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Picou
Crappie
Username: Picou

Post Number: 548
Registered: 8-2004


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Posted on Saturday, January 15, 2005 - 3:31 am:   Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Headed to the lease in a few hours to take my 8 yr old on her first deer hunt where she is the shooter. I sure hope that everything works out and we can harvest her first animal.

After this, I have promised my wife that I will get some things done around the house in between fishing trips... :-)
Thank you Lord for my family and the waters I get to fish
Fishinaggie88
Bluegill
Username: Fishinaggie88

Post Number: 183
Registered: 8-2004


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Posted on Saturday, January 15, 2005 - 9:50 am:   Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Good luck, let us know how she does!!
Love to fish and hunt.
Texfisher
Minnow
Username: Texfisher

Post Number: 70
Registered: 8-2004


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Posted on Sunday, January 16, 2005 - 12:47 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Can't wait to hear how she did. I bet she has a fun time even if she doesn't get a shot off.
I see my rod is longer than yours.
Picou
Crappie
Username: Picou

Post Number: 551
Registered: 8-2004


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Posted on Monday, January 17, 2005 - 12:47 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Report to come... :-)
Thank you Lord for my family and the waters I get to fish
Fishinaggie88
Bluegill
Username: Fishinaggie88

Post Number: 188
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Posted on Monday, January 17, 2005 - 2:50 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

COME ON!!!!!!
Love to fish and hunt.
Charles
Moderator
Username: Charles

Post Number: 182
Registered: 7-2004

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Posted on Monday, January 17, 2005 - 9:04 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Tease!
Picou
Crappie
Username: Picou

Post Number: 552
Registered: 8-2004


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Posted on Monday, January 17, 2005 - 10:26 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

For some time now, my daughters have been telling me that they want to hunt deer and pigs with me. So, I have taken them along with me on several bow hunts and as most of you know I finally managed a deer while in the stand with one of my daughters. That was the turning point and it really put the fire in their pants to harvest their first deer. I put my mind to it and finally borrowed a .22 rifle from my neighbor and then borrowed a .243 youth rifle. I took the girls out shooting the scoped .22 and Jessica was doing great with it. Once she understood how to get her head down on the stock to look thru the scope there was no stopping her. She shot great with the little rifle and my confidence soared in her ability. She has always been great with the BB gun she has been shooting for the last couple years and I was elated to see her ability with a little more power on the shoulder. Her anticipation of the upcoming “Youth Only” hunt was almost to the point of irritation to me but I hung in there an kept my enthusiasm also. When Saturday morning came and the truck was packed the smile on her face went from ear to ear.

On the way to the lease I called the owner and asked him where we should sight in the rifle. He told me to come to his place because they had a shooting bench and a 100 yard target already set up. We stopped off there and the owner brought his 7 year old son out because they too would be hunting that afternoon.

Jessica_before

My first shot out of the rifle was about 4 inches low so I went back to the bench and fired 2 more shots. One of them hit about 12 inches low and the other shot was not even on the paper. I let the lease owner shoot the rifle and he shot 2 rounds and only one of them was on the paper and about 10 inches high. We walked up to 25 yards and I was able to put 3 holes in the paper about 6 inches low from the center. We checked the scope and it seemed tight, the rifle looked good and we were scratching our heads. I figured the weekend was over or else we would just sit one of the ground blinds on the feeder and keep the shots to within 25 yards. The lease owner offered an alternate rifle – the same rifle he killed his first deer with when he was 7 years old. It was a very well used .22 Hornet rifle with a 4 power scope. He put the rifle on the bench and fired 3 rounds at a 1” black square on a home made target. They were very tightly grouped and about 2 inches low. He made an adjustment to the scope and fired 2 more rounds. Both were in the black square and now it was time for the kids to shoot. The decision was made to let the kids shoot out of the back of the truck because the shooting bench was made for adults and kids had a tough time getting up on the gun there. So Jessica crawled up and set the rifle to her shoulder. After a few minutes and some coaching she decided she was scared of the gun and did not want to shoot until she heard it shoot. So, the owner’s son crawled up and put a round thru the rifle effortlessly.

Justin_shooting

Well, having seen him do it, Jessica was not going to let a 7 year old boy out do her. She hopped up there and shouldered the gun. The lease owner told her not to worry about aiming perfect, but to just point it at the target and shoot to see how the gun felt. She did and was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was not a whole lot different than the .22 rifle she had previously shot. Her first shot was within a couple inches of the center and we were all happy.

Jessica_shooting

After a couple more rounds thru the rifle we headed to the lease to get ready for the first evening hunt.

It was in the lower 40’s and the wind was blowing out of the North East when we crawled into the open box that overlooks a small wheat field on the lease. We positioned ourselves and made sure that she could set the rifle in the shooting window and settled in for the hunt.

Jessica_hunt1

We sat there until the sun was behind the horizon the light was just about gone. It had gotten extremely cold and I was surprised we lasted that long. Unfortunately no deer showed up on the field and we walked back to the house that was nice and toasty warm.

Sunday morning the alarm went off at 5:00am and the next thing I knew, Jessica was at my bedside telling me to get up because it was time to go hunting. We got dressed as warm as possible with plenty of layers and headed on our walk to the Double Bull blind I had set up 2 weeks before. I had it set so that we had a shot to the West, the East, and the South to the feeder.

to_the_feeder

looking_west

None of the shots exceeded 75 yards and we were excited about the possibilities of harvesting her first deer. When we left the house it was a frigid 24 degrees and the winds were still blowing. We settled into the blind and waited for the sun to come up.

Jessica_hunt2

About 8:30am I saw 3 deer crossing the fence line about 50 yards further East than where I had corned the road. I just knew that they would come down the path and eat some corn but they continued on their quest thru the bottom and never were to be seen again. We hoped that they would make their way over to the feeder but that was not to pass. About 9:00am Jessica decided that she had gotten cold enough and she wanted to go back to the house to thaw out. We packed up and headed out. On the way back we jumped a rabbit and I asked if she wanted to shoot it and she decided against it – I was glad…

Well, here it was… The last hunt of the 2004/2005 season and we were walking to the blind as stealthily as an 8 year old can manage. I tried to teach her how to walk quietly and she did pretty well. We were almost to the blind when I noticed movement in the woods and by the time I got her attention the turkeys started to fly. It scared her at first but then she was excited. There were 7 or 8 gooblers that we unfortunately did not see earlier. They flew off and we made our way to the blind and anxiously awaited the outcome of the last hunt.

Jessica_hunt3

We watched a lot of different birds and had a great time sitting in the blind and as the sun began to set on our last deer hunt of the year the cooling temperatures were too much for the little trooper and she wanted to call it a hunt. We stepped out of the blind and her closing words were, “There is always next year.” I sure hoped that we would be able to get her a shot at a deer this weekend but it just was not to be. But I can definitely say that I could not be prouder of her willingness to endure those temperatures with a smile and end the hunt with great optimism for next year. She told me many times how great of a time she had and that to me is what it is supposed to be about. She reminded me that sitting in the blind and taking in the sights and sounds is what it is all about.

We had a great time this weekend and although no deer were taken it was a great hunt. She got to learn a lot, see a lot, and hunt with daddy. I cannot wait to hunt with her again and maybe next year I will take her on the first youth hunt and then more times during the general season. I still have not decided what rifle to buy but you can bet that I will be buying one in the next couple months. She is a marksman and if I can keep her shooting I think she will be deadly accurate for life. She really wants to kill one with a bow and arrow but realizes that it will take some time to be able to pull back that much weight to deer hunt. It is definitely one if her goals though…
Thank you Lord for my family and the waters I get to fish
Atthewall
Minnow
Username: Atthewall

Post Number: 40
Registered: 11-2004


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Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 1:09 am:   Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Excellent recap Mike and she has learned one of the most important reasons why we hunt.
Texfisher
Minnow
Username: Texfisher

Post Number: 76
Registered: 8-2004


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Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 5:47 am:   Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Sounds like the two of you had a great time, which is the most important thing. It looks like she's excited about hunting and being in the woods. Hopefully next year she get a chance to try and steady those crosshairs on a deers shoulder. Then she'll be hooked for life.
I see my rod is longer than yours.
Bigun
Minnow
Username: Bigun

Post Number: 78
Registered: 8-2004

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Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 7:00 am:   Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Sounds like you and Jessica had a great time. Great write up Mike.
Fishinaggie88
Bluegill
Username: Fishinaggie88

Post Number: 189
Registered: 8-2004


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Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 8:47 am:   Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Alright, Great job, sounds like a great weekend.
Love to fish and hunt.
Picou
Crappie
Username: Picou

Post Number: 553
Registered: 8-2004


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Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 1:50 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

It was worth the weekend for sure. I look forward to next season. Of course, the new challenge is to get the kids throwing spinnerbaits and catching fish. The very first spinner bait I ever used was an H&H and we caught a lot of fish on them.

I think it is time to gear them up better for fishing and get rid of the little rinky dink stuff. I grew up throwing the Shakespere Cardinal spincast rod. I think I need a few more shimano spin cast rigs in the boat so that they can at least have half a chance of landing a bass at Bonham... You should see them fighting the sandies on the stuff they have now.... :-)

Thanks for all the responses...
Thank you Lord for my family and the waters I get to fish
Charles
Moderator
Username: Charles

Post Number: 183
Registered: 7-2004

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Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 4:50 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Nice recap Mike. Glad ya'll had fun.

What did you do to Hadens rifle?:-)
Picou
Crappie
Username: Picou

Post Number: 555
Registered: 8-2004


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Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 5:12 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

I am not sure what happened... I would like to take it to the range and put some more rounds thru it and verify what happened. Maybe start at 25 yrds and work back to 100. I make no claims of being a good shot with a rifle, but I was very shocked to miss the paper with the bench rest they had out there. It felt rock steady every shot but I could have been pulling it.
Thank you Lord for my family and the waters I get to fish
Charles
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Username: Charles

Post Number: 185
Registered: 7-2004

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Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 5:44 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Probably anticipating it to kick like a mule:-)

Don't worry about taking it to the range. Like I told you when ya picked it up I didn't know if it was on or not.
Big_p
Moderator
Username: Big_p

Post Number: 210
Registered: 7-2004


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Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 8:21 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Picou,
Double check your scope mounts. I bought a Browning .270 from a gun store in Lubbock that they said would site in. They figured the rifling was shot out of it. I shot it and got the same results. Well I took it apart cleaned it up and went to retighten the screws on the scope mounts and they wouldn't tighten. They were stripped out. I got new scope mounts on it, put a new scope on it and I can now drive tacks with it. It is what I used to kill my muley this year. Hope you get it worked out.
Big_p
Moderator
Username: Big_p

Post Number: 211
Registered: 7-2004


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Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 8:27 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Oh and the 22 hornet will more than get the job done. That was my first deer gun and still have it to this day. The exact one your daughter was shooting. It will bring down a bull. Trust me I know. :-)
Sturm1022
Minnow
Username: Sturm1022

Post Number: 6
Registered: 1-2005

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Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 8:31 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

dont tell anybody but i DROP all of my rifle deer with a mini14 and 45 gr hp from walmart never had one runnoft
Barnaclebill
Bluegill
Username: Barnaclebill

Post Number: 237
Registered: 8-2004


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Posted on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 - 10:03 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

Mike, great writeup,,, I remember sitting in the blind with my kids when they were that age. Brought back fond memories.
That 22 Hornet looks like a Savage Model 340, I own one and have all the confidence in the world in it..
Anyway, congrats on the time spend with the chillin,,,,,,,, Maybe next year !!
Born to fish-Forced to work
Sturm1022
Minnow
Username: Sturm1022

Post Number: 15
Registered: 1-2005

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Posted on Wednesday, January 19, 2005 - 12:24 am:   Edit Post Delete Post Print Post

thanks for all let me know i am a board member and in is well worth it ( the chillurn drop the deer with the same rifle with the same loads)
my fat fingers cant spell

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