regain hope and then lose it just to possibly regain it again. It was another nine hour day and we ended up having to leave because we had no water. It seems Rusty had played the old trickaroo on me.

 

By then I was completely bummed out and we decided that we would give it one more day to just make sure if he was still somewhere out there. That morning we weren’t in a rush though so we helped one of my dad’s friends with an elk pack out for Hunts for Hero’s. we helped ( a little ) with packing out but me and my dad were mainly there to see how the pro’s did it.

 

After the pack out me and my dad went to search for rusty one last time. We searched but there just wasn’t a whole lot of blood indicating where he had went. We only did this for a few hours until we finally came to the conclusion that Rusty was still alive. He couldn’t have gone as far as he did and by then we would have at least seen crows or smelt something foul. Rusty was the first big game animal that I was not able to track down. And it upsets me that I injured him to. However I’m hopeful that the wound wasn’t severe and that rusty can still be alive with his bud. I hope he and his pal are alright and that Rusty is recovering well. Or possibly someone has had the advantage to take a shot at him if necessary.

 

Every year I always struggle and have the hardest hunts unlike my brothers. Its a breeze for them it seems. But because of this hunt it teaches me about work ethic and maybe teaches me that I can do things girls wouldn’t really do. But I also learn about family bonding to. I thank my dad who puts twice as much hard work and effort into our hunts like it’s his own. And with our mother supporting us and feeding us warm meals during our hunts too. So thanks to my family and their support they make my hunts worth while maybe even if I wasn’t able to get an animal because I also still learn something each time. So actually my ExPerEIncE was pretty alright. Except for that one time I ate at that one restaurant and there where crabs in my ranch, like what the heck.

[CatfishKev]

And here is Caliche's

 

Caliché Swavely

11/8/18

My First  Elk HUNT

 

 

 

Hello, I’m Caliche and I’m ten years old. First thing’s first I have to thank my dad. He did lot’s of stuff for me .He did Game And Fish test with me online and then. He also tookm me shooting a few times to make sure I could shoot good.  He did Field Day with me and all other kinds of stuff and after all of that we were packing our camper and won we got up their we had to get everything set for the next day.  The next day my dad and I were glassing and we were ready for the hunt… So we got up and it was show time.  I was very tired but my mom made some chili for me and my dad and gave us lots of water and we were on our way. So all day we found nothing until we found a elk……. But it was on private road… we were so mad. The next day we went to the airport two people were there so we went some other place and right in front of as was a elk…..It was 200 hundred yard’s away from us.  We got out and got and got ready to shoot. My dad made me lay down on the ground and get comfortable and Inshot the elk from 200 yards away. Then it walked backwards and ran in the forest. So we went around and my sister came with us and we had our binoculars. We forgot the rangefinder so my sister went to get it. When she came back we said stay here and wave to us when you see us at the spot the elk was. So then we just kept tracking the footsteps and we looked over and the elk was 10 feet away. My dad said put one in the head and I did and it was all over. We yelled and celebrated and went and got my mom and sister.   I got it took us two hour to skined it and it was the second day after that we went in a fast food place yum and there was a crab in my ranch dressing it was gross.  And at the last day we did a 5 mile hike the end.