Coach

Looks like a dandy - the pix are mostly sideways, but the smile says it all. Nice job, and welcome to the site!

Hey, I know those guys! Nice shooting Barber boys! A .243 is a great all-around gun for kids since they have little kick, and tend to be very accurate. Like others have said, if you are going to use it on elk, shot placement is key - As evidenced by the video, the kid in this case took a clean shot and brought the elk down with a single, well-placed shot. I don't own a .243, but wouldn't hesitate to use one for kids or adults for javi & deer. With the great recoil pads available these days, you can get a very comfortable .270 WSM, 7mm-08, etc, that might be a more suitable elk gun - but like the old saying goes, "if it aint broke, don't fix it". Use the gun you (or your youth hunter) is confident with, choose your shot well and just enjoy the hunt together.

Nice job Hunter! Congrats on what I'm guessing will be the first of many - and great work Dale and Heather getting out there together and making it happen as a family.

Nice job, Chris - and great write-up. I'm so glad your family could be there with you. He's a dandy buck and you went there solo, got it done by yourself when a lot of guided hunters came home empty handed. Hat's off to you brother.

Wow - that's a great looking buck! And 650 yards - that's one heck of a shot for anyone, let alone a youth hunter. Nice job all the way around.

Ya just have to ask yourself, 'What would John Wayne Do?" Step up, be a man, do the right thing and if you get fired for it, wear it like a badge of honor. Easy for me to say, I'm a software engineer - lol.

Check out HuntScout.com - best hunting maps available for AZ.

Cool vid - very well put together from the music to the story. Thanks for sharing.

A buddy of mine has the Leica Televid 77 and he can glass all day with one eye through that thing. Personally, it's the best spotting scope I ever looked through, but I had to sit on a buck one day for hours looking through it. I'd rather have both eyes on the target. If you can switch between big 15's and then sit behind a spotter, that's a plus. I haven't had much luck using a spotting scope for locating deer - but in this case, all we had were the tops of horns of a bedded buck, and I had to make sure he was still there when my partner got into shooting range.

Hey, thanks everyone. Matt has been getting caught back up at school, but I think he'll really enjoy reading all your replies.TJ, passed your congrats on to him.

Ouch, my neck hurts from looking at the pix sideways. Great job tho - great to see those kiddos out there getting it done, and the family getting behind them to make it happen.

I have a really good spotting scope and I find that 90% of its use is for sighting in guns. In almost all hunting situations I find 15x56 swaros will give me as much detail as I need. If I happen to be glassing from roads at some long stuff I always have my spotter there in case I need it, but when packing/hunting I find the binocs to be sufficient.

My productivity was through the roof today also, but I'm glad to see my favorite distraction is back online. Nice job, Amanda.

I hope you have a great birthday doing something fun with family and friends.

15x56 swaros @ $1400 sounds lke an amazing deal. Best binocs on the market, IMO.

Huge congrats to Kayden on a beautiful buck. Awesome to get the whole family involved - and even cooler to see the huge smile on Kayden's face with that awesome buck.

Wow, GREAT year, IMO. Awesome job!

Great job, and huge congrats to Matthew! That's getting it done, right there. Awesome hunt and story.

Awesome hunt - the smiles say it all. Great times hunting with your boys - what could be better?

Huge congrats to Elijah! Looks like a great hunter in the making - and great job getting him out there, dad. It's awesome to see the torch handed down to the next generation of hunters. Looks like you guys are doing it right.

Great looking buck - sounds like Gabe is a heck of a shot. Way to get him out there Steven - those eye guards are awesome.

Wow - you guys did great! Awesome job getting those youth hunters out there. Looks like some awesome memories were made, and lots of meat for the freezer.

That is awesome! Great pictures.

Ooops! Somehow I missed this when I started a different one. Happy Birthday, Amanada. I hope it's a great one. (You can delete the other post - lol).

Wow! That is awesome. Way to get them out there doing it right. Great job.