My 12 year old son had an epic Christmas this year, receiving a new Rem. SPS in 708, and a late season cow elk hunt. It just about killed me to not tell him about both the rifle and the hunt, hardest Christmas secret EVER!

Christmas day arrives and my son just couldn't wait to get to the range, matter of fact, he refused to even change clothes after church.. Here is a pic of a very happy kid!


The week between Christmas day, and New Years day when we left, he went through about 200 rounds shooting from field positions. It has been super to see him get really serious.

New Years day we drove to Raton, NM super excited and with one very happy, but nervous 12 year old boy. Sleep came really difficult for him last night, but once the 4:30am alarm went off he was up and ready in a flash!

I booked this hunt with Kiowa Hunting Services based upon other references, but primarily to hunt the Vermejo. Awesome country and I must say very professional guide.

Our morning began with a quick drive out to the ranch, and a nice 350 class bull as soon as we turned off the highway. Some glassing and a quick game plan had us parked and working on a herd of about 100 elk. Obviously I wanted my son to shoot first and we got him into position at about 200 yards, he obviously made contact, but was too far back. The cow worked her way up towards the timber but not before I rushed Brayden ahead, got him prone off the bipod and he dropped her at 312 yards. He got up smiling and saying "Dad, I have never shook like that in my life"!

Working our way up to the herd-


I didn't get a pic of him shooting off the bipod as I was busy ranging and glassing.

Approaching his first elk-


I got her!!!!!!!


Hero shot and a very proud Dad!-


Another pic-


Quick bit of thanks to Splattermatic for lending my son a nice pair of bino's for the hunt. Thanks Splatt!

Quick load facts for the looney's, I loaded 140gr Accubonds in my son's 708 with MR 2000. Super accurate.

Finally, my cow from shortly after we made sure my son's wasn't going anywhere, an easy 388 yard shot from my LH SS M70 in 30-06 using 155gr. Scenars. High shoulder shot and she dropped right there.
[img]http://i331.photobucket.com/albums/l463/Huntr7X57/Elkhunt022.jpg[/img]

Super fun hunt, and so exciting to see a young man kill his first elk. A day that he won't ever forget, and I day that I know I will NEVER forget.

Congratulations to you and to your young son on a great job! He sure looks proud and should be! You will also have some nice eating for the winter. Nice job.

David

Great story and photos, congratulations to bothe of you!

Huntr,
What a way to bring in the New Year. Congrats to you and your son.

Dave

With four boys and two girls under my belt,that is nothing but kool..Congrats..Memories........

Jayco

Huntr congrats to both! Man I love that pic of him " approaching the elk" one can only imagine the intensity in his mind. I also love that he has his trigger finger outside the trigger guard. That shows great shooting disipline for both of you. Congrats again!

Awesome stuff. Congratulations to you both.

That is awesome. Nothing better than a father and son hunt, no matter the age. Tell your son congrats!


ddj

Congrats...

Awesome to see. Cant wait to take my son out for his first kill.

Congratulations to the both of you!

My congratulations to both of you!

donsm70

Right on! No worries on his first shot... the first one is tough!

good on you dad for taking time for your son. great story and pics. "making memories".

Congratulations to you and your son!!!! I'm a bit envious though. My son is 41 and only recently ( since Katrina)shown any interest in firearms. However he has mentioned hunting, so when I see him in the spring I'll be giving him my Win. Model 88 .308 Win. Maybe it's not too late yet! Again congrat's to you and your son.
memtb

What an awesome gift from dad...congrats!

Perfect Huntr!

Congratulations to both of you! Definitely a Christmas/hunt you will both always remember.

That/this is some way kool stuff! Wished we could of made the trip as well. Perhaps next year we should do it again and or come to Montana for bruins or Wyo for lopes...?

Congratz

Dober

dude !
nice pics and a heart felt congrats. too bad i couldn't be there.
glad, it was my 7-08 that got his cherry in a centerfire bigger caliber !
give him a hug for me, and a big hand shake.
and anytime you need something, you know i will provide what i can.

luv ya bro.

and son, we'll see about antelope this year.

Thanks to everyone for the kind comments. My son has really enjoyed reading them, he is still super excited (not near as much as Dad is though! ).

Dober!! You guys gotta come down next year! That would be awesome. And, I can assure you, Brayden and I were talking today about wanting to hunt in Montana. Also, meeting in Wyoming would be fantastic!

Spring bear, when school gets out would be a great trip for you guys. Come on up

Dober

Great photos and story. Congrats to both of you

Congrats!

I hope to slide out tomorrow and drop a cow elk. I have to use a shotgun with slugs, so there will be no easy 388 yd shots. Hopefully less than 200, and the closer the better, that shotgun (or is it the shooter?) isn't as accurate as I hoped.

Splatt,
Yep, it was an epic day for sure! Too bad you weren't on this hunt with us. Brayden even said the same.

Thanks for all your help and for being such a good pard.

This doesn't look like a staged picture, I wish I could still get that excited feeling about hunting...

You are correct, nothing staged about any of these pics! Capturing that intensity is something I will always look at with pride.

Huntr;
Thanks for sharing the great photos and accompanying story of your special family hunt with us.

Please pass along congratulations to your son on that fine and tasty looking cow.

I'd like to send you a tip of the hat for taking the time and making the effort needed to ensure this hunt took place. Well done sir.

Thanks again for taking the time to post this, it's so good to see families out hunting together.

All the best to you and yours in 2012.

Regards,
Dwayne

DANG!

That's just awesome--those pics are perfect!

Congrats to you and the boy! That's the way to do it right there!

Beyond cool.
I hope your boy knows just how lucky he is. I am willing to bet the smile hasn't left either face, yours or his.

Congratulations to the two of you.

It does not get any better than that.. Congrats to you both.
Happy birthday.

Yept...great story...congrats to you & your son for

a memorable experience....and a freezer full of elk...

With a 7-08 no less.....

Congratulations

Sweet!!!! Congrats!!

Congrats to you and your son. Kiowa is a terrific outfit to hunt with, aren't they?

Thanks again gents, Brayden and I are gonna have a great day today on my birthday and looking forward to a very full freezer!!

Very cool....Congrats to you and your son.

Congrats to you and your son. Your son has one fine dad but, I guessing he already knows that!

great stuff there!

SWEET!!!!!! Not much cooler! Thanks for introducing a new hunter to our sport. That look says it all.... he is addicted for life!

Looks like the Albuquerque public range in that picture!

Congrats to you and your son.

Nothing quite like helping someone you care about with their first success... and the next, and the next, and the next, lol.

Freezer full of cow elk is where I like to be.

That is a super story right there... I love it! I have two sons, and we hunt together some, it is great when they score. Congrats to you and your son. And yes I picked up on the fact that you guys were in church, good for you, me and mine also.

As the late Herb Parsons (the shooter for Jimmy Stewart) used to say. "Take your sons hunting when they are young, then later you won't have to go hunting for them". I may have mis-quoted slightly but you get the point.

Claybreaker

Way to go! A great pair. An excellent example of a father and son relationship.

Joseph

Perfect caliber & rifle = perfect hunt!! Congrats and thanks for posting the excellent pics!!

Nice job guys!! Good equipment and trigger time will always pay off.

Nothing comes close to taking your kids hunting!

Right on!! Nice cow!

That is an incredible story & pics! Reminds me of a "bazzaro christmas story" as your son got something better than the red rider, and his dad took him out and showed him how to use it !

Good on you!

Huntr,

Congrats to you and your son - especially you, for making the trip happen! Can't wait for my boys to do that!

Excellent stuff indeed and congrats to Huntr and his boy...those memories will last a life time.

I'm in the opposite position as Huntr...taking my dad to Vermejo in a few weeks and seeing if we can have the same success (Kiowa Outfitters as well). He did a lot for my brother and I growing up and I figured it would be good to repay the favor.

Congratulations to your son for his success.

That county range in ABQ is nice. Too bad more counties don't have a range like that

Sorry guys, the range that my son and I are shooting at is the San Juan Wildlife Federation range in Farmington.

Side note, my sons elk held one of the 140gr Accubonds and it was recovered during processing. Beautiful mushroom and 82% weight retention. Will post a pic soon.

And, thanks again for the kind posts, my son has really enjoyed reading them.

Congrats to you and your son on your successful hunts.

Good for you...congratulations on a great hunt!

Congrats on the 2 of you

Chip, I'm out of town every week and somehow I missed this thread!

KUDO's to you and your son... just fantastic my friend.

Chip, just saw this.Looks like you both had a swell time and tell ya what....that cow hunt makes a lot more sense to me lately than chasing around those rut-stinky bulls!

Good for both of you!

What a great story. Love seeing families hunting together. Congrats to father and son!

Thanks for sharing.

The Smiles of Sweet Success!!! That cow elk hunt will be a father/son memory forever.