rcdinaz

Sorry this is in two posts, the original post for my daughters hunt was here: http://www.coueswhitetail.com/forums/topic/44256-1st-tag-1st-trip-1st-deer/ Here is "the rest of the story" along with all the people we needed to thank! My 12 year old daughter drew a tag for the 3C general rifle hunt. Her dad was just lazy enough to fill out her app just like her older sisters instead of finding the regs and looking up the bonus point code, because no one would ever get drawn for a trophy deer hunt with no points! Well she drew a tag and the rest of us; well we got more bonus points... No hunter safety card... Now we scramble! We spend two different weekends doing the pretest and finally the final online test for hunters ed. Of course now all the field classes were booked so I called and was lucky enough to get her in on one of the classes out at Ben Avery. So now we have a tag, a hunters safety card, and a couple outings of practice under out belt. I head back to Sportsman's and no ammo to be had, I head to Bass Pro and all that is left is another brand with a different wt bullet. I have no time to work on hand loads so I buy three boxes and we head back out to verify zero and make some small tweaks at 100 yards. We practice again out to 500, determine our range is 300yds and in. I rent a small RV so her first trip is easy bathroom, heater, own bed, etc. Great plan! FIRE! Well the tranny in the RV goes out on the climb to Payson and the thing actually catches fire when the fluid hits the exhaust. Smoke everywhere and two people frantically trying to find a fire extinguisher. Well we can’t find it anywhere! My daughters extremely quite (a very major feat) and just staring at the RV while I’m wondering how far is a safe distance! A truck stops and the driver get out and starts throwing stuff out of his tool box, he finally runs over with an extinguisher and tells me this thing is ancient lets see if it works. Well the fire goes out instantly, I thank him and he is off to an appointment... I am sure we just made him very late. So now we get a lot of attention, one hwy patrol, then a sheriff, then another hwy patrol, and finally a fire truck. My kid eyes are as big as silver dollars, but they are all very professional and the officer that stays asks her about her trip and says good luck once the tow truck showed up. A friend of my dad’s who was in Payson shows up to help us load up our gear, nerves shot but we are off once again! Well as the pictures show all's well that end well. We saw a lot of deer which is just what is needed for a kid to hunt and have fun and keep 'em going. A lot of people to thank! I will give G&F very due credit; in regards to this experience for my daughter it was nothing but positive interaction, direction, and help! Thanks to the G&F for the hunter safety class and getting us scheduled. Thanks to the G&F instructors who I am sure are underpaid but obviously love what they do. Thanks to the G&F officers who were extremely positive and encouraging to my daughter and generous with their time and direction to her, my father, and I. Thank you to the kind gentleman that stopped with a fire extinguisher to out out our fire! Sorry I did not get your name. Good Samaritan award! Thanks to SW Transmission and Carl's towing in Payson for their sense of urgency and added help on advice on where to hunt and where to stay, and plain overall friendliness. Thanks to those of you on this site that gave advice on where to hunt. Special thanks to forum member 3C for the advice that happened to be exactly where we filed the tag! Thanks to my Dad and his Buddy up in Payson for bailing us out so we could make some priceless memories!

Nice deer! Way to get it done!

HA! I am right there with you coach. I have beat that little Sprint up and it still works. I always have it in the truck. They make a CF one but the funny thing is the weight is almost identical. I do like the idea of having the monopod in the one Amanda mentioned. Been thinking about that, if you can throw a rifle rest on top of the monopod it would kill 2 birds with one stone.

Is the XDM 9mm? Guessing yes since you mentioned the G34.

The Solomon's have won a bunch of awards from various hiking mags so Amanda's recommendation is solid! If you are looking for a lightweight shoe I would hit REI and try them all on. I have found when it comes to these types of boots the service and knowledge there is better than anywhere else. Some of the tree huggers really know their stuff. The REI website is also really good to start your search, the reviews are pretty detailed. It is really hard to make recommendations without knowing what your foot is like. And you can always upgrade the insert to help with support. Most boots are worlds better with a good insole. I almost bought the Solomon but will probably buy another pair of Asolo. My foot is just slightly narrow so most of the boot brands done fit me as well as I would like. I have so many pairs of hunting brand boots I dont wear because they wont snug up on the front of my foot. Zamberlan has a new lightweight boot I am going to look at as well. I just bought my daughter a pair of Ahnu that she loves. Very light and they have eVent which is supposed to be the best H2O proof membrane available. I asked 4 days in a row how her feet were on last weeks hunt and she said they were great. One of the mens versions is 1/2 off on the site.

Pretty sure it is going to cost you to get the weight and length you want. I am using a discontinued Benro that looks pretty much like what Amanda has on the site. It has been great. I agree about the cam lock legs, it is my only complaint about the tripod. I dont use them much standing, if I do I use the big Monfrotto with a pistol grip but I ain't carrying it very far. Swarovski makes a few: http://www.opticsplanet.com/swarovski-ct-travel-carbon-tripod-legs-only.html?gclid=CJqW1Lidx7oCFap7QgodYG4AwQ&ef_id=UnWHRQAABdX1ne-e:20131102231413:s Gitzo probably makes some of the lightest, their basalt line and they have cams. Slik makes some good ones but they only do twist legs. Bogen makes some as well but they are going to be as much as the Swaro or the Gitzo.

Awesome!

Voodoo bear w a shrunken head! Don't shoot I many years of bad luck!

Thanks Amanda for the post on FB! I will add to the story all the uhh fun, we went through to get this trip to happen. I have to put up the list of people we need to thank, there ends up being a lot involved. I have not had time to get on and update the details and don't want to miss anyone.

Are you in the valley? I am interested.

Good story! I guess the panic button occasional goes off at the "right" time! Mine seems to be more of a "look like a jack butt" button than a panic button.

Congrats on a grat deer!

Great shot on a great deer! Congrats!

Excellent, great deer!

Wow! To both but even more wow at 5 yrs old!

Congrats! Great to see that big smile!

Fantastic! Great job! There is nothing like being with a kid that has success after putting in practice time and some work to get it done.

Fantastic!

Even with the air still pretty impressive! Tell us where his is located so we can drop him off. I am willing to up the going rate all the way to $100 an hour!

I just went thorugh the same drill at the beggining of the year. Looked at a bunch of stuff and had a lot of input and a lot of opinions from long time hunters. I ended up with the following. CBE Tek-hybrid adjustable 3 pin site. I started with a simple tru-glo 3 pin that was free. Rest is really personal preference I have an HDX rest but I have to admit that the pros of a whisker biscuit make a lot of sense. Namely not having the arrow fall off once your adrenaline is pumping after you just spent and hour on a stalk. Quiver same deal look at a bunch and find one you like. I have an Octane, very light and it matched my all black bow.

Oh the cooler is located in Chandler off the 202.

Scooter not sure where you live but I have one of the big white extreme coleman coolers I would give you. I just lost the hinges front and back on the last trip. They are just the right height to snap off on on my trailer. You could replace them or simply strap or tape the lid down once you fill it. I am going to upgrade this cooler so I need to get rid of it. I liked the idea Tony posted in the other thread about a cooler for a big animal. Plywood, insulation foam, and some screws or nails. You could build it ahead of time or just make it ready to nail together at camp if needed. Wrap the meat in plastic bags and line the wood/styrofoam box with a tarp. He said they froze a buffalo and used dry ice and it lasted soemthing like 5 days still frozen. If I ever get drawn for elk I will throw one of these together that exactly takes up about a third of the truck bed or a section of the trailer. I use coolers but mostly for ice and food and bringing home deer and smaller animals.

Nice job! They work even better on critters!

lets see what firstcoues comes up with.

Pelican reviews are good and they look to be very similar but retail was as much or more than yeti. If it is a big discount they would be worth looking at for sure.