whitespringer
11-26-2016, 11:04 PM
http://i347.photobucket.com/albums/p455/rgerlitz7/image_zpsnxzfwogx.jpeg?t=1480180588
Hello all,
I will preface this post by saying that as many of you, I am a husband and a father, generally occupied providing for a family. This of course rightly takes the majority of my time, and I wouldn't have it any other way. When a father can enjoy time together in the outdoors with his family, those experiences take on special meaning. In this context I would like to share just such an experience.
My eldest son had drawn a doe draw in region 3 in November, and as he had not been successful closing the deal on a big game animal, this became a family priority. We woke early the morning of the 27th of October, and made our way in the dark and the fog up the the canyon following the Fraser. The plan was to pre scout the area and zero in on areas to hunt in November. The day was a success, as we had seen 10 does and a black bear that plowed through the scrub Alder like he could smell the bear tag burning a hole in my pocket.
Fast forward to November 3rd, our second day of pre scouting. This time it was just my wife and I and the dog, as the boys had school commitments. Our efforts yielded 5 does and 4 bucks. A spike, 2 2 points and a 3x? that we eyeballed through my scope and the wife's binos for 5 minutes. You would think that would be easy at 50 yards, but man! When they are behind a patch of bush...he walked.
With our homework done and high hopes, we departed Thursday November 10 and made our way up the Fraser to our spot. We set up camp in time to hunt the afternoon. Road hunt for the doe, and if the opportunity presented it self, switch things up after that to see if we could grab a buck. No animals but there was lots of time. Besides, the morning had been the most productive spotting game. Friday came with nothing seen early. At about 9:30, doe. It quickly disappeared from view at the base of the hill we had just come down. We decided to pursue. My son ended up paralleling her for 5 minutes in sight but with a shot never presenting itself. Good on him for showing restraint. The day ended with seeing the doe, a buck that was a possible shooter but made himself scarce, and a 2x2 that had the ladies on his mind as he foolishly stood 20' from the truck as we took pictures.
Saturday morning was it, as we had commitments at home. I have to be honest, as we packed up after the unsuccessful morning hunt, the air was thick with disappointment. We had done our homework, scouted the area, seen lots of game and yet come up with nothing. Time, my old enemy had gotten the best of us again. We packed up, resolving to come back if time allowed it. As I always do, we hunted our way out, because what would be worse than seeing what your after with your guns buried in the trailer?
All eyes were wide open as we slowly made our way out. The fsr km markers seemed to tick down far to quickly. 9, 8, 7 , 2 wife says doe! Hit the brakes, we bail. Turns out there are 3 of them on a short road leading up to the power line. Two are on one side of the road and one on the other, all in the bush. My sons patience again pays off as one steps out on the road and I give him the green light to pull the trigger. He makes a perfect quartering away shot in the lungs. A short run and it was over. I told him to go see his deer and left him to experience that moment by himself. I headed back to the truck to get the gang and pull the trailer off to the side of the road. With some coaching, he did a fine job gutting, and we all enjoyed the learning experience. Our dog Indy was in her glory, deer smells and dead deer. What a day!
We hoisted the doe in the back of the truck and went into the trailer to clean up.
The dog was acting strange sniffing the air and whining. The other two does had hung around, probably smelling them...
Hello all,
I will preface this post by saying that as many of you, I am a husband and a father, generally occupied providing for a family. This of course rightly takes the majority of my time, and I wouldn't have it any other way. When a father can enjoy time together in the outdoors with his family, those experiences take on special meaning. In this context I would like to share just such an experience.
My eldest son had drawn a doe draw in region 3 in November, and as he had not been successful closing the deal on a big game animal, this became a family priority. We woke early the morning of the 27th of October, and made our way in the dark and the fog up the the canyon following the Fraser. The plan was to pre scout the area and zero in on areas to hunt in November. The day was a success, as we had seen 10 does and a black bear that plowed through the scrub Alder like he could smell the bear tag burning a hole in my pocket.
Fast forward to November 3rd, our second day of pre scouting. This time it was just my wife and I and the dog, as the boys had school commitments. Our efforts yielded 5 does and 4 bucks. A spike, 2 2 points and a 3x? that we eyeballed through my scope and the wife's binos for 5 minutes. You would think that would be easy at 50 yards, but man! When they are behind a patch of bush...he walked.
With our homework done and high hopes, we departed Thursday November 10 and made our way up the Fraser to our spot. We set up camp in time to hunt the afternoon. Road hunt for the doe, and if the opportunity presented it self, switch things up after that to see if we could grab a buck. No animals but there was lots of time. Besides, the morning had been the most productive spotting game. Friday came with nothing seen early. At about 9:30, doe. It quickly disappeared from view at the base of the hill we had just come down. We decided to pursue. My son ended up paralleling her for 5 minutes in sight but with a shot never presenting itself. Good on him for showing restraint. The day ended with seeing the doe, a buck that was a possible shooter but made himself scarce, and a 2x2 that had the ladies on his mind as he foolishly stood 20' from the truck as we took pictures.
Saturday morning was it, as we had commitments at home. I have to be honest, as we packed up after the unsuccessful morning hunt, the air was thick with disappointment. We had done our homework, scouted the area, seen lots of game and yet come up with nothing. Time, my old enemy had gotten the best of us again. We packed up, resolving to come back if time allowed it. As I always do, we hunted our way out, because what would be worse than seeing what your after with your guns buried in the trailer?
All eyes were wide open as we slowly made our way out. The fsr km markers seemed to tick down far to quickly. 9, 8, 7 , 2 wife says doe! Hit the brakes, we bail. Turns out there are 3 of them on a short road leading up to the power line. Two are on one side of the road and one on the other, all in the bush. My sons patience again pays off as one steps out on the road and I give him the green light to pull the trigger. He makes a perfect quartering away shot in the lungs. A short run and it was over. I told him to go see his deer and left him to experience that moment by himself. I headed back to the truck to get the gang and pull the trailer off to the side of the road. With some coaching, he did a fine job gutting, and we all enjoyed the learning experience. Our dog Indy was in her glory, deer smells and dead deer. What a day!
We hoisted the doe in the back of the truck and went into the trailer to clean up.
The dog was acting strange sniffing the air and whining. The other two does had hung around, probably smelling them...