My son Hunter was able to get it done on the Kaibab last night. He made a perfect double lung shot at 191 yds with of all things an M&P AR-15. Hunter turned 10 in August and this was his first real big game hunt. As some of you may know this year has been a challenging one for Hunter. In April he was diagnosed with a hip condition which required him to have one reconstructive surgery in July and another this coming December. He has been going to PT three times each week to rehab his hip and build strength in his legs. We put in for the Kaibab doe hunt because I really wanted him to have success and I knew that hiking canyons and carrying a pack just wasn't going to be in the cards right now. Before we left his therapist gave my wife specific instructions not to over-do it because Hunter was already showing some fatigue from hiking during a turkey hunt the weekend before.
Well the first morning we were greeted by rain, cold temps and fog. We spent the morning spotting a lot of deer from the road and trying to find a way to get in range and set up for a shot. It never came together but we weren't alone, in our camp with 5 tags just one had been filled. The skies cleared up for the afternoon hunt and when we got back to camp there were three more deer hanging on the meat pole, leaving Hunter as the only tag left in camp. On Saturday AM we found some undisturbed deer away from any roads and Hunter said he was up for a hike. We went for a walk and crossed a canyon before we heard Mom honk the horn three times signaling that the deer we were after had left the area, suddenly we had a doe come bolting out of the aspens and almost run us over. It was not even close to a shot opportunity but it seemed to energize him for the rest of the day. From there we worked our way across the unit to the youth camp and he was able to shoot 3D targets, learn about the condors and get a stomach full of grub. What a great service that they do for these kids. Our whole camp was there and everyone had a great time. They made sure that our hunt was going ok and offered to help us get that last tag filled. We decided to keep doing things on our own but greatly appreciated the offer. That night we spent time further west in the unit but things were pretty slow and only turned up 3 bucks. By the end of the night Hunter wanted out of the truck and picked out a trail for us to hike . . . I could feel the stare from his mother but how could I tellt he kid no? We hiked, and saw nothing.
By 5:00 AM on the third day, we were starting to feel the pressure. Our camp mates were packing up to leave, but we were in it for the long haul. In the morning our traditional routine turned up nothing. So we ventured a little further and peeked into some roadless country, of course there were plenty of deer but none none of them were in easy spots to get to. Hunter was up for another walk, in the burn over logs and up hills. We managed to get in range of the first group but a technical difficulty prevented a shot. The deer got buggered and headed out. We found more and moved deeper into the canyon, I got him lined up on a deer in the open while I set up my tripod and bino's as I am getting set up I hear "Dad, that's a spike". . . we look over each of the deer and they are all bucks. I was very proud of how calm and collected he was as we repeated this process a few more times over the course of the morning he was always so concerned about identifying his target, the shot angle and making sure the animal was clear of any others. His Hunter Education instructors had done a great job of instilling the importance of those things to him. Several times he came out of the scope and said Dad, I am just too excited, I can't quite shaking. He refused to shoot until everything was perfect. We didn't tag a deer that morning but I was beaming. Just before we headed back to the truck we saw two condors fly over. They are impressive creatures and definitely a throw back to a by-gone era.
That night Hunter was feeling the effects of all the hiking over the previous couple of days and asked if we could just hunt from the truck that night. I was worried about being able to find deer with them being so spooky by this time, but I knew I needed to try to make it work. We went for a drive in some new country and weren't turning much up. I was beginning to have my doubts, I would be lying if I said that I hadn't lost a little sleep the night before worrying about how we were going to get this done. It was getting late and I knew I needed to make something happen sooner than later. We stopped at a fork in the road and I walked out to peak over the edge of the draw. It was only a couple minutes before I turned up a dozen or so does in the bottom. It was a frantic dash back to the truck to get the rifle, ear muffs (which had already been the source of one blown encounter), and tripod. We somehow paralleled the herd without being noticed and set up a couple times for shots that didn't materialize. Finally we identified an opening int he quakies that they were going to walk through. He managed to find them in the scope and true to form patiently waited for one to separate itself from the herd. After one warning shot he managed to stay on the deer and put one right through the ribs. I had been a bit concerned about shooting the .223 on deer sized game. But putting it right through the ribs ensured a lethal shot. I saw the doe stagger through my binoculars and disappear into some trees. Amazingly most of the deer didn't leave. I was nervous because I hadn't seen the deer go down but also couldn't see any wounds on any of the visible deer. We worked out way down to the trees where the deer had disappeared. As we approached I could see her laying behind the clump of trees, Hunter gave he rthe nudge and confirmed that no further shots would be required.
To say he was excited was an understatement. In a year where he has been told what he can't do, or what he might not be able to do in the future he needed this moment when we could sit and I was able to tell him that he could do anything, sticking with it and not quitting is the key, just keep applying yourself. It was a great moment, and one that was sorely needed. This kid needed a can-do moment. He helped get it gutted back at camp (since we were using lead ammo) and helped with all of the processing today.
Oh and there was the bakery at Jacob Lake Inn, so the cookies were awesome.
Thanks to all of the folks who offered advice or help, Stanley and 1Uglydude were especially helpful. This site is awesome.
Sorry for the long read, guess I had a lot on my mind.
