A First for my son....

[Leaseman]

My Son whose birthday falls on opening day (Sept. 10th) has been hunting with me since he was 5 or 6. He has been in on numerous short trips with my buddies (his uncles!) and my Dad, his grandfather. He has been there for 7-10 times that we have been lucky enough to get animals and has been more that willing to help with gutting, skinning and butchering....

Nick completed his CORE last year after having his junior license for a few years and being happy hunting rabbits and grouse....He asked for a gun for Christmas and Santa brought him a nice .308 that he fell in love with....

I decided that this year would be about getting him his first buck. We spent some time this spring and summer getting use to his new gun and doing some scouting in my long time area....

Fast forward to opening weekend and a couple of lost chances for Nick, he did everything right but didn't connect....I felt real bad for him seeing the dissappointment in his face but his attitude stayed strong...

Two weeks later, we take up my buddy srupp's invite to hunt in his back yard around Williams Lake.....mornings and afternoons for 3 1/2 days Sreven took Nick up and down the mountains getting Nick into 17 bucks. The only problem was none were under 150 yards, Nicks comfort zone....

Due to work, Nick and I made it out for a couple of day trips with only does spotted or very wiley bucks...

cont.

[Mr. Dean]

This better not turn into a 'gotchya' thread...

I'm hooked.... Lets get on with it.

[Steeleco]

A little birdy tells me good thing are a commin!!! Right Mike????

[Leaseman]

Next thing I know, we are at the Rememberance Day long weekend with Nick still not getting his buck.....we decide to make a day trip up into our area as there is a late youth season opening on the 11th....

Leaving Aldergrove at 5ish, we are at the beginning of our area by 7am.... heading in the temp is hovering around the -5 and a light snow is falling. The GPS shows that we are between 4500-6000 feet....new snow and no signs of people....nice!....

We hit a few of our favorite slashes and do some walking and glassing.... nothing, nada.... no signs of any life, birds or animals! Nick knows this is D-Day for him and is starting to get a little upset. We check some more areas, talking about the year and the fun we have had hunting and fishing this year when Nick spots some deer! Not one or 2 but 6! Five cross the deactivated road, all does! Nick spots the buck cruising through the trees and doesn't take a shot as he wasn't comfortable ...man, what a rush!!!

We collect ourselves and continue on our way....over the next hour we run into 4 more "families" of deer....

Pulling into a fairly new slash, probably 3 square miles, I made mention to Nick that we won't see anything here...words barely out of my mouth when Nick yells "Deer!!!". Yup, one of the biggest Does I have seen in years. Nick jumps out and loads up, I am trying to keep him relaxed and quiet (NOT!!) as we watch the doe who is spending half her time watching me and the other half looking into the tree line, 35-400 yards from her location...

cont

[kishman]

I love a good cliffhanger!!:)

[Leaseman]

I tell Nick to stand very still and watch were she is looking....did I mention that by this time, the wind is blowing and driving the snow sideways??? ... anyways, after about 2 hours (or about 2 minutes in actual time!) another doe walks out of the corner of the slash...I hear the air release from Nick as the disappointment hits that there is nothing to shoot at.....

We are meat hunters in our family for generations, we look for a big bodied deer or moose and antlers are an after thought....

What happened next will be forever in my mind, I was giving Nick words of encouragement when he looks up and whispers "BIG BUCK!!!".... I loolk up hill and see one of the biggest deer I have ever seen walking out of the bush at just over 150+ yards, his horns dwarf his head and he is busy looking for his does....!!! I am brought back to reality at the bark of Nicks .308!!....Two fast shots with the second looking like the buck "flinched"!....

The buck wheeled and headed back into the thick timber....we gave it 20 minutes and head in as it was 2:30 and didn't have a lot of light time left. We cut his tracks and followed them for quite awhile, not signs of blood or of the buck slowing down....

This was about all the dissapointment that Nick could take, I could see it was breaking his heart....all the work he put into getting ready, all the practise and to end his season seeing so many bucks but not one his....

cont.

[Leaseman]

I felt so bad for my little buddy I said we would spend the night....

First thing in the morning we headed back up where we had seen the big boy. We took a compass reading and headed into the bush were we found a game trail and followed it up to another slash....

The weather had taken a turn for the worse and we could hear tree tops and branches breaking off in the wind, Nick say we might as well head out and go home....
As we are walking back towards the truck we are following a ridge with a couple of hogs backs below us in the fairly thick timber. I spot movement below us as a chunky buck is paralleling us from 75-100 yards.... I grab Nick and turn his head downwards so he is facing it....He spots the buck right away and up comes the gun.....

I am waitng and waiting for the shot.....the suspense is killing me as Nick is following the deer with his rifle, waiting for an open corridor.....BAM!!!
the buck hits top gear in the blink of an eye!!!

We scramble down to his tracks and follow to where Nick had shot....
Tons of blood and bone!!! I look up the trail and here is the 3 point, dead up against the base of a big tree....

I don't know who was more excited, Nick or I!!! What a feeling as a proud father....we had high fives and hugs for a few minutes, then a quick 1/2 mile drag the the truck, a few pics then hang to cool for 1 1/2 hours then back to the coast...

Sorry about the long post, but man what a thrill to have your kids pulling the trigger!!!

Pics coming soon!

[newhunterette]

wooohooooooooooooooooo Nick - you Rock kiddo

okay as promised by Leaseman (Mike) here are Nick's pics
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x185/ioarana/Nick2.jpg
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x185/ioarana/Nick1.jpg

Ali

[dirtybucker]

nice buck! congrats bud good on ya

[BCrams]

Congrats on a great buck!! He should be proud of himself.

[GoatGuy]

That makes it all worth while.

Congrats to you and your boy.

[Scobo]

i can't wait for my little man's 10th year. Great job Leaseman!! this was great for me because I have been considering different cartridges in planning for my boy's 1st rifle and if your little man can handle the 308 then that's what I'll plan for mine.

[Rock Doctor]

Good story, and congrats to you and your son.:)

[Mr. Dean]

Sorry about the long post, but man what a thrill to have your kids pulling the trigger!!!

Damn straight!

No need for being sorry. EXCELLENT story and THANKS!

[pitdog]

Congrats to you and your son, great story.

[Gnarly]

Way to go Nick!!!!!! and Mike.
What an excellent father and son adventure. Its good to see these threads and to know that dads like dana and leaseman along with others are introducing the next generation of hunters to the sport.

[fozzy]

Nice first Buck there Nick! Congratulations :)

[srupp]

waaaaay to go... NICK...!!!! Great job BUD..are ya ready for SPRING BEAR ??

Steven

[Leaseman]

Thanks everyone for your kind words...

Steve, Nick is pumped about the spring bear hunt....I think he is planning to leave me at home....:evil:

Talk to you soon....

[Sitkaspruce]

That story is what being a father is all about. Feeling the ups and down as your kids go through life. Good job Dad!!!!!!

And congrats to your son!!! What a sweet buck!!!

[CanuckShooter]

Good job Nick...and big Kudos for not taking shots that your not comfortable with!!!

[Thunderstix]

Wow! That was awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[hunter1947]

It's nice to see that you kept on top of it ,you made it happen ,congrats to you and your son.

[dana]

Way to go Nick!!!! That is an awesome buck! Congrats to both you and your dad. I betcha your hooked now eh? Lookin' forward to seeing the pics from the upcoming spring bear hunt.:cool:

[islandstalker]

nice one nick! would love to be there when he tells that story to his school buds. 6 years till its my sons turn .

[rifleman]

way ta go Nick. hunting is always worth it keep on hunting

[Sikanni Stalker]

nice buck, great story! thats what its all about man!

[jrjonesy]

Great, great Job Nick! Perseverance Pays off! Way to keep with it!

[The Hermit]

As the father of a girly girl who never caught on to the hunting thing I gotta tell you guys that I am living vicariously thru your great stories!! Way to go!!!

[Will]

Congrats on a Great buck Young Man ! :cool:
Now go dream about Spring Bruins.............:wink:

[Elkhound]

congrats Mike and son. Nice job.

[Leaseman]

Nick has read all your kind comments and has asked my to pass on a big "THANKS"...