Gr8 White Jr

My girlfriend's 11 year old son shoots my .270 and he shoots it very well. The recoil isn't bad for him as long as I limit the amount of shots taken when we practice. Where are you located? If you are not sure about caliber and recoil for your daughter and you are in the Phoenix area let me know and maybe I can meet you at the range with a few rifles for her to test out. I can bring a .270 and a .243 for her to shoot. Could even bring a 30.06 but I really don't think that would be the way to go with a youth hunter. Anyway, something to consider if you are interested. -Tracy

Wow! That would be awesome Amanda! The cameras are still at Covert since I told them that I wanted to think about my options for a few days before making a decision. I will call Covert in the morning and ask them to ship the cameras back to me. Not sure if they will make it here before next weekend. I will definitely try the "reboot" first. Hopefully that will resolve the issues I am having.

I have never heard of any "reboot". I went back and forth with Covert through emails about the issues I was having and they never once mentioned a "reboot". They just told me to send it in. I feel relieved that there may be a fix for them. Thanks for the input Gino!

I did try brand new batteries. When I first plugged the remote in and it didn't light up I figured the batteries were dead. I put brand new batteries in the camera and still nothing. When I unplugged the remote I noticed the red LED light blinking so I figured my remote was bad since the camera was working. I have four other remotes that I tried with no luck. I am very disappointed that Covert wont even try to fix my cameras. I was shocked at how very unhelpful the guy was that I spoke to on the phone.

I got it in finally. It took three and a half hours to submit mine, Angie's and Jackson's apps.

My turkey hunt is next on my list. I was actually going to post a video from the turkey hunt but it was too long to up load to youtube. I'll get the story typed up soon. Thanks for the replies everybody!

After AZGFD's online system was a complete failure when the elk and antelope results were released, there was an "apology letter" that was emailed to all applicants stating that they were taking action to make sure this didn't happen again. Well I have been trying for the last two and half hours to put in for deer and the site keeps failing. Several times I have gotten as far as putting in all my billing info and then when I hit the "authorize payment" button the site blanks out and sends me right back to start the process over. Very frustrating! Anybody else having this problem?

Well, I guess I let my frustrations get the best of me when I started this post. Not sure why I even posted being that I'm not one to get on this great site and bring it down with negative complaining. I was just frustrated with how many times I had tried to get my apps through only to have it kick me back to the beginning. I wasn't intending this to be a G&F bashing post. I am a big supporter of the AZGFD but what frustrated me was remembering back to April when the "apology" letter went out to all applicants. In this letter AZGFD officials, refering to the site not holding up stated, “this situation is unacceptable and our customers deserved better. We’ll be conducting a detailed review of the process and procedures internally and with the vendor to fix problems to ensure they don’t occur in the future.” This is where my frustrations stemmed from and like I said I let it get the best of me when I came on here and started this post. I don't want to see this turn into another ridiculous member bashing member topic. Applications were submitted successfully, whether it was the first day or the last day, so lets just forget about this post and be thankful we get an opportunity to hunt in such an amazing state. -Tracy

I bet I have tried over 20 times. I have made it as far as putting in my billing info at least 5 times.

TJ, I am going to help you out my friend, to assure this never happens again. I am going to set a reminder to my phone to let me know next year a few days before yours and Peg's anniversary. Then I will post it here on CWT. I know you don't miss a thing on this site so you surely wont miss it. I'm setting it for June 5th, 2013. Then you'll have a few days to plan something. Just to make sure, I will have Angie set a reminder in her phone as well. How does that sound?

Yes we are and I am definitely looking forward to it. Good time with good people! -Tracy

Contact gr8fuldoug here on the site. Not sure if the sale is still going but he had Vortex Viper 6.5x20x44 scopes on sale at Camera Land for $279.00 a couple weeks ago. There was a limited quantity of scopes and they went on sale a while back so you might want to get with him ASAP if you are interested. I highly recommend that scope. Hands down the best bang for your buck, IMO. -Tracy

Is it possible that although you hiked in 2 1/2 miles in one direction that maybe the people on your camera only hiked in from a road a few hundred yards in another direction? I know I have made some pretty long hikes thinking I was getting away from the crowds only to stumble upon another road that I didn't know existed. -Tracy

+1 That is quite an accomplishment! Huge CONGRATS! -Tracy

I own a 2006 Dodge Ram 2500 Diesel. Bought it brand new in '06 and have put over 150,000 miles on it now. I have a 4.5" lift and have never had any problems with the so called "death wobble". At about 75,000 miles my steering started feeling kind of sloppy and I had to have some steering linkage components replaced. Don't remember exactly what it was but it cost about $700 and I haven't had any problems since. As far as "never lifting a Dodge", just like anything else it all depends on what kind of lift you buy and who installed it. I really don't believe that a Dodge truck is any more likely to have problems when lifted than any other truck if a quality kit is installed by a qualified mechanic. Just my two cents. -Tracy

+1 HSM Trophy Gold is some of the best factory loads you can buy! Cabelas carries it as well. You can also order it straight from the Hunting Shack website but then you'll have to pay shipping. I have found that Sportsmansguide.com has some of the best prices for HSM ammo but again, if you are going to order it online you'll have to pay shipping. -Tracy

I finally got around to typing up the story about Jackson's jr javelina hunt. Ever since Jackson's successful fall hunt where he took a 90 inch coues and a huge javelina boar on the same hunt, we had been very much looking forward to Jackson's spring Jr javelina hunt. The first morning of the hunt Angie, Jackson and I met up with two of my good friends and hunting partners, Regan and Ron. They came out to hunt with us for the morning in hopes of getting to see Jackson put a javelina on the ground. After packs were loaded with our gear and food for the day all five of us hiked up to my favorite javelina glassing spot. Within 15 minutes of sitting down to glass I found a herd of javelina feeding on a far ridge about ¾ of a mile away. We gathered our gear and headed off to cut the distance between us and the herd. There was a huge canyon between us and the herd so we were limited to how close we could get to the herd which was 350 yards, too far for Jackson to shoot. We sat and watched the herd for a while waiting to see what they were going to do. From years of hunting this same herd I knew they were going to do one of two things, either drop down into the canyon to drink from the creek below or feed up over the top of the ridge. I was hoping they would drop down into the canyon for a drink because that would give us the opportunity for a shot as they got closer but just as we thought they would, they ended up topping over the ridge. This was a bad thing because in all the years of hunting this herd, anytime they have topped over the ridge the disappeared never to be relocated again. It was almost noon so Regan had to leave being that he had prior commitments back in town that evening. At this point I wasn’t sure what to do being that I have never been successful in this exact situation in the past. We decided that Ron would stay put in case the herd decided to come back and Angie, Jackson and I would drop down into the canyon and circle around the ridge and hike up to another high point that would give us a view of where the herd had gone. An hour and a half later we were up on the next point trying to relocate the herd. I was able to glass up a single javelina but the herd was nowhere to be found. It was late in the day and were a few hours from the truck so we decided to start making our way out. The next morning it was just Angie, Jackson and I. We were back at my favorite glassing spot hoping to find the herd from the day before. After about 3 hours of glassing with no luck I was getting a little discouraged until Angie anounced that she had glassed up a herd of javelina. They were a bout a ¾ of a mile away and we watched them move into a saddle and bed down. We discussed a game plan and decided that Angie would stay at our glassing point and keep an eye on the herd while Jackson and I went for the stalk. Jackson and I gathered our gear and set out to close the distance to the bedded herd of javelina. When we got about half way there we came up on a father his daughter that were glassing across the canyon. I asked them if they had seen the javelina and they said no. I explain to them that we had a herd bedded and that Angie was keeping and eye on them. I invited them to go along with us on the stalk and they gladly accepted the offer so the four of us crossed the canyon slowly and worked our way up a hill on the opposite side. I stayed in contact with Angie through text messages the entire time just to make sure the herd was still bedded. We set up under a juniper about 150 yards above the saddle the pigs were bedded in. The plan was to just wait them out until they stood up. As we were sitting there, Jackson set up behind my rifle on the claw and the little girl with here .243 on a set of shooting sticks, I had a little talk with Jackson about who should shoot first. The little girl had never killed anything before and since Jackson had killed a javelina and a coues buck last November I asked Jackson what he thought was fair. With no influence from me what so ever, Jackson said that even though we had found the pigs he thought that the little girl should take the first shot. His exact words were “its the right thing to do and besides, I will still get a pig”. I was so proud of him! I told the father of the little girl that we wanted her to take the first shot and at first he strongly declined but after Jackson and I insisted they gladly accepted. We sat there for about a half hour waiting for the pigs to stand up from there beds when suddenly several of the pigs jumped up and started running away from us. They only ran about 20 yards or so and then held up in some trees. They were obviously alert and a couple of them were walking around in the brush. The next few minutes were very tense as the father of the little girl tried over and over again to get her on a pig while Jackson waited patiently the entire time with his cross hairs locked on several other pigs. After several failed attempts the father of the little girl insisted that Jackson just take a shot if had it. We told him no and that we would wait until the little girl shot first. I think this was adding more pressure to the two of them knowing that we were ready and waiting on them. We could still see four or five pigs moving around in the brush and they acted like they were going to bust out of there any second. I was getting really nervous and started to think that neither of the kids were going to get a shot before the pigs took off out of there. The father of the little girl continued desperately to get her on a pig but it was just too hard for her to find one in the scope and get settled in. After several more failed attempts the father of the little girl again insisted that Jackson just shoot before the pigs took off. Thinking that this opportunity was about to be blown, I asked Jackson if he had a pig in his scope. He said yes so I told him to take the shot when he felt comfortable. BOOM! Miss! Jackson had shot high. Now all the pigs were scattering in all directions. One pig had stopped and was standing frozen under a big juniper. I told the father and the little girl to get on the pig under the juniper. I hear her say “got him” and then her father say “shoot him”, BOOM! I see her pig drop like a sack of potatoes right in its tracks. WOOOHOOO!!! Pig Down! I immediately was back to helping Jackson get back on another pig. After the little girl shot it spooked some of the pigs toward us. There were five pigs moving single file and I told Jackson that if one stops to shoot. As soon as I said that the last pig in line stopped. “Drop him!” BOOM! I see the pig start spinning like a dog chasing his tail. He spun and spun, the whole time moving down hill taking out every bush and cactus in it path. The pig disappeared into a thicket of brush and we never saw it come out the other side. I really thought it was good as dead and that it died down in the thicket. We all were very excited and went down to recover the pigs. We worked our way down to the saddle and immediately found the little girl's pig right where she had shot it. I was so happy and so glad to have been there to experience her first big game animal kill with her and her father. It was a great moment with a lot of smiles. As the little girl and her father took care of her pig Jackson and I went down the hill to recover his pig. When we got to where the pig was when Jackson had shot all I found was a sliver of meat about 1/8 of an inch thick and an inch long. Not far from there I found a pin drop of blood. We followed the tracks down into the creek below where we met up with Angie. Angie and I continued tracking the pig for a quarter mile or so over the next four hours until the track went up hill and disappeared in the higher rocky ground. In all this time and distance I only found two more pin drops of blood so I was confident that the hit was just a graze and not a fatal wound. Jackson was pretty upset about wounding an animal. I had to explain to him that unfortunately it happens sometimes but the important thing is that we exhausted our efforts to recover the animal. A hard lesson to learn for a 10 year old. It was getting late and we had a long hike out so we started our way back to the truck. We stopped several times to glass in the direction that we thought the wounded pig went but we were unsuccessful in finding him. We made it back to the truck just before dark and headed home physically and emotionally exhausted. The next morning we were back at our glassing point at first light. After about ten minutes of glassing I found two pigs feeding on a hill side and in perfect position for us to make a stalk. I wasted no time at all and told Angie and Jackson that we need to get moving and to gather their gear. In a matter of minutes we were on our way to cut the distance between us and the feeding javelina. As we got closer I could see that there were more than just the two pigs that I had originally spotted, there was a small herd of about eight in total. They were feeding on the side of a cut coming off of a big canyon. I knew if we could get to the opposite side of the cut then we would have about a 150 shot. Before we dropped down into the big canyon I made mental notes of which finger we needed to climb up once we got down into the bottom. We headed down into the steep canyon and walked the bottom for a few hundred yards until we reached the finger that I thought we needed to climb up. After sneaking up the finger I stopped and started glasing trying to locate the herd. I looked all over where I thought the herd would be and for the life of me I could not find them. I started to second guess myself thinking that we went up the wrong finger. I dropped my pack and told Angie and Jackson to stay there while I ran back up the opposite side of the canyon to where we had come from. I knew once I got up there I would be able to see where the herd was so off I went. After getting up there I looked back across the canyon and could see the pigs still feeding but about 100 yards higher up the finger that I thought. The herd was less than 200 yards from where Angie and Jackson were. I ran all the way back to Angie and Jackson and immediately got Jackson set up behind the rifle. I pointed the pigs out and we waited for one to clear for a shot. One pig in particular stood out from the rest as being very big so I had Jackson follow that one in the scope until it stopped and turned broadside. I knew this was our chance so I told jackson to “drop him”. BOOM! The shot went high right over the pig's back. I immediately reached over and chambered another round in the rifle. At first the pigs were heading away and were about to top over the ridge but they then turned and started to head back toward us. I could tell that the pigs were confused and didn't know where the shot had come from. The big pig that Jackson had missed was now walking down the finger in our direction. While Jackson was trying to find it in the scope I noticed that he was really stretching to see through the scope so I decided that we would move to get him more comfortable for the shot. We moved about 10 yards forward and got set up for the shot again. I asked Jackson if he was comfortable, if he felt better about shooting now. He replied, “way better!” The big pig was now at 139 yards and standing perfectly broadside under a juniper. Jackson said he had him in the scope so again I told him to drop him. BOOM! The pig dropped instantly at the shot. WOOOHOOO!!!! Pig Down! Angie was so happy to see her bow get something on the ground since she missed out on all his success last fall. We took a few pics right there from where the shot was made from before we gathered out gear and headed over to retrieve Jackson's javelina. As I walked up to Jackson's pig I knew it was a beast. I have ground checked quite a few javelina over the years and this was definitely one of the biggest I have seen. He was definitely the dominant boar in that herd. We took pictures before dressing the big javelina and then started the hike out back to the truck. There were a lot of smiles on our faces on the hike out. Another successful hunt to add to the memory bank. Jackson is off to a great start! He turned 10 at the end of September so after only four months into his hunting career he already has two big boar javelina and a 90 inch coues under his belt. I can't wait see what kind of great experiences next year brings! Thanks to Ron and Regan for coming out with us on openning day! I wish you guys could have stayed longer and been there when it all finally came together. Thanks to everybody who stuck with me on another one of my LONG stories and as always a HUGE thanks to Amands for such a great site where we can share our stories and experiences with each other! -Tracy Angie and Jackson. Jackson and I. Jackson making the shot. Over the shoulder view of the shot. The pigs were where the red arrow is. Jackson with his trophy. Angie and Jackson with his trophy. The three of us. Notice we're wearing our lucky CWT shirts. Jackson showing off his CWT shirt.

If you do decide to go with the LRH then check out Budsguns.com. With no tax and free shipping you really cant beat their prices even after paying a FFL fee. -Tracy

What about the savage long range hunter is there a better choice of rifle for the money? Considering what you are getting for the money, the LRH is the best bang for your buck in my opinion. You will not be disappointed especially in 7mm mag. If I was going to buy a new rifle right now that is EXACTLY what I would be getting, the Savage LRH in 7mm mag or 6.5x284. -Tracy

Squaring bonus points WILL in fact change odds in a big way. For example, say you have two applicants, one with 5 points and one with 10 points. The applicant with 10 points has twice as many points as the applicant with 5 points. Now square both of their points. The applicant with 10 points will now have 100 points and the applicant with 5 points will now have 25 points. So now its 25 to 100 instead of 5 to 10. He now has 4 times more points instead of only double the points. This system would give the applicants with higher bonus points a significant advantage over those with less. -Tracy

CanyonCountry, I don't think you are understanding the confusion that some of the other members, as well as myself are having with your description of the rifle for sale. What we are not understanding is the "mag" part of your description. You are stating that the rifle is a 270 WIN mag in which there is no such caliber that myself and many other members are aware of. If the rifle is indeed a 270 caliber then it will be one of these three: 270 WIN (Winchester non magnum), 270 WSM (Winchester Short Magnum) or 270 WBY MAG (Weatherby Magnum). I'm guessing that you are probably just mistaken about the mag part and if you read the barrel on the rifle that it will probably say 270 WIN. Just my two cents. Maybe that will help clear it up. -Tracy

Way to go Ashley! Glad you guys stuck with it all the way to the end. Great job and congrats to you all! -Tracy

My thoughts exactly! -Tracy

After the fall draw results came out last July I had been very much looking forward to Jackson's first hunt. For those of you who don't already know, Jackson is my girlfriend Angie's son. He passed his hunters education course in July and just turned 10 at the end of September making him 100% legal. We were able to pick Jackson up a javelina tag that was good for the same unit at the same time as his deer hunt so we would be 'double dipping' on this hunt. What a great opportunity to have on a first hunt. Our plans were to hunt opening morning through Monday night but unfortunately after 81 years of a good healthy life my Grandfather passed away about a week before Jackson's hunt started. Plans changed after that. My Grandfather's funeral was on Saturday, the second day of the hunt, so plans were changed to us leaving early on Sunday morning. We were up early Sunday morning and headed out of town in hopes of making it to our hunting area in time for the morning hunt. David, Jackson's dad, fallowed us down in hopes of being there to witness his son take his 1st big game animal. My best friend Jon and his son Zach also followed us down. Zach just turned 10 in August and although he didn't have a deer tag he was able to get a javelina tag. We made it down to our hunting area right at first light and spent the morning glassing for deer and javelina. After a few hours of glassing and only a few does and a spike being seen we hiked back to our vehicles and went to look for a good place to set up camp. After setting up camp and getting everything situated we headed out for the evening hunt. Only some does and a few spikes were seen that evening and all were too far for Jackson to shoot. Early Monday morning Angie had to leave and head back to Phx to be at work by 9am. Jackson, David and myself went to an area I like to hunt and glassed for deer all morning. I glassed up a nice 2x2 so Jackson and I headed out to make a stalk while David stayed back to watch through the binos. Jackson and I hiked our buts off to get into position for a shot only to have the buck top over the ridge just before I could get Jackson set up behind the rifle. The morning was pretty much over by the time we hiked back to David so we headed back to camp. David had to head back to Phx later that night so for the evening we hunted an area that would be closer to the highway to give him a jump start on his travel home. All that was seen during our evening glassing session were does. The hunt was half way over at this point and I knew we needed to step it up if we were going to get these tags filled in the next two days. Tuesday morning we headed to an area I have hunted in the past. I have always seen deer in this area and although I see a lot of javelina sign I have never actually seen any javelina in this area. I told Jon that him and Zach were more than welcome to go with us and glass. I told him that I was going in there mainly for deer but you just never know, we may get lucky and see some pigs. Jon and Zach decided they wanted to go with Jackson and I so the four of us were off for the day with 3 tags to fill. Right off the bat as we hiked in to the first spot I wanted to glass I spotted a big 3x3 walking down the same hill we were on. He was only 80 yards away and had no idea that we were there but was headed for the thick bottom. I immediately dropped to the ground and told everybody to get down. I pulled my rifle out of the scabbard on my pack and told Jackson to crawl to me. I got the rifle set up on my tripod with the Gun Claw and then tried to relocate the buck. I searched and searched but could not relocate the buck. As I was glassing the thick bottom below us, which is where I thought the buck had disappeared into, I heard a loud roar come from further up the ridge to my left. I looked back at Jon and told him, “I know that sound, that was a javelina!” Jon looked at me with a big smile on his face and nodded. I turned in the direction of the sound and started picking apart the brushy hillside. Sure enough, there was a big herd of pigs milling around on the same ridge that we were on just 430 yards away. I told Jon and the boys that I had located the herd but I wanted to leave them be and keep trying to relocate the buck. “They are pigs, they aren't going anywhere so I lets try to find the buck first” is what I told them. After 15 minutes and no sign of the buck I could tell that Jon and both boys were getting antsy to go after the pigs. I decided to call off the search for the buck. Before we made our stalk on the pigs I wanted to get a few land marks noted and range a few locations that I thought the boys could shoot from. As I was making my mental notes the entire herd started to head away and topped over the hill and out of sight. Of course! Right when we are getting ready to stalk the herd they decide to top over. I noted where they topped over and was just getting ready to put my binos down when I saw the big buck we had seen earlier heading up the same hill the pigs were on. That must have been why the pigs moved on. I got Jackson behind the rifle immediately and dialed the turret for the shot. I asked Jackson if he could see the buck and he said “yes”. “Are you steady? Are the crosshairs bouncing around or are they right on the buck”, I asked. “They are right on him!” I told Jackson that when he was ready to slowly squeeze the trigger. BOOM! I watched the vapor trail as the bullet hit inches in front of the buck. I chambered another round in the rifle and told Jackson to get on him again. The buck walked slowly over the ridge and never presented us another shot opportunity. I was very disappointed that Jackson missed such a nice buck but at the same time I knew it wasn't over yet, we still had pigs to go after. We packed up our gear and headed off to find the herd of pigs. As we got to the hill where I last saw the pigs top over I told Jon and the boys to stay back and let me sneak over and try to relocate the herd. It wasn't long before I spotted two pigs bedded down laying in the sunshine. I waived the boys over to me and told them to come slowly and quietly. The pigs were right at 171 yards across a small cut and the shots would have to be taken from where we were at. The plan was to have Jackson shoot first off of the claw and then immediately move and let Zach get behind the gun and shoot another pig. Jackson got behind the gun and found the bedded javelina in the scope. I told him to aim low right behind the shoulder and slowly squeeze the trigger. BOOM! All I saw was a pig go belly up and then roll down the hill. Pig number one DOWN! Jackson moved out from behind the rifle and Zack quickly moved in to take his place. The herd didn't move much and all the pigs were up out of their beds. I got the rifle on a pig standing in the open. Zach got behind the gun and I told him the cross hairs were right on a pig. I asked him if he could see it and he said “no, I see a rock”. I asked him, “Does that rock have a white stripe on it?” “Yes” he replied. I told Zach, “Shoot that rock right in the stripe.” BOOM! Missed! I quickly got him back on another pig, BOOM! Missed again! The herd was scattering around the hillside at this point. Finally they started to settle down and I was able to get Zach on another pig for one last shot. “Make it count”, I told him. BOOM! Whack! I see a pig spinning in circles and running down the hillside toward the bottom and then disappeared into the brush. Awesome! We high fived and then headed to find the downed pigs. Jackson's pig was easy to find, laying right under where it was originally bedded. We tagged it and went looking for Zach's pig. We fallowed the very heavy blood trail right to a small cave where Zach's pig had expired and was laying with just its head sticking out. We drug it out of the cave and started the pack out. What a great morning! Two Jr hunters tagging out on their first big game animals at the same time! The boys were very excited and Jon and I were very proud to say the least. After a photo session we skinned the pigs and got them on ice. Jon had to be to work the next morning so him and Zach headed home while Jackson and I went out for the evening hunt to try to find a buck. Of course now that the pig tags were filled all we glassed that evening were pigs. The next morning Jackson and I were up early and at a new glassing point at first light. It was our last day to hunt so as I glassed and glassed I was desperate to find a buck. After two hours of glassing and seeing about 20 does we moved to a different glassing point. Right away I found a spike so we wasted no time and we headed off to make a stalk. We got to 339 yards and I was contemplating having Jackson shoot from there. After weighing our options I decided that we could get closer so we moved in closer. We got to a predetermined spot and were now 220 yards from where I had last seen the small buck but could not relocate him to save my life. The hillside was pretty open so there weren't too many places for a deer to hide. After scanning the entire hillside over and over again for a good 30 minutes I figured the buck must have topped over the ridge so we headed back to the truck. With the morning hunt over I was feeling the pressure as we only had one evening left to get Jackson his first buck. After a good lunch we packed up most of our gear and headed out for our last evening. We got to our glassing point early to give it our all for our last chance. I sat down and started glassing thinking it was still too early to really see anything yet. Just as that thought entered my head I spotted a deer topping over ridge toward us. It was 3 ridges away so even through my 15's I could barely make out that it was a spike. Right behind him came a 75” to 80” 3x3, and right behind him a BIG 3x3 and then a BIG 4x4. Holy smokes! I've never seen a true 4x4 on the hoof so I was very excited! I told Jackson that I had found four bucks but they were really far. I explained to him that this was our last chance and that if he really wanted to get a buck that we were really going to have to hurry and cover a lot of ground quick. I told him, “this is what we have been waiting for.” All the practice, all the hiking, all the glassing was all for this very moment. “Lets make it happen!” I asked Jackson if he was ready and he gave me a big “yes” so we were off. We made really good time and dropped into two canyons and topped over two ridges in just over an hour. As we topped the last ridge we crawled slowly down side of it. The bucks had moved down lower in the canyon so we were trying to get as low as we could to cut as much of the distance and the angle off of the shot. We found a nice flat spot and I set my rifle up on the Claw and had Jackson get behind it. I picked apart the opposite side of the canyon trying to find the bigger bucks. I glassed and glassed but could only find the smaller bucks and about 10 does. It was really neat watching the smaller 3x3 chasing does around, neck stretched out lip curling and he even tried to mount a doe at one point. I have never seen that kind of full rut activity that early in the year so it was definitely a surprise. After about 45 minutes of glassing and not being able to find the bigger bucks I asked Jackson if he just wanted to get a deer. Of course he said yes. It was getting really late and we had less than an hour of shooting light left. With a 75 to 80” 3x3 standing right in front of us I thought we better just take what we have presented to us on the last evening. After all, we would have been ecstatic to shoot a buck like this on the first day, let alone the last day. The decision was made to take the 3x3 we could see so Jackson found the buck in the scope and prepared for the shot. The buck was 365 yards and perfectly broadside. I dialed the turret and told Jackson to hold right on him. “Take him when you feel solid”, I said. BOOM! I watched the vapor trail of the bullet as it went right under the bucks chest. My stomach sank as I watched all the deer start scattering all over the canyon side. I helped Jackson get back on the buck for another shot. I told him not to shoot until I found the buck in by binos so I could watch the shot. As I was sweeping the canyon side with my binos I found the BIG 3x3 from earlier. “Don't shoot, don't shoot!” I told Jackson that I had found one of the bigger bucks. I helped him find the big buck in the scope and then talked him through the shot. “This is our last chance, remember the trigger control we practiced so much before the hunt and take your time and kill that buck”. The buck was quartering away and standing with one hind leg up forward like he was frozen in the middle of a step. I told Jackson to put the cross hairs right in front of that hind leg. BOOM! WHACK! The shot was a little far back but the buck was hit hard. I told Jackson he hit the buck but he had to get another round in him. Jackson's nerves really got the best of him at this point. He was shaking pretty bad and really had a hard time finding the buck again. Once he got the buck back in the scope he tried over and over again to put another round in the buck but missed four times because he was so nervous. With every miss the buck would try to run and by this time had slowly moved down the canyon side and was now at 475 yards. Way out of Jackson's range but we had no choice but to try to put this buck down. Still standing the buck was perfectly broadside. I had Jackson take a few long deep breaths as I dialed the turret to 475. I explained to Jackson that his buck wasn't going anywhere but he needed to try to calm down and make a good clean shot to finish him. Jackson took his time and took one more shot. BOOM! I watched that bullet as it hit the buck perfectly, low right behind the shoulder. The buck kicked and went on a 200 yard death run tearing through every bush and cactus in its path down to the bottom of the canyon. He disappeared over a small berm so I made a mental note of where to pick up on his trail. Light was fading fast so we gathered our gear and moved quickly to where we last saw the buck go over the berm. It took us about 20 minutes to get over there and right away I found blood. We fallowed the blood right to Jackson's buck. The buck seemed to get bigger as we walked up to it. We were both so excited that we had pulled it off at the last minute. As we looked at his buck reality started to set in as I thought about how far back in we were from the truck and it was getting dark. I set Jackson up with his trophy real quick for some pictures. I didn't have time to set up my regular camera as I was racing the fading light so I just snapped a couple pics with my cell phone. I got to work quick and caped and quartered the buck. With all the gear I was carrying I could only take two quarters, the hide, head and antlers out with us that night. My pack was loaded down and I knew we were in for a long hike out in the dark. When we got to the top of the first ridge I called Jackson's dad, David to let him know that we were going to have to stay another night. I was supposed to have Jackson home Wednesday night so he could spend Thanks Giving with his dad. I explained to David that we were going to have to leave the rest of the buck in the bottom of the canyon and come back in the morning to get it. He completely understood and was so happy and so proud of Jackson. We continued our long hike out. By the time we reached the truck and got something to eat it was 11:30 before we got to bed. The next morning came quickly and at first light we were headed back in to retrieve the rest of Jackson's buck. After getting it all back to the truck we took a few more pictures and headed home. What a hunt! I was just hoping that we would fill at least one of Jackson's two tags on his first hunt and not only did we fill both tags but we filled both tags with trophy animals. Jackson's Javelina was an old grey boar with a HUGE head. Definitely an old pig that had lived a long life. Jackson's buck was an old warrior as well. He had pretty worn teeth and was probably on the decline. The buck will score in the low to mid 90's. This was one of the most meaningful hunts I have ever been on. After the very hard loss of my grandfather, getting to spend such a great time with Jackson out in God's country was exactly what I needed. I know my Grandfather was watching down on us with a big smile enjoying our success with us. Thanks to David for coming out and hunting with us and for being understanding about me getting Jackson home so late on Thanks Giving day. Thanks to everybody who stuck with me through another one of my long stories and of course thanks to Amanda for this wonderful site where we can share our adventures with each other! -Tracy Out practicing shooting with Jackson before the hunt. 1st morning of the hunt. Angie called my name and snapped my pic right as I looked into the sun. Jackson and Zach. Hard to believe they are the same age. Jackson had quite the crazy hair going that day. Angie and I at camp. Jackson playing with the camp fire. Jackson with his 1st big game animal. Wooohooo!!! Zach and Jackson with their javelina. Jon and I with the boys. Packing the pigs out. The boys sure got off easy on this one! Jackson's 1st kill stripes! Jackson with his 1st buck! What a great 1st buck! And last but not least, Jackson wanted to do a silly pic.

What a beast of a cat! Congrats to your dad! -Tracy