Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Hunt with your kids...

...and you wont' have to hunt for them.

Well, that's the theory at least. Both of mine may very well grow up to be axe-murders or Democrats, but for the moment I get to feel like I'm doing things the right way.

It has been a wonderful big-game season for myself and my family. It started off in mid-October with a raghorn 5x bull for myself and a spike (first elk) for a good buddy of mine.

A month later I took my son back to the same unit for an OTC cow hunt. The first morning left me feeling uneasy about our chances, as I didn't cut any fresh tracks and the only herd I spotted was a long, long way off and out of reach. The weather was bitter cold, and we were sleeping in tents. I had warned my son in advance that it wouldn't be a cake-walk though, and he seemed to have the right mental, mindset. Here's Rowdy (my son) the first morning looking over our country..



After a warm meal at camp, we headed back out for the evening hunt. Almost immediately, I spotted a good-sized herd in an area I though we could make a run on. A quick descent of a thousand vertical feet, and we were as close as we were going to be. The range-finder read "403", which is the edge of where I feel comfortable for him. He got into the best position he was going to get, and told me he felt good to let one fly.

At the report of the shot, the cow dropped and started rolling down the hill. An hour later and JUST as it was getting too dark to see, we managed to located her in a patch of brush where she'd gotten hung up. My apologies for the chitty photo, but it was the best I could manage under the circumstances...


The pack out was not a lot of fun, but I was EXTREMELY proud of my son for dropping his head and grinding it out the next day. We were both exhausted when it was all said and done, but enjoyed the sense of accomplishment that can only be enjoyed through completing a job that pushes you to your limits.

With two elk in the freezer, I wasn't feeling any sense of urgency to fill the doe tag Rowdy had drawn. My 8-year old daughter (Gracie) surprised me early in the week by asking if she could join us for a hunt though, so we decided to give it a go this past Wednesday. Tuesday night's forecast was calling for blizzard-like conditions the next day, and I tried to pull the plug on the hunt the following day. Gracie absolutely tore me up when I mentioned cancelling the hunt, so I told Rowdy to mentally prepare himself to head out the next morning.. I couldn't figure out why she was suddenly so gung-ho to hunt with us, but I wasn't about to let the moment slip away...weather be damned.

The first couple of hours were pretty rough. We spooked the only herd of deer we saw, and the weather just plain sucked. Having said that, Gracie was all smiles and was loving the adventure of it all. Around 11 o'clock or so the weather broke and I finally spotted some deer we could make a move on. A hike of a half-mile or so put us in position above a doe at just over 200 yards. She had no idea we were there, and we had plenty of time to get ready and for Gracie to share in the excitement of it all. Rowdy made a great shot, and the doe didn't go 10 yards before she was down. Here are both kids just seconds after the shot....




It was too steep to go directly to the doe, so we hiked along the cliff-edge for several hundred yards before we found a spot we could scramble down through.

Gracie didn't seem at all fazed by the dead deer, and was all too happy to take some pictures with her old, fat dad.



I figured if she was in for a penny, then in for a pound. I loaded Rowdy up with the hind-quarters, and put the rest of the deer (fronts, backstraps, etc.) on her. I felt mildly guilty for the first hundred or so yards of the pack out as I had literally nothing in my pack, but the guilt soon wore off and I just enjoyed watching my kids make their way up and out of the canyon.



It was only about a mile or so back to the truck, but there were a couple of gnarly spots that weren't a lot of fun to get through...



When we finally made it to the top, I could tell Rowdy had a newly-found respect for his little sister. Just as importantly, I could tell she had enjoyed the entire experience. I hope I don't jinx myself by saying it, but I think I may have another hunting partner in my little girl.

It was truly a great day to be a dad, and one of those experiences I'll treasure forever. I hope it's the first of many more days like it yet to come.

Dave